Hendrickson Hawk Classic - Sept. 1st and 2nd
At the Hendrickson Hawk Classic, the Westlake Speech and Debate Team experienced many successes. As this was the first tournament of the year, the team was able to kick the year off in fine fashion.
Public Forum
Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel advanced to the final round and finished 2nd overall. Ali and Miles earned 6 TFA State points with this result. Miles won 3rd place speaker in varsity Public Forum.
Senior Olivia Hardage and Sophomore Miles Dintzner advanced to the semifinal round. Olivia and Miles earned 4 TFA State points.
Juniors Yasmine Daghestani and Anisha Reddy won the novice division! The two will move up to varsity at their next tournament.
West Ridge students Daniel Yang and Chris Wu advanced to the semifinal round in the novice division.
Sophomore Preston Williams won 3rd place speaker in novice Public Forum.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo won 6th place overall in Original Oratory. Maddie earned 1 TFA State point.
Freshman Sage Shirley won 1st place overall in novice Poetry and 6th place in novice Prose. Sage will move up to varsity at his next tournament.
Extemporaneous Speaking
Senior Zakary Morris won 6th place overall in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and earned 3 TFA State Points.
Sophomore Anthony York advanced to the semifinals of the novice division. Anthony will move up to varsity at his next tournament.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Sophomore Cassidy Reynolds was the top speaker for the novice division.
Public Forum
Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel advanced to the final round and finished 2nd overall. Ali and Miles earned 6 TFA State points with this result. Miles won 3rd place speaker in varsity Public Forum.
Senior Olivia Hardage and Sophomore Miles Dintzner advanced to the semifinal round. Olivia and Miles earned 4 TFA State points.
Juniors Yasmine Daghestani and Anisha Reddy won the novice division! The two will move up to varsity at their next tournament.
West Ridge students Daniel Yang and Chris Wu advanced to the semifinal round in the novice division.
Sophomore Preston Williams won 3rd place speaker in novice Public Forum.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo won 6th place overall in Original Oratory. Maddie earned 1 TFA State point.
Freshman Sage Shirley won 1st place overall in novice Poetry and 6th place in novice Prose. Sage will move up to varsity at his next tournament.
Extemporaneous Speaking
Senior Zakary Morris won 6th place overall in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and earned 3 TFA State Points.
Sophomore Anthony York advanced to the semifinals of the novice division. Anthony will move up to varsity at his next tournament.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Sophomore Cassidy Reynolds was the top speaker for the novice division.
Grapevine Classic - Sept. 8-9
Public Forum
Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel advanced to the quarterfinal round of Public Forum Debate and earned a TOC bid, along with 3 TFA State points. Considering the level of competition and the stakes associated with their rounds, this is an amazing result for Ali and Miles. Miles was also named 6th top speaker overall. The boys are off to a solid start to the year and the rest of the year looks promising.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Junior Amanda Chen went 3-2 in preliminary rounds and was incredibly close to advancing to elimination rounds.
Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel advanced to the quarterfinal round of Public Forum Debate and earned a TOC bid, along with 3 TFA State points. Considering the level of competition and the stakes associated with their rounds, this is an amazing result for Ali and Miles. Miles was also named 6th top speaker overall. The boys are off to a solid start to the year and the rest of the year looks promising.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Junior Amanda Chen went 3-2 in preliminary rounds and was incredibly close to advancing to elimination rounds.
Pflugerville Pfall Pfling - Sept. 15-16
The Westlake Speech and Debate Team finished 5th overall out of 20 teams at the Pflugerville Pfall Pfling.
Public Forum
Westlake was led by the two varsity Public Forum teams who finished in first and second place - Senior Olivia Hardage, Sophomore Miles Dintzner, and Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel. Junior Andrew Loomis and Sophomore Liam McNamara won Novice Public Forum Debate. Sophomore Jaden Panicker was 2nd place top speaker in Novice PFD. Hill Country Middle School students Cherie Wang and Nathan Laude advanced to the semifinal round of NPF.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
In LD Debate, Amanda Chen advanced to the quarterfinal round. Sophomore Cassidy Reynolds and Freshman Abhinav Rachakonda advanced to the semifinals in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate. Freshman Ethan Abraham won top speaker in NLD.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo finished in 6th place in Original Oratory, 4th place in Poetry Interpretation, and 4th place in Duo Interpretation with her partner, Freshman Sage Shirley. Sage also won Poetry Interpretation.
