CHS Speech and Debate Team Off to a Good Start in the 2014-2015 Year

CHS Speech and Debate Team Off to a Good Start in the 2014-2015 Year

The Chelmsford Speech and Debate Team began this year with a number of new members and significant successes from existing members.

With the advent of the new Debate course taught by the coach, Peter Zopes, the team has seen an exciting influx of new debaters in Public Forum Debate. The new debaters have competed at a number of local tournaments and at “Big Lexington”, a national debate tournament in Lexington, MA. One team, comprised of Freshman Ameya Bhat and Sophomore Karthik Iyer, will be competing at the 41st Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament in mid-February. Those who have taken the Debate Course and competed state debate tournaments include Robert Baluta, Ameya Bhat, Luke Briand, Meagan Cox, Devin Dunn, Laura Grasso, Brenda Lally, Rachel Landress, McKenzie Leahy, Miranda Leandra, Darren Persad, Jonathon Puffer, Christina Rayball, Cameron

Urbowicz, and Connor Wiklund. Other members of the Debate Team include Prerana Patil and Alvaro Carrillo-Sanchez.

The new Speech participants are also been sharpening their skills at local tournaments. Returning students Junior Adithya Raajkumar placed 5th in Impromptu speaking at the Deighton-Rehoboth Speech Tournament (Nov. 1), and Senior Benjamin Grossman recently received an honorable mention in Impromptu speaking at the Holly Speech Festival held at Natick High School (Dec. 20). At the New England District National Qualifiers (Jan. 30/31) Junior Manasi Danke advanced to Semi-Finals in Original Oratory. Senior Erin Phillips was among two other students selected to represent the New England District in Dramatic Interpretation at the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in Dallas, TX this spring. Manasi and Erin will also be competing the Catholic Forensics League Qualifiers this weekend for their National Tournament, and also in the Harvard Tournament in February. Other Team members who compete in various speech events also include Freshmen Mrinalini Behera, Rebecca Bombard, Tejasri Vempati, and Junior Samuel Weitzen

Erin Phillips has had an excellent capstone senior year in Speech competition. Besides competing in various state tournaments, she has traveled to a number of large national tournaments beginning with Yale in September where she semi-finaled in both Oral Interpretation and Dramatic Interpretation. In November, she traveled to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where she placed 2nd in Oral Interpretation, competing with roughly 79 other top students from all over the country. In December Erin competed at the Patriot Games Tournament held at George Mason University, one of the largest Speech and Debate Tournaments in the country. There she came in 3rd in the prestigious Round Robin tournament, competing with six top-level, hand selected students from all over the nation. Each student went through a rigorous application process before being accepted to participate in this portion of the competition. In the larger general tournament at the Patriot Games, Erin quarter finaled in Poetry Reading and Original Oratory and semi-finaled in Prose Reading. Recently, she competed at the Barkley Forum, held at Emory University in Atlanta, GA and later this month, at the Harvard Tournament. Erin currently is the top ranked female speech and debate competitor in Massachusetts according to the National Speech and Debate Association and ranks 9th overall in the state in Speech events.

For more information contact:

Chelmsford High School

Peter Zopes, CHS Speech and Debate Coach.

zopesp@chelmsford.k12.ma.us