The West Plains High School speech and debate team is finding its voice again.
After weathering a difficult stretch marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and coaching changes, the program is officially in comeback mode. The Zizzers wrapped up their postseason in March with a state qualifier, a return to the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) tournament and a milestone achievement for its senior class.
Head Coach Lane Schilmoeller said the season reflected a program finding its footing and building a new culture.
“This year was a rebuilding year for our speech and debate program,” Schilmoeller said. “We were able to grow a team around a solid core of courageous, inspired and motivated competitors that embody what we have termed ‘Teamship.’”
MSHSAA Districts & State Qualification
The Zizzers picked up their strongest results of the postseason at the MSHSAA District tournament March 6 and 7, highlighted by a breakthrough performance from sophomore Lilly Brown, a first-year competitor.
Brown earned the program’s lone state qualification, placing second in Class 1, District 4 prose reading.
“I have an incredible batch of novices this year. I am so proud,” Schilmoeller said.
Several teammates also reached the finals at the MSHSAA tournament but fell just short of state qualification. Tay Merriman placed sixth in poetry reading, Jensyn Peeler took seventh in U.S. extemporaneous speaking and Brown added an eighth-place finish in international extemporaneous speaking.
West Plains competitors at the event included Merriman, Maxine Clinton, River Woods, Charlotte Fite, Peeler, Brown and Daphne Suder.
The Return to NSDA
A week later, West Plains closed its district season with a three-day showing at the NSDA District tournament March 12 through 14. While no Zizzers advanced to the national finals, Suder reached the elimination rounds and placed 14th overall.
Schilmoeller said the trip itself was a significant step, as the team had not attended the NSDA tournament in several years.
“It’s been a long time since West Plains has gone to the NSDA, so none of us had experience with it,” he said with a chuckle. “It was kind of grueling.” He explained the event consists of three days of stacked events, designed so competitors don’t have to scatter from one round to another.
“For the most part, it went really well. It just takes a long time to do it the way they do it,” said Schilmoeeler.
The tournament format is deliberately slower, which also presented a learning curve when it came to judging.
“In speech and debate, we prefer to get people who are former speech and debate people themselves, and professionals,” Schilmoeller said. “But sometimes, as one kid said at the tournament, ‘Do you have a pulse?’”
Honoring the Seniors
While the current roster is heavily driven by underclassmen, Schilmoeller said the departing seniors are leaving a massive hole behind them.
“Losing those guys is going to be a big blow,” Schilmoeller said.
Six members of the team earned the NSDA's prestigious Ruby degree this year, an honor awarded to students who reach 1,000 competition points. Schilmoeller noted it is an accomplishment the team has not reached since 2022.
Schilmoeller specifically praised the impact of his veterans, including Clinton and Reilly Jolliff.
“Max has been fantastic,” he said. “She has finaled in many events.”
Jolliff, meanwhile, carved out his own specialized lane.
“Reilly is mainly — I'd say almost only — an LD (Lincoln-Douglas) debater,” Schilmoeller said. “That’s what he does. I tried to talk him into doing congress and stuff this year, couldn’t convince him. That’s a value debate, based on some kind of moral or ethical value of how the world ought to be. The magic word in most of the resolutions is ‘ought.’”
With the seniors setting the bar, Schilmoeller is optimistic about the foundation they have left behind.
“When I took the job as assistant, we were down to eight people. Back in the glory days, we had up to about 40 people when we won districts in 2017 and 2019,” he said. “This group is rather young, with more freshmen than upperclassmen, so we are looking forward to having this larger core group expanding our team and skills. These Zizzers had some success, and they are ready for more in the years to come.”
Sophomore Lilly Brown will compete at the MSHSAA Speech and Debate State Tournament April 24 and 25 at Missouri State University in Springfield. For schedule updates and information, visit mshsaa.org.
