AHS’ Speech and Debate Team recently qualified for the State tournament. Our fellow Apaches represented our school well, qualifying for State in several events from Original Prose and Poetry to Public Forum debate. Let’s break down all the highlights of these successful and memorable weekends.

The qualifying tournaments were spread out among several weekends. Anyone in Speech and Debate can agree with the fact that these tournaments are absolutely exhausting; tournaments typically start at around 8:00 a.m. and go for 8 to 12 hours, with each competitor going for about three rounds. The preparation required is extensive; blocking, memorizing, argumentation — everything must be taken into account for when preparing for a tournament like the annual State Qualifier. Our Apaches did incredibly well! Here are those who qualified for the State tournament:

Oratorical Interpretation:

Lawrence Sung

Kanchan Kaur

Original Prose and Poetry:

Rukan Saif

Sarah Wang

Original Advocacy:

William Lee

Humorous Interpretation:

Maxwell Tong

Andrew Li

Duo Interpretation:

Riley Chu and David Ju

Nicholas Huang and Christian Lowe

Congressional Debate:

Evelyn Lo

Public Forum Debate:

Emma Chen and Andrew Li

Policy Debate:

Jason Chan and Michelle Lee

Parliamentary Debate:

Anabell Xu and Olivia Chen

Congressional Debate Captain sophomore Evelyn Lo says, “State Quals was a great experience for me, as I go to debate other amazing debaters. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster; I was nervous and scared before and during rounds but really happy when results came out. Overall, I’d say State Quals was very fun!”

Of course, none of this could be made possible without the Speech and Debate coach and adviser, Mrs. Ashley Novak. As one of the leading members of the California High School Speech and Debate Association (CHSSA), not only does Mrs. Novak do so much for our Apache speakers, she also contributes tirelessly to the entire league, which includes other schools in the area like Flintridge Preparatory School and San Marino High School. Besides the State Qualifiers and State tournament, the Speech and Debate team competes at several tournaments throughout the year, hosted by CHSSA and the Southern California Debate League . Arcadia consistently places well in a multitude of events, and such success and talent was definitely reflected in the the past few weekends’ results.

The State tournament will be held at Cal State Long Beach from May 3 to 5. Let’s give a big round of applause for our talented Apaches and wish them success at State!

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AHS Speech and Debate