Speech and debate team wraps up season with strong performance at states

In March, the speech and debate team had two of its most successful tournaments in the past 10 years. Because of this performance, the team held high expectations for the state tournament, which took place from April 15-17 in San Diego.

Eight students represented the school at the tournament. Senior Vance Lindholm and junior Viraj Parmar qualified for the Extemp event, with Parmar advancing to the semifinals.

“The year started off a bit shaky for me because I didn’t advance in the first league tournament,” said Parmar. “But I gained some confidence at the Cal tournament, which really helped at states. I really didn’t think I’d advance, so I was surprised when I saw my name on the list.”

Additionally, senior David Mandell, who has thrived in Dramatic and Humorous Interpretation after making the transition from the drama department to speech and debate, advanced to the semifinals as well for Dramatic Interpretation. Meanwhile juniors Vishal Goel, Sabrina Cismas and Alex Mabanta represented the Congress squad.

Coach Erick Rector believes that the team is only going to be more successful in the coming years.

“A few years ago, [the speech and debate team] was quite small,” said Rector. “We didn’t have many active participants. But over the past few years, we’ve really grown and become successful. The great thing is that a lot of our underclassmen have been doing well, which means that our team will only get better in the future.”

The season, however, has not quite come to a close yet. Two students, Lindholm and sophomore Ishaan Kolluri, have earned bids to the Tournament of Champions, a highly selective national tournament at Northwestern University taking place from May 13-15.

“[Getting invited] really motivated me to try harder,” said Kolluri. “It helped me set goals for my future. It’s definitely going to be an amazing experience, especially with the high level of competition that will surround me.”

To close the season, the team will hold an annual end-of-the-year banquet on May 16 to honor all the coaches.