Editor’s note: Gus Richardson was a member of the speech team for three years, including as the captain of interpretation events for one year.
Roaring Fork High School’s (RFHS) Speech and Debate Team has had a storied past. Pre-pandemic, the team was doing just swell — attending local conferences and meets, but not going too far beyond that. Sadly, when COVID-19 hit, the speech team fell apart more or less. But in 2021, with the help of Coach Denise Wright, the Speech and Debate Team returned with unprecedented success.
Over the forthcoming three years, RFHS competed against teams 10-times its size and consistently held its ground. RFHS took home first place medals from state competitions, trophies for all categories and gained major amounts of respect from teams that had never expected the Rams to show up on their radar.
Keeping up the streak, Maddie Lucks, a sophmore on the team, will be the first RFHS student to go to the National Speech and Debate Tournament later this month.
Lucks is a formidable force of the speech team, consistently taking home first place in many different event categories — particularly Lincoln-Douglass and Original Oratory debates. However, Lucks is taking on a somewhat new venture at Nationals: Congressional Debate.
“I ended up qualifying because someone who actually qualified couldn’t go, so they called me in as a runner up,” Lucks told The Sopris Sun, laughing. “So I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t qualify for one of my main events, but it’s fine.”
Despite her self-deprecation, Lucks is at least a few steps above proficient in Congress, as she was a strong contender in the national qualifiers for the event. She has proven her skill level in the art of debate throughout the season, and has placed a total of six times this year alone.
To tie her back in with the rest of the team, Lucks is the RFHS Speech and Debate Team’s captain of debate events, a title that indicates her ability to answer questions and offer support when it comes to all forms of debate. She is well liked by the team, which is proud of her and positive that she will do incredibly well at the conference.
Lucks heads to Des Moines, Iowa for the national tournament on June 15, and returns June 20. Her goals for the competition are to improve her extemporaneous speaking and to “reach as far as [she] possibly can” past the preliminary rounds. The achievement of going to nationals in and of itself isn’t lost on her, however.
“I’m excited that Roaring Fork finally has somebody going to Nationals for speech and debate,” said Lucks. “Regardless of how we do, we’re going out and being recognized at a national level.”
For more on the 2025 National Speech and Debate Tournament and to follow Lucks’ progress, visit www.speechanddebate.org/national-tournament-2025
Courtesy photo