Wellington came, saw, and did extremely well at the second Virtual PBCFL of the 2020-21 debate season on Saturday, October 24.
In Congressional Debate, Carolina Aguilera-Garza placed first in her chamber, while Liam MacMahon took second. Placing third was Chelsea Gutierrez. Two Red Dawn Debaters placed fourth – Julien Hourdebaigt and Matthew McGann. Placing fifth were Sofia Lynch and Tahiya Zaman. In addition, Gutierrez, McGann, and Zaman each earned gavels for their role as presiding officers in their respective congressional chambers.
In Novice Extemporaneous Speaking, Colin Gibson took first with straight first-place ballots from the judges, while Jacob Davis finished fifth.
Emma Stanfield placed first in Novice Oral Interpretation, with straight first-place ballots, and McKenna Wickers placed first in Varsity Oral Interpretation.
In Dramatic Performance, Jaiden Lagalo-Blinston placed second, while Nicholas Raney was second overall in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking.
In Original Oratory, Daniel Melton placed fourth overall.
In Declamation, Isabella Tombari placed first, Reese Hogg second, Alexander Guaglione third, McKenna Schmell fourth, and KJ Benham fifth.
Wellington earned 10 new National Speech & Debate Association degrees this weekend. Carolina Aguilera-Garza and Shaida Meier each passed the 250-point mark, earning the Degree of Distinction. Earning the Degree of Excellence, passing 150 points, were Jakob Lefkowitz, Madison Mason, and Jason Miller. Julien Hourdebaigt earned his Degree of Honor and his varsity debate letter by passing the 75-point level. Four novices – Benjamin Bostwick, Alexander Guaglione, Tatyana Guillaume, and Emma Stanfield – each earned their NSDA honor society membership by surpassing the 25-point Degree of Merit benchmark; they join first-year debaters Luis Gonzales-Mugaburu, Hannah Pahl, and Ewa Tryniszewski as new NSDA honor society members this year.
NSDA honor points are earned based on wins and losses in debate events, speaker scores in Congress, and judge ranks/placements in speech and competitive acting events.
Coach Gaba thanks ALL of the volunteer judges who assisted with the tournament, including many first-time parent judges and a slew of Wellington alumni: Alex Hernicz (c/o 2010), Amanda Duffy, Christina Baworowsky, Christopher Slaughter (c/o 2018), Christopher Stanfield, Julie Tombari, Leah Lagalo Silver, Lee-Ann Jahore (c/o 2010), Michael Stechschulte (c/o 2010), Rocco D’Attolico, Sabrina Abesamis (c/o 2014), Sara Altschuler (c/o 1991), and Sue Ann McDaniel. We could not have had the success we did today without your assistance, and we are forever grateful for your being a part of our family.