Public Forum
Westlake was led by the two varsity Public Forum teams who finished in first and second place - Senior Olivia Hardage, Sophomore Miles Dintzner, and Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel. Junior Andrew Loomis and Sophomore Liam McNamara won Novice Public Forum Debate. Sophomore Jaden Panicker was 2nd place top speaker in Novice PFD. Hill Country Middle School students Cherie Wang and Nathan Laude advanced to the semifinal round of NPF.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
In LD Debate, Amanda Chen advanced to the quarterfinal round. Sophomore Cassidy Reynolds and Freshman Abhinav Rachakonda advanced to the semifinals in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate. Freshman Ethan Abraham won top speaker in NLD.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo finished in 6th place in Original Oratory, 4th place in Poetry Interpretation, and 4th place in Duo Interpretation with her partner, Freshman Sage Shirley. Sage also won Poetry Interpretation.
Anderson/Lake Travis Swing - Sept. 22-23
Public Speaking
Senior Zakary Morris finished 3rd in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and 8th in Congressional Debate at the Anderson side of the swing. Zakary finished in 8th place in DX and 5th in Congressional Debate at the LT side of the swing. In Novice Extemp, Bodhi Kunda won 4th place at the Anderson side of the swing. Bodhi also won 6th place in NX at the LT side of the swing.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo finished in 4th place in Original Oratory at the Anderson side of the swing. Maddie and Freshman Sage Shirley won 7th place in Duet Acting. Maddie finished in 2nd place at the LT side of the swing. Maddie and Sage finished in 6th place in DA at the LT side of the swing. In Poetry Interp, Sage Shirley won 6th place at the Anderson side of the swing. Maddie also finished in 4th place in Poetry at the LT side of the tournament.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Junior Amanda Chen and Sophomore Andrew Lee advanced to the quarterfinal round in Varsity LD at the Anderson side of the swing. Sophomores Andrew Lee and Jackie Ballard advanced to the quarterfinal round in VLD at the LT side of the swing. In Novice LD, freshman Ethan Abraham advanced to the semifinal round in the Anderson side of the swing, while Sophomore Cassidy Reynolds advanced to the semifinal round. At the Lake Travis side of the swing, Westlake had three of the four semifinalists, with Freshman Abhinav Rachakonda advancing to the semifinal round, and Cassidy Reynolds and Junior Shampurna Mitra closing out the tournament.
Public Forum Debate
Juniors Owen Robertson and Michael Dodgin advanced to the semifinal round in Varsity PF at the Anderson side of the swing. and quarterfinals at the LT side of the swing. In Novice PF, Sophomores Emma Hammerness and Preston Williams advanced to the semifinal round, while Cherie Wang and Nathan Laude advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Anderson side of the swing. Hammerness and Williams also advanced to the quarterfinal round of the LT side of the swing.
Senior Zakary Morris finished 3rd in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and 8th in Congressional Debate at the Anderson side of the swing. Zakary finished in 8th place in DX and 5th in Congressional Debate at the LT side of the swing. In Novice Extemp, Bodhi Kunda won 4th place at the Anderson side of the swing. Bodhi also won 6th place in NX at the LT side of the swing.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo finished in 4th place in Original Oratory at the Anderson side of the swing. Maddie and Freshman Sage Shirley won 7th place in Duet Acting. Maddie finished in 2nd place at the LT side of the swing. Maddie and Sage finished in 6th place in DA at the LT side of the swing. In Poetry Interp, Sage Shirley won 6th place at the Anderson side of the swing. Maddie also finished in 4th place in Poetry at the LT side of the tournament.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Junior Amanda Chen and Sophomore Andrew Lee advanced to the quarterfinal round in Varsity LD at the Anderson side of the swing. Sophomores Andrew Lee and Jackie Ballard advanced to the quarterfinal round in VLD at the LT side of the swing. In Novice LD, freshman Ethan Abraham advanced to the semifinal round in the Anderson side of the swing, while Sophomore Cassidy Reynolds advanced to the semifinal round. At the Lake Travis side of the swing, Westlake had three of the four semifinalists, with Freshman Abhinav Rachakonda advancing to the semifinal round, and Cassidy Reynolds and Junior Shampurna Mitra closing out the tournament.
