Students earn highest rank in National Forensic League

Fort Scott High School students Daniel Lyon, Chase Rooks, Matt Carrillo, Austin Bailey, Baker Weilert, Jeffrey Durbin and Leah Casselman have earned the National Forensic League's degree of Premier Distinction, the highest student degree in the honor society.

A degree of Premier Distinction reflects sustained excellence in classroom activities, competition rounds and service projects. Students may earn points in six separate categories: speech, debate, congress, service, district and national. Only about 400 students out of NFL's 112,000 student members receive the degree of Premier Distinction each year -- about one-third of 1 percent.

Also of note is the top performances turned in by the Tiger squad at the national congress/senate qualifier on March 18-19.

With just four spots available, two in congress and two in senate, the team claimed three of them.

In congress, Durbin and Casselman finished first and second to earn their national spots. At the senate level, Lyon turned in a strong performance, finishing in second place to earn his national qualification. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Lyon has qualified to nationals, putting him in an exclusive club of high school NFL members.