That's So SA
Speech & Debate

Speech Team Succeeds at First League Tournament

Lani Frazer
The SA Speech Team had an amazing showing at the first Golden Gate Speech Association league tournament of the year, held at James Logan High School in Union City, CA. Our league is one of the most competitive in the state and contains a high concentration of California's heavy-hitting speech schools, so our local tournaments always make for good competition.

In Varsity Original Prose and Poetry, Zoe Price '21 wowed the judges with her emotional piece, and won 1st place in the division. Christian Hernandez '20 also competed in OPP, and finished in 3rd place. Both Zoe and Christian are already positioned to be strong contenders for the State Tournament this year.

Meanwhile, seniors Anika McCarthy-Belash and Emma Hartley performed their rendition of Shakespeare's Macbeth in Varsity Duo Interpretation, and broke to finals in a highly competitive field. They ended with a strong 3rd place finish in their division. 

Bert Garner '21 and Adrian Hanson '20 competed in Varsity Impromptu, an event where competitors are given only 2 minutes to prepare a 5 minute spontaneous speech. Bert and Adrian both advanced to the elimination round and finished as finalists.

Luna Michelis '21 entered in her first varsity speech tournament following her success in novice at CSU Long Beach. She competed in Varsity Original Advocacy, and judges were impressed with her passionate speech advocating for change to school-based mental health services. Luna advanced to the final elimination round, and ended with an impressive 4th place finish.

And finally, Talulah Juniper '23 made her speech debut and entered in Novice Humorous Interpretation. She performed an amusing piece about a wedding gone awry, and won the 3rd place trophy at her first tournament.

Congratulations to all who competed, and huge thanks to Dan Reiter, Jason Elder, and Chris Huynh for judging at the tournament.
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