The Saint Mary's Hall (SMH) Speech & Debate Program officially closed the 2019-2020 school year in memorable fashion. The Speech & Debate team competed in three different national tournaments, all held virtually.
National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament
In June, the team participated in the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, one of the most important tournaments of the year. Not only did the team set a school record for number of students who qualified for the tournament, they set a school record in sweepstakes placement. For the first time in school history, SMH was named a School of Outstanding Distinction for placing in the top 10 in the nation, an honor representative of less than 1% of the 1,322 schools competing at the tournament. This award is only available to programs who advance entries in both speech and debate categories.
Class of 2020 graduate Shilpa Gunuganti was recognized for her contributions to the speech and debate community and the larger community of San Antonio as a Student of the Year finalist. Shilpa is the third Baron to be recognized with this distinction. Director of Fine Arts Bethany Bohall was recognized as the NSDA National High School Administrator of the Year for her dedicated and enthusiastic support of the SMH Speech & Debate Program. SMH had three students compete in final rounds of competition; considering approximately 5,000 students compete at the NSDA National Tournament, placing in the top six is a significant accomplishment. For the past seven years, SMH has accumulated the second most students performing in final rounds in acting and public speaking events.
Here are the individual results:
- Duo Interpretation (215 entries)
- 4th - Kathleen Benson (Form 10) / Jack Rykert (Form 9)
- Quarterfinalists (Top 30) - Ethan Parkhurst (Form 11) / Adam Swider (Form 11)
- Congressional Debate - Senate (192 entries)
- 4th - Shilpa Gunuganti (Form 12)
- Original Oratory (277 entries)
- Octafinalists (Top 60) - Leah Gomez (Form 11), Clark Webb (Form 11)
- Informative Speaking (260 entries)
- Octafinalists (Top 60) - Bailen Ganeshappa (Form 9), Nitya Patel (Form 10)
Making Art While Socially Quarantined (MASQ) Tournament
The MASQ Tournament took the place of National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) this year. Though not officially a NIETOC tournament, it was hosted by the same president and founder.
Here are the individual results:
- Program of Oral Interpretation (109 entries)
- 5th - Kathleen Benson (Form 10)
- Original Oratory (165 entries)
- Quarterfinalists - Claire Brown (Form 11), Ally Carter (Form 10), Lara Weissmann (Form 10)
- Dramatic Interpretation (175 entries)
- Quarterfinalist - Emily Garrett (Form 12)
- Humorous Interpretation (133 entries)
- Quarterfinalist - Kathleen Benson (Form 10)
The POI and Info teams were awarded with the Overall Team Championship. They also had two finalists at NSDA Nationals in POI and USX.
University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions
The first tournament to shift to an online platform, the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (UKTOC) hosted 300 schools and nearly 900 entries - 10 of whom were Saint Mary's Hall Baron debaters. This initial experiment tested students in the new world of digital speech and debate.
Here are the individual results:
- Original Oratory (105 entries)
- Semifinalist (12th) - Claire Brown (Form 11)
- Extemporaneous Speaking (81 entries)
- Quarterfinalist (17th) - Vivek Beeram (Form 11)
Congratulations to all of these students! The SMH Speech & Debate Program develops students' poise, confidence, and creative thinking through the study of acting, public speaking, persuasion, and argument. To learn more about the program, visit www.smhall.org/finearts/dramaspeech-debate