Foundations — Grade 12 • Jackson, Mississippi
Speech and Debate Competes at The University of Mississippi
This past weekend, for the first time in 588 days, the St. Andrew's speech and debate team loaded a bus to travel to the University of Mississippi for competition. Competing for the Saints were the following students:
Back
Senior – Raymond Huang
Juniors – Preston Daily, Joy Dhar, Ryder Hebert, Patten Lane, Nehemiah Thompson, Clayton Wilkins, and Leo Zhang
Sophomores – Mira Bhatt, Alex Foster, Hannah Moore, Joshua Thorne, and Casey Young
Freshmen – Finley Bergin, William Burrow, Liam Coffey, Henry Cooper, Lauren Tatum.
Accompanying the team were coaches Darin Maier and Kerrington Anderson, with Algebra I teacher Mr. Buck Cooper serving as a judge and chaperone, and parent Melanie Burrow also serving as a judge for the competition. Friday featured competition in Student Congress, where Henry Cooper, competing in his second tournament ever, advanced to the final session of competition. Also held were the preliminary rounds of debate, where the team of Hebert and Wilkins advanced to elimination rounds in Varsity Public Forum Debate, along with Bhatt and Daily (both in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate) and Coffey (Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate) also advancing to elimination rounds. Dhar and Lane contested a round robin tournament in Policy Debate.
Saturday featured competition in speech events while the debate events continued through their elimination rounds. The St. Andrew's squad placed fourth out of sixteen teams in attendance, placing behind 6A schools Oak Grove, Madison Central, and Petal. St. Andrew's award winners included the following:
Finley Bergin/William Burrow, Quarterfinalist, Novice Public Forum Debate
Liam Coffey, 1st Place, Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate, 6th Place, Novice Poetry
Henry Cooper, 6th Place, Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
Preston Daily, 1st Place, Impromptu Speaking, Semifinalist, Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Joy Dhar/Patten Lane, 1st Place, Policy Debate
Alex Foster, 6th Place, Program Oral Interpretation
Ryder Hebert/Clayton Wilkins, Quarterfinalist, Varsity Public Forum Debate
Raymond Huang, 2nd Place, Program Oral Interpretation, 6th Place Varsity Prose
Hannah Moore, 5th place Declamation
Lauren Tatum, Quarterfinalist, Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Joshua Thorne, 1st Place, Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
Casey Young, 2nd place Declamation
Liam Coffey, 1st Place, Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate, 6th Place, Novice Poetry
Henry Cooper, 6th Place, Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
Preston Daily, 1st Place, Impromptu Speaking, Semifinalist, Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Joy Dhar/Patten Lane, 1st Place, Policy Debate
Alex Foster, 6th Place, Program Oral Interpretation
Ryder Hebert/Clayton Wilkins, Quarterfinalist, Varsity Public Forum Debate
Raymond Huang, 2nd Place, Program Oral Interpretation, 6th Place Varsity Prose
Hannah Moore, 5th place Declamation
Lauren Tatum, Quarterfinalist, Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Joshua Thorne, 1st Place, Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
Casey Young, 2nd place Declamation
Additionally, 17 of 18 competitors advanced to an elimination round in at least one event, scoring sweepstakes points for the team in this competition. The Saints return to virtual competition with Upper School students competing at a tournament hosted by Henry Clay High School in Kentucky and Middle School competitors competing at a tournament hosted by Sequoyah High School in Georgia.
After that, the team takes two weekends off before traveling to Pascagoula High School and Oak Grove High School on the second and third weekends of November. Regarding the tournament, Mr. Darin Maier, Director of Speech and Debate remarked, "while we were pleased enough with the result, including winning four events, I think the thing that made everyone the most happy was the chance to compete in-person and enjoy that level of human interaction. Our last competition was at Mississippi State's tournament right before Spring Break of 2020. Therefore, none of our novices nor second year competitors have been to an in-person tournament. That required some re-coaching — not just of the students in terms of the mechanics of tournaments — but me as well to make sure I had dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's. We're very much looking forward to continuing this return to normal in the weeks to come."
Share
Foundations — Grade 12 • Jackson, Mississippi