US Speech & Debate Team Takes Home Tournament Wins
The upper school Speech and Debate teams took home high honors in three tournaments over the last few weeks.
On November 14, the team participated in the PBCFL online tournament. Christina Taylor, Caitlin Degratt, Zachary Neidoff, Gerald Bissell, and Molly Fried competed in the Varsity Original Oratory category. Molly Fried took home 5th place in the category. Freshman duo Zoe Cooper and Mary Chandler entered in the Public Forum Debate category and took home a strong 14th place finish, despite facing four teams of seniors in the Varsity bracket. Freshmen Krish Raja and David Scarola also competed in the same category, walking away with a 16th place finish.
The team was hard at work last weekend, participating in the finals of Student Congress of the NSDA Springboard Tournament. Faculty advisor John Peruggia said student representatives Anna Smithy and Paige Craven both performed well, delivering strong speeches and winning accolades from judges.
The team also participated in the final PBCFL tournament of the semester the weekend of December 5. Participants included Gerald Bissell, Caitlin Degraff, Molly Fried, Christina Taylor, Alexandra Blount, Zachary Neidoff, Chloe Fong, Krish Raja, David Scarola, and Michael Scellato.
David Scarola placed 2nd in the Novice extemporaneous speaking category while Alexandra Blount took home 6th place in the Novice Original Oratory category.
Peruggia said he is proud of the entire team for their outstanding performances.
“We go into break on a positive note, hopeful for strong results during the Spring championship season. We currently have 19 members who have earned honors at the degree of merit or higher in the National Speech and Debate Association and are the 10th strongest team in our district (of which there are 36 schools),” said Peruggia.
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