Speech, debate succeed at Jack Howe
by SASKIA SANI
TEAM EFFORT: Brothers, senior Edward Kunkle and William Kunkle both receive first place in their respective categories at the Jack Howe Invitational on Sept. 27-28.
Hoping to ease into competition season, the Speech and Debate team will compete in the Titan Invitational at California State University of Fullerton Oct. 18-19.
Novice members will compete at the Package Deal Tournament at Arcadia High School Oct. 11.
At the Jack Howe Invitational at Cal State Long Beach, Sept. 27-28, the team competed against various schools throughout California. A total of 20 team members made it into semi-finals and 11 advanced to finals.
Senior Javion Sun placed first in Impromptu Speaking and third in Extemporaneous Speaking, while sophomore William Kunkle placed first in Congressional Debate and sixth in Extemporaneous Speaking. Senior Edward Kunkle received first in Dramatic Interpretation. Seniors Brian Salvanera and Eliana Valencia received second in Expository Speaking and fifth in Original Advocacy, respectively. Senior Amanda Armendariz, junior Destinee Moya and senior Alexandria Valenzuela received fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively, in Original Oratory.
In Novice Original Oratory, senior Cecilia Campos placed second, while freshman Kassady Garrison received fourth in Novice Humorous Interpretation. Senior Kane Tenorio also placed second in Novice Congressional Debate.
Overall, the team received first place in speech sweepstakes, surpassing 100 other schools entered in the competition.
“Winning our first varsity tournament and sharing such an achievement with my brother is one that I’ll never forget,” said Edward Kunkle. “We both strive to do great things, and fate smiled upon us both that day.”
After many members graduated last year, team members worried about a lack of new members joining the team. However, there were a number of members joining, as well as recruits. The speech team practiced throughout the summer to prepare for the upcoming competition season, holding practices from 3-6 p.m. almost every day to perfect their speeches and scripts.
“Our kids were not fully prepared, and to see how well they did only makes me excited to see what we can do when they are fully prepared and ready,” said Moya. “It was just an amazing experience and the perfect start to a great speech season.”