By Jeanette Johnson
Staff Writer

WORLAND – The Wind River District Speech and Debate Tournament netted the Worland Debaters a second place finish overall at the end of the competition held March 4-6.

Worland played host to the tournament that drew schools from around the state. The local team finished behind Green River and ahead of Rock Springs.

The major purpose of the tournament is not to win the first place trophy but to qualify students for the national tournament which will be held in Kansas City, Mo. in June, Coach Kevin Tonkovich said.

The best two students/teams in each forensics event were selected during the three-day event, he said.

“Once again Worland will be represented at the national tournament for the 25th time in 26 years,” Tonkovich said.

Due to heavy snow and road conditions, the Worland team was unable to go to the qualifying tournament in 2009, breaking the streak.

“No one from Worland went last year because we were snowed out and weren’t allowed to travel to the tournament,” he said.

The Cross-Examination Debate team of Zach Lentsch and Jerome Giudice took first place overall in that event and qualified for the tournament later in the summer.

Three other Cross-X teams from Worland also added points for the team with two of the teams being selected as alternates to the tournament.

Marshall Blom and Tyler Lockard were awarded third place in the event and are 1st alternates while David White and Bryce Sapp placed 5th and are 3rd alternates to the tournament. John Kelleher and Kristen Kennedy were awarded 8th place in the category.

Four years of hard work paid off for Althea Luhm who was presented the National Forensics League’s Student of the Year award for her outstanding accomplishments as an NFL member during her high school career, Tonkovich said.

“It feels good to be going to the national tournament again after a one-year hiatus,” he said. “On the other hand, it’s a bit anticlimactic when we have the National Qualifier Tournament which is twice as large coming up this weekend. We can’t get complacent with the Big Kahuna still on the horizon.”

Looking ahead, Tonkovich predicts a battle between Green River and Cheyenne East for the state 4A title.

Continued in today's issue of the DAILY NEWS. Subscribe here.

By Jeanette Johnson
Staff Writer

WORLAND — The Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival received notice that KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) is returning to Worland for the second year in a row, according to publicity chairman Ed Hunter, Pepsi Senior Vice-President.

“This thing has grown way beyond our expectations,” he said. “Pleasantly beyond our expectations. KCBS has decided to come back to Worland.”

The 6th annual BBQ/Bluegrass Festival will take place Aug. 19, 20 and 21, 2010 at the Washakie County Fairgrounds.

In addition to KCBS returning this year, Kingsford Charcoal is coming on board.

Kingsford Charcoal has teamed with KCBS to present the Kingsford Points Chase – a point-based system to determine the best competition barbecue team on the Kansas City circuit and offering up to $25,000 in prizes.

The Kingsford Points Chase contest is open to registered participants in at least one of the 18 KCBS sanctioned barbeque competition events which includes Worland. Entrants must also use a Kingsford Charcoal product as 75 percent or more of the main fuel source to be eligible for the contest, according to the website.

Last year, Pepsi created and marketed a special logo for Pepsi and 7UP cans that showed information about the barbecue and music event. The products were distributed in Rapid City, S.D., Montana and Wyoming, Hunter said.

Pepsi will do the same thing this year, getting the word out to people by reading the pop can they hold in their hands.

“Everywhere people buy Pepsi that can will be available for a designated period of time,” he said.

Continued in today's issue of the DAILY NEWS. Subscribe here.