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Speech and Debate Succeeds at CSU Long Beach!
The speech and debate team had an incredible first tournament of the year at the Jack Howe Invitational, a competitive season opener held at CSU Long Beach on September 20-22. A group of 19 students flew to Long Beach to compete on September 20. Though it was the first tournament of the year, SA showed up prepared: five students attended summer speech and debate programs at UC Berkeley and Stanford, and a majority of the team participated in a prep week on campus before the school year even began. The hard work of the team at the start of the season paid off, as 14 students broke to elimination rounds and 7 walked away with trophies.
In novice policy debate, the team of Jack Jacobs '22 and Iris Anderson '23 won the majority of their preliminary rounds, and were one of just eight teams in the division to advance to elimination rounds. Jack and Iris won their quarterfinal round and continued to semi-finals. On a 2-1 decision, Jack and Iris ended their impressive run as semi-finalists, and Jack was ranked the division's 4th place speaker. The team of Tabatha Stewart '22 and Ivy Brenner '23 also won several of their rounds and had an amazing start to their season.
In varsity policy debate, Adri Kornfein '21 and Mateo Mijares '22 won several debates, and were just one debate away from clearing to elimination rounds in the largest field of the tournament.
The speech team also walked away with some impressive victories. In novice Impromptu, Pavel Karabelov '22 won the entire division, while Brian Barcenas '20 was awarded 2nd place. In novice Original Advocacy, Luna Michelis '21, a new member of the speech team competing at her first tournament, won 2nd place for her passionate piece advocating for change in school mental health services. In novice Original Oratory, Nicholas Fowles '21 won 3rd place for his speech about the pitfalls of the two-party system.
In varsity Duo Interpretation, both entries from SA competed with variations on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Anika McCarthy-Belash '20 and Emma Hartley '20 performed an adaptation of the original, while Ellie Ramos '21 and Veronica Aranda '21 opted for a modern rendition. Both duo teams advanced to the semi-final round in a highly competitive field.
And finally, SA made its debut in Congressional Debate, an event that models a congressional session with students advocating for and against mock bills. Adrian Hanson '20 spearheaded the team, and successfully came away with the 9th place trophy. Kenzie Stewart '21 also competed in Congress and was ranked highly amonst her competitors.
Special thanks to chaperones Michele Martin and Florence Rink who made this tournament possible. Next up, the Debate team heads to the first league tournament of the year, which will be held at Solano Community College on October 12.
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In novice policy debate, the team of Jack Jacobs '22 and Iris Anderson '23 won the majority of their preliminary rounds, and were one of just eight teams in the division to advance to elimination rounds. Jack and Iris won their quarterfinal round and continued to semi-finals. On a 2-1 decision, Jack and Iris ended their impressive run as semi-finalists, and Jack was ranked the division's 4th place speaker. The team of Tabatha Stewart '22 and Ivy Brenner '23 also won several of their rounds and had an amazing start to their season.
In varsity policy debate, Adri Kornfein '21 and Mateo Mijares '22 won several debates, and were just one debate away from clearing to elimination rounds in the largest field of the tournament.
The speech team also walked away with some impressive victories. In novice Impromptu, Pavel Karabelov '22 won the entire division, while Brian Barcenas '20 was awarded 2nd place. In novice Original Advocacy, Luna Michelis '21, a new member of the speech team competing at her first tournament, won 2nd place for her passionate piece advocating for change in school mental health services. In novice Original Oratory, Nicholas Fowles '21 won 3rd place for his speech about the pitfalls of the two-party system.
In varsity Duo Interpretation, both entries from SA competed with variations on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Anika McCarthy-Belash '20 and Emma Hartley '20 performed an adaptation of the original, while Ellie Ramos '21 and Veronica Aranda '21 opted for a modern rendition. Both duo teams advanced to the semi-final round in a highly competitive field.
And finally, SA made its debut in Congressional Debate, an event that models a congressional session with students advocating for and against mock bills. Adrian Hanson '20 spearheaded the team, and successfully came away with the 9th place trophy. Kenzie Stewart '21 also competed in Congress and was ranked highly amonst her competitors.
Special thanks to chaperones Michele Martin and Florence Rink who made this tournament possible. Next up, the Debate team heads to the first league tournament of the year, which will be held at Solano Community College on October 12.
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Photo by Christian Hernandez
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