The Red Dawn Debaters

2026 Florida Forensic League State Tournament @ University of Central Florida

Paul Gaba — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:10:49 +0000

A number of Wellington speech and debate students received accolades at the 2026 Florida Forensic League State Championship Tournament in Orlando March 6-8.

Izzy Parissos became the first-ever Wellington Speech & Debate Team competitor to advance to the final round in multiple events at a state championship tournament, placing in the Top 6 in the state in both Humorous Interpretation and After Dinner Speaking.

Jazzlyn Capellan advanced to the quarterfinal round in Original Oratory.

In Congressional Debate, three students – Leonardo Fernandez Castillo, Riley Hidalgo-Gato, and Aliah Oliva – represented the Red Dawn Debaters in semifinals. In addition, Wellington legislators took home more Presiding Officer gavels than any other school at the tournament, with five. Taking home gavels were Leonardo Fernandez Castillo, Riley Hidalgo-Gato, Aliah Oliva, Elisa Syla, and Richard Tanton.

Feb. 27-28 Florida Oceanfront NSDA District National Qualifier

Paul Gaba — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:58:43 +0000

Congratulations to senior Izzy Parissos⁩ for qualifying for the 2026 National Speech and Debate Association’s National Championship Tournament in Humorous Interpretation, and senior Ariel⁩ Ambo for qualifying in Program of Oral Interpretation, during the Florida Oceanfront NSDA District National Qualifier Tournament on Saturday at The Benjamin School! The Wellington Red Dawn Debaters are headed to Richmond, Virginia, in June!

Sat., Feb. 7 PBCFL @ Olympic Heights

Paul Gaba — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:50:10 +0000

Wellington debaters took home more than a dozen accolades from the final PBCFL tournament of the 2025-25 season Saturday, February 7, at Olympic Heights High School.

Izzy Parissos and Jazzlyn Capellan each took home two trophies. Parissos placed third in Dramatic Performance and fourth in Impromptu Speaking, while Capellan finished second in Program Oral Interpretation and fourth in Original Oratory.

In Oral Interpretation of Literature, Genesis Cabrera placed third and Gwen Brazzale fourth.

In Congressional Debate, both Leonardo Fernandez Castillo and Riley Hidalgo-Gato placed second in their chambers. Richard Tanton finished fourth, and Tehila Azulay fifth. Wellington legislators took home four Chamber’s Choice Presiding Officer gavels as well – Fernandez Castillo, Hidalgo-Gato, Gilberto Quintanilla Chapa, and Caden Sahlberg.

Wellington earned seven new National Speech & Debate Association degrees, including four new members of the largest public speaking honor society in the nation. Earning the Degree of Distinction (250+ points) were Brazzale and Cappelan, while Robert Haid earned his Degree of Honor (75+). Earning the Degree of Merit membership (25+) were Kalinah Medina, Isabella Otero, Maddox Pena, and Krishna Yarlagadda.

Sat., Jan. 17 PBCFL @ Martin County

Paul Gaba — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 04:17:30 +0000

Wellington Speech & Debate started 2026 the way it ended 2025: with an impressive showing at a PBCFL tournament.

The Saturday, January 17, competition at Martin County High School saw nine Red Dawn Debaters earn accolades.

In Oral Interpretation, Genesis Cabrera placed first overall.

In Original Oratory, Jazzlyn Capellan took second.

Quinn Mawhinney placed third in Informative Speaking with her presentation on perhaps the least-Florida topic ever, the sport of Curling.

In Congressional Debate, Richard Tanton placed first in his chamber, while Tehila Azulay placed second. Both Leonardo Fernandez Castillo and Riley Hidalgo-Gato ranked fourth. Placing fifth was Gilberto Quintanilla Chapa, and Mirellah Farias placed sixth. Tanton, Quintanilla Chapa, and Farias each earned Chambers Choice gavels for their roles as presiding officers.

Three students earned advanced National Speech & Debate Association Honor Society degrees. Mawhinney surpassed the 250-point mark, earning the Degree of Distinction. Azulay earned the Degree of Excellence (150+ points), and Farias achieved her Degree of Honor (75+ points). Farias will receive her varsity letter at the spring banquet in a few months.

Sat., Dec. 13 PBCFL @ John I Leonard

Paul Gaba — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 17:48:04 +0000

At the final awards ceremony of 2025 on Saturday, “Wellington” was announced early and often in the John I. Leonard High School cafeteria.

Here comes a lengthy list of successes.

In Duo Interpretation, the varsity team of Alexa Charlot & Lara Terragno took home first-place honors, while the novice team of Julianna Castro & Arafat Shah took fourth place in their division.

In Informative Speaking, Gwen Brazzale placed first overall.

In Oral Interpretation of Literature, Wellington’s Genesis Cabrera, Gwen Brazzale, Gwendolyn Mace, and Loreley Fajardo placed third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

In Extemporaneous Speaking, Emily Toole placed first in the novice division, while Lily Bieber took fourth in the varsity division.

Izzy Parissos placed third in Dramatic Performance, and Michael Diaz took fifth in Impromptu Speaking.

In Congressional Debate, six Red Dawn Debaters took home Chambers Choice Presiding Officer gavels – three in varsity chambers (Leonardo Fernandez Castillo, Riley Hidalgo-Gato, and Richard Tanton), and three in novice chambers (Mirellah Farias, Zachary Greene, and Ashley Toole). As far as final chamber places, 12 students took home hardware. Among the novices, Ashley Toole placed first, Tehila Azulay second, and Djane Mondesir fourth. Three debaters – Alice Arteaga, Mirellah Farias, and Noah Osborn – each took fifth place, while Abigail Steller and Alexander Suarez Paz each finished sixth. Varsity students earning bling were Aliah Oliva (second), Riley Hidalgo-Gato (third), Leonardo Fernandez Castillo (fourth), and Richard Tanton (fourth).

