A record 70 Wellington Speech & Debate students descended on John I. Leonard High School Saturday for the final tournament of 2024, including 10 students in the judge pool. Wellington walked away with a record number of accolades as well, as team members were called up for trophies 20 times during the awards ceremony, including seven first-place finishes.In Congressional Debate, four Red Dawn Debaters took home first-place trophies: Patrick McDermott and Ava Redfield in the varsity division, and Leonardo Fernandez Castillo and Aliah Oliva in the novice division. Both Redfield and Oliva “picket fenced” the judges ballots, while Fernandez Castillo was recognized as his chamber’s top presiding officer.
Additionally in Congress, among novice students, Kathryn Polcz placed third, Anthony Morgan fifth, and Chloe Wijngaarde sixth. In the varsity chambers, Richard Tanton earned a gavel as his chamber’s top presiding officer.
In public address events, Gwen Brazzale placed first in Declamation. In Novice Oral Interpretation, Gwendolyn Mace placed first, Loreley Fajardo fourth, and Zhane Barber sixth, while Izzy Parissos finished second in Varsity Oral Interpretation. Madison Neltner placed first in Program Oral Interpretation, Lily Bieber fourth in Novice Extemporaneous, and Olivia Winton sixth in Original Oratory.
In the competitive acting events, the Duo Interpretation team of Madison Neltner and Olivia Winton placed second, while the team of Diego Calderon and Michael Diaz finished fourth.
In Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Colten Pride went 4-0 and placed first, while Janelle Galindo went 3-1 and finished fifth.
Wellington earned 11 new National Speech & Debate Association Honor Society degrees, including three new memberships. Izzy Parissos earned her Degree of Special Distinction, passing the 500-point level. Aliah Oliva and Jackson Platt each earned the Degree of Excellence (150+ points). The Degree of Honor (75+ points) was earned by Gwen Brazzale, Leonardo Fernandez Castillo, Caden Sahlberg, Lara Terragno, and Chloe Wijngaarde. NSDA membership via the Degree of Merit was earned by Janelle Galindo, Eileen Gonzalez-Salcedo, and Mayah Mendeita. They join Brandon Burt, who earned his Degree of Distinction (250+ points) when judging at the Palm Beach Middle School League tournament on Wednesday.