Public Forum Debate
Juniors Owen Robertson and Michael Dodgin advanced to the semifinal round in Varsity PF at the Anderson side of the swing. and quarterfinals at the LT side of the swing. In Novice PF, Sophomores Emma Hammerness and Preston Williams advanced to the semifinal round, while Cherie Wang and Nathan Laude advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Anderson side of the swing. Hammerness and Williams also advanced to the quarterfinal round of the LT side of the swing.
Austin High Capital Classic - Oct. 20-21
Public Forum Debate
Junior Nicolas Ho and Sophomore Jason Luo advanced to the final round in Varsity PF and finished 2nd overall. This is Jason and Nic's best result thus far, and they now have 6 TFA State Points. Juniors Michael Dodgin and Owen Robertson advanced to the semifinal round and earned an additional 4 TFA State Points. Michael and Owen are only 2 points away from TFA State qualification.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Sophomore Jackie Ballard went 4-0 in Varsity LD and was the top seed heading in to elimination rounds. Jackie earned 2 TFA State Points by advancing to the octafinal round. Freshman Ethan Abraham advanced to the octafinal round, as well, and earned his first 2 TFA State Points.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo won 2nd Place in Original Oratory and is qualified for the TFA State Tournament. Maddie and her partner, Freshman Sage Shirley, won 1st place in Paired Interpretation.
Public Speaking
Senior Zakary Morris advanced to the semifinal round of Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and won 5th place in Congressional Debate.
Junior Nicolas Ho and Sophomore Jason Luo advanced to the final round in Varsity PF and finished 2nd overall. This is Jason and Nic's best result thus far, and they now have 6 TFA State Points. Juniors Michael Dodgin and Owen Robertson advanced to the semifinal round and earned an additional 4 TFA State Points. Michael and Owen are only 2 points away from TFA State qualification.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Sophomore Jackie Ballard went 4-0 in Varsity LD and was the top seed heading in to elimination rounds. Jackie earned 2 TFA State Points by advancing to the octafinal round. Freshman Ethan Abraham advanced to the octafinal round, as well, and earned his first 2 TFA State Points.
Oral Interpretation
Sophomore Maddie Szoo won 2nd Place in Original Oratory and is qualified for the TFA State Tournament. Maddie and her partner, Freshman Sage Shirley, won 1st place in Paired Interpretation.
Public Speaking
Senior Zakary Morris advanced to the semifinal round of Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and won 5th place in Congressional Debate.
Plano West - Oct. 20-21
Juniors Ali Slimi and Miles Sigel went 5-0 in preliminary rounds and advanced to the octafinal round in Varsity Public Forum Debate.
Bowie High School - Nov. 4
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Andrew Lee and Amanda Chen advanced to the octafinal round of Varsity LD. In Novice LD, Faizaan Dossani advanced to the semifinal round.
Public Forum Debate
In Varsity PF, the teams of Sigel/Slimi and Ho/Luo advanced to the quarterfinals, while Daghestani/Reddy and Dintzner/Hardage broke to semifinals and finals, respectively. In Novice, Smith/O'Connor advanced to the semifinal round.
Public Speaking
In Domestic Extemp, Zakary Morris finished 3rd overall. Zakary is qualified for TFA State in DX.
Andrew Lee and Amanda Chen advanced to the octafinal round of Varsity LD. In Novice LD, Faizaan Dossani advanced to the semifinal round.
Public Forum Debate
In Varsity PF, the teams of Sigel/Slimi and Ho/Luo advanced to the quarterfinals, while Daghestani/Reddy and Dintzner/Hardage broke to semifinals and finals, respectively. In Novice, Smith/O'Connor advanced to the semifinal round.
Public Speaking
In Domestic Extemp, Zakary Morris finished 3rd overall. Zakary is qualified for TFA State in DX.