Montville Speech And Debate Team Places In The Top 20 Nationwide

The Montville Township High School (MTHS) Forensics Team attended the National Speech and Debate Association’s (NSDA) National Tournament in Texas last month.

Six members of the 65 person team qualified for nationals. They were accompanied to the Lone Star State by Coach Mary Gormley and Assistant Coach Mike Miller. The competition was held from June 14 through 19.

The high school received the SPEECH 2015 School of Excellence trophy. The award was presented only to the top 20 speech schools in the country.

All those in attendance were outstanding and advanced through the rankings. Two members, Jay Sirot and Noah Weinflash, both seniors, finished 2nd and 5th in the nation, respectively; Sirot for United States Extemporaneous Speaking and Weinflash for Original Oratory.

Sirot is one of only 16 students to qualify for The Great Communicators Debates at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. The recent MTHS graduate will attend the competition from July 23 to 26.

Junior Pranav Kumar was a semifinalist in the Senate and a quarterfinalist in Impromptu; senior Matthew Pilsbury was the presiding officer in the House and seniors James Min and Elaine Huang were quarterfinalists for Team New Jersey, World Debates.

Gormley received the Fifth Diamond Key Award from the NSDA’s National Forensics League. The coveted award is given to coaches whose students have earned more than 130,000 points through speech and debate.

“Your dedication and commitment to speech and debate changes the lives of young people,” said the Executive Director of the NSDA, J. Scott Wunn.

CAPTIONS:

1:

In June, six members of the Montville Township High School Forensics Team attended the National Speech and Debate Association’s (NSDA) National Tournament in Dallas, Texas. Those in attendance were outstanding and advanced through the rankings. Two members, Jay Sirot and Noah Weinflash, respectively, placed 2nd and 5th in the nation. MTHS also received the Schools of Excellence in Speech Award, granted to schools that are ranked in the top 20 schools represented at the National Tournament. Pictured left to right: Mike Miller (assistant coach), Pranav Kumar (semifinalist in the Senate; quarterfinalist in Impromptu), Noah Weinflash (5th place in Original Oratory), Matthew Pilsbury (presiding officer in the House), James Min (quarterfinalist: Team NJ; World Debates), Jay Sirot (National runner-up; 2nd place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking), Elaine Huang (also quarterfinalist on Team NJ; World Debates), and Coach Mary Gormley, holding the 2015 Schools of Excellence in Speech Award. Coach Gormley also received the Fifth Diamond Key Award.

2:

Coach Mary Gormley received the Fifth Diamond Key Award from the NSDA’s National Forensics League. The coveted award is given to coaches whose students have earned more than 130,000 points through speech and debate.

3:

On behalf of the MTHS Forensics Team, Coach Mary Gormley also accepted the SPEECH 2015 School of Excellence trophy. The award was presented only to the top 20 speech schools in the country.

4:

At the National Speech & Debate Association competition in June, Montville Township High School seniors Jay Sirot and Noah Weinflash respectively placed 2nd and 5th in the nation for United States Extemporaneous Speaking and Original Oratory. MTHS Forensics Coach, Mary Gormley, not only received the coveted Fifth Diamond Key Award from the National Forensics League, but she also accepted the 2015 SPEECH School of Excellence trophy, which indicates that the MTHS Forensics team ranks in the top 20 speech schools in the country.