Hendrickson/Pflugerville Swing on Aug. 30 & 31
The Westlake Speech and Debate Team had quite a successful start to the competitive TFA season! The team won 3rd place overall on both the Hendrickson and the Pflugerville sides of the swing.
The students competing in Public Forum Debate led the way with two "closeouts" on both sides of the swing. A closeout is when only one school has competitors left in the tournament. Senior Miles Dintzner and Junior Jason Luo advanced to the finals of both sides of the swing. Senior Gunther Hess and Junior Xuechen Yin also advanced to the finals on one side of the swing and advanced to the semifinal round of the other side of the swing. Miles, Jason, Xuechen, and Gunther are all qualified for the TFA State Tournament in March as a result of their performance. Seniors Jaden Panicker and Preston Williams advanced to the final round on one side of the swing. Juniors Emma Guan and Teresa Luo advanced to the elimination rounds in both sides of the swing. Sophomores Allie Robinson and Caroline Wehring advanced to the quarterfinal round on one side of the swing. Sophomores Daniel Yang and Zain Syed advanced to the elimination rounds on one side of the swing. Sophomore Haley Clawsey and Cherie Wang advanced to the elimination rounds on one side of the swing. In terms of speaker awards, Miles Dintzner won top speaker on one side of the swing. In Novice Public Forum Debate, Shouro Shuvit and Zachary Simchak advanced to the final round. Romeer Pillay won top speaker on one side of the swing.
In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, many Westlake students advanced to the elimination rounds. Senior Andrew Lee won the tournament on one side of the swing and advanced to the semifinal round on the other side of the swing. Andrew is now qualified for the TFA State Tournament. Junior Ethan Abraham and freshman Anastasia Keeler advanced to the elimination rounds on one side of the swing.
Westlake was also able to notch some positive results in speech events. In Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, Anthony York advanced to the final round. In Humorous Interpretation, competing in his first tournament, Sam Mayers advanced to the final round.
The team hopes to maintain the momentum as they travel to Dallas/Ft. Worth for the Grapevine Classic.
The students competing in Public Forum Debate led the way with two "closeouts" on both sides of the swing. A closeout is when only one school has competitors left in the tournament. Senior Miles Dintzner and Junior Jason Luo advanced to the finals of both sides of the swing. Senior Gunther Hess and Junior Xuechen Yin also advanced to the finals on one side of the swing and advanced to the semifinal round of the other side of the swing. Miles, Jason, Xuechen, and Gunther are all qualified for the TFA State Tournament in March as a result of their performance. Seniors Jaden Panicker and Preston Williams advanced to the final round on one side of the swing. Juniors Emma Guan and Teresa Luo advanced to the elimination rounds in both sides of the swing. Sophomores Allie Robinson and Caroline Wehring advanced to the quarterfinal round on one side of the swing. Sophomores Daniel Yang and Zain Syed advanced to the elimination rounds on one side of the swing. Sophomore Haley Clawsey and Cherie Wang advanced to the elimination rounds on one side of the swing. In terms of speaker awards, Miles Dintzner won top speaker on one side of the swing. In Novice Public Forum Debate, Shouro Shuvit and Zachary Simchak advanced to the final round. Romeer Pillay won top speaker on one side of the swing.
In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, many Westlake students advanced to the elimination rounds. Senior Andrew Lee won the tournament on one side of the swing and advanced to the semifinal round on the other side of the swing. Andrew is now qualified for the TFA State Tournament. Junior Ethan Abraham and freshman Anastasia Keeler advanced to the elimination rounds on one side of the swing.
Westlake was also able to notch some positive results in speech events. In Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, Anthony York advanced to the final round. In Humorous Interpretation, competing in his first tournament, Sam Mayers advanced to the final round.
The team hopes to maintain the momentum as they travel to Dallas/Ft. Worth for the Grapevine Classic.
Grapevine Classic on Sept. 6 & 7
At the Grapevine Classic, Westlake experience some considerable success. The Public Forum Debate team of Senior Miles Dintzner and Junior Jason Luo advanced to the quarterfinal round, earning a Tournament of Champions bid. In order to completely qualify for the Tournament of Champions, students need two bids. Miles and Jason are halfway there. Senior Andrew Lee and Junior Ethan Abraham both advanced to the round of 32 in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Senior Gunther Hess and Junior Xuechen Yin advanced to the round of 32 in Public Forum Debate. Xuechen also was awarded 7th place speaker overall in Public Forum Debate. These are incredible results for these students at such a competitive tournament.