Though the Haines Drama, Debate and Forensics team may have lost momentum due to missed competitions and practices over the holidays, coach Amanda Randles said the group is regaining steam for February state championships in Anchorage.
Nine students competed Jan. 16-17 at Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau, with three pieces of its 15 entries advancing to finals.
Jennie Humphrey once again snagged a first-place finish in the Dramatic Interpretation category with her piece “A Finger, Two Dots and You.”
“She is consistently delivering a spectacular performance and her placing through the year shows that,” Randles said.
Junior Dylan Grimes took fifth place in Extemporaneous Commentary, while junior Neil Little took fourth in Humorous Interpretation for his piece “The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distance.”
Though Little has taken first for his performance at other competitions, his finishes haven’t been consistent, Randles said. “Neil has been strong with this piece from our first meet and continues to deliver it very well. I think the only reason he’s not taking firsts is that the competition has caught up to him. We’ll have it fully polished and ready to take Anchorage by storm when we go to state,” she said.
The Juneau tournament marked the team’s first competition since a November meet in Wrangell. A logistical error with Alaska Airlines caused the team to miss the Dec. 12-13 Ketchikan tournament.
“This meant that we went over two months between tournaments,” Randles said. “This missed meet combined with no practices over the holidays I feel lost us some momentum. Our team did great, individually and as a whole, but we weren’t as strong as we could have been.”
“I have no doubt that by the time we go to state in a month’s time, our team will be a lot stronger,” she added.
Randles is still trying to nail down a date for the team’s annual fundraiser. Though the event has traditionally involved a dessert auction, Randles said she doesn’t think she will go that route. .this year.