Wellington earned eight new National Speech & Debate Association Honor Society degrees, including six new members.Surpassing 250 points and earning the Degree of Distinction was Genesis Cabrera. Passing the 150-point mark, and earning the Degree of Excellence, was Ben Dufour. And six students – Jean Cho, Djane Mondesir, Noah Osborn, Abigail Steller, Alexander Suarez Paz, and Azalia Young – each became NSDA members, earning the Degree of Merit.

Dec. 6-7 @ GMU Patriot Games

Paul Gaba — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 13:15:04 +0000

Your Wellington Red Dawn Debaters had an incredibly successful weekend in Fairfax, Virginia, the first weekend of December, with five students advancing to outrounds on the campus of George Mason University.

Three students advanced to semifinal rounds in their events: Gwen Brazzale in Oratorical Declamation, Aliah Oliva in Congressional Debate, and Melody Pratz in Impromptu Speaking.

In addition, two students broke to quarterfinals: Jazzlyn Capellan in Original Oratory and Richard Tanton in Extemporaneous Speaking.

Wellington was also recognized at the Patriot Games Invitational awards ceremony for winning the tournament’s candy cane scavenger hunt (the second consecutive year the Wolverines won the supplemental team contest), finding 318 strategically-placed candy canes on the GMU campus. (The second-place team gathered 40.) And Elisa Syla won the Patriot Games’ coloring contest, meaning Wellington swept the “games” aspect of the Patriot Games!

At the online NSDA Springboard Capstone Tournament held this past weekend, Wellington students also earned honors.

In Poetry, Gwen Brazzale placed first overall, and Angelina Greco placed third, and in Prose, Quinn Mawhinney placed first, and Gwen Brazzale placed second.

Coach Gaba earns NSDA Fifth Diamond Coach Award

Paul Gaba — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 01:12:13 +0000

On November 19th, Wellington’s director of speech and debate, Paul Gaba, received his Fifth Diamond Coach Award from the National Speech & Debate Association. Diamond Coach awards reflect excellence and longevity in the activity.

A coach’s first Diamond is earned when they receive 15,000 points and have been coaching in the NSDA for at least five years since achieving their Degree of Merit, which Gaba earned on November 16, 2000. Five years must pass between each new diamond award, and 15,000 points must be earned to receive a second diamond. An additional 30,000 points must be earned and five years must pass for each additional diamond.

Since 1925, the NSDA has been recognizing student and coach achievements in speech and debate. The Diamond Coach Award is one of the highest honors a coach can achieve as a part of the league.

Sat., Nov. 15 PBCFL @ William T. Dwyer

Paul Gaba — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 17:55:48 +0000

Nine Red Dawn Debaters took home hardware from the November 15 PBCFL at William T. Dwyer High School.

In Oral Interpretation, Genesis Cabrera and Gwen Brazzale placed first and second overall, while in Dramatic Performance, Izzy Parissos took sixth.

In Congressional Debate, Richard Tanton placed first, while Leonardo Fernandez Castillo finished third. Both Tehila Azulay and Alexander Suarez Paz were fourth in their respective chambers, and both Michael Diaz and Gilberto Quintanilla Chapa placed fifth. Quintanilla Chapa also took home a gavel as his chamber’s top Presiding Officer.

Wellington earned six new National Speech & Debate Association honor society degrees, including two new members. Both Abigail Kitlas and Taisiya Shchegelskayla passed the 250-point mark, each earning their Degree of Distinction. Both Tahila Azulay and Nicolas Frangoulidis both earned the Degree of Honor (75 points), and will receive their varsity debate letters at the spring banquet. And both Zachary Greene and Ashley Toole earned their NSDA membership and the Degree of Merit this weekend.

Sat., Oct. 18 PBCFL @ John I. Leonard

Paul Gaba — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:08:05 +0000

Wellington Speech & Debate bridged the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter with a solid performance at the October 2025 PBCFL at John I. Leonard High School.

In Novice Congressional Debate, four legislators were recognized for their performances. Tahila Azulay placed second in her chamber, Mirellah Farias fourth, and both Alice Arteaga and Jonathan Struthers fifth. Both Mirellah Farias and Jonathan Struthers each earned gavels as the best Presiding Officers in their chambers.

Among Varsity Congressional Debate students, Ava Redfield placed second, Richard Tanton fourth, and Caden Sahlberg sixth. Richard Tanton and Leonardo Fernandez Castillo were recognized as their respective chambers’ best Presiding Officer as well.

In Novice Duo Interpretation, the pair of Julianna Castro and Arafat Shah placed third overall, while Alyssa McIntosh placed fourth in Varsity Oral Interpretation. In Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking, Melody Pratz finished fifth.

Wellington earned eight National Speech and Debate Association degrees and memberships at the tournament. Both Leonardo Fernandez Castillo and Ariel Ambo earned the Degree of Distinction, surpassing 250 honor points. Earning their NSDA honor society membership and the Degree of Honor were Julianna Castro, Mirellah Farias, Sifana Patel, Arafat Shah, Simran Shah, and Jonathan Struthers.

October 15 Forum Club of the Palm Beaches Luncheon

Paul Gaba — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:05:11 +0000

Nine Red Dawn Debaters represent Wellington HS at the Wednesday, October 15, Forum Club of the Palm Beaches luncheon featuring keynote speaker Gov. Ron DeSantis. Melody Pratz asked the following of the governor at the start of the Q&A period: “Many states have faced challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. How does Florida intend to stem the tide to provide young adults like us with quality educators, while also maintaining high expectations for student achievement?”