The Speech and Debate team sent ten competitors to NSDA Districts on March 14-16 in five events. While there were no national qualifiers, the competition resulted in five advancing further in the tournament, including seniors Maya Angia, Anvitha Makenna and Pooja Nagareddygari, sophomore Sierra Hale and junior Anoushka Popuri.
“I felt accomplished because even though I didn’t make it to Nationals, I was happy I was able to debate with some people for one last time,” Makkena said.
Those who advanced competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate, Public Forum debate and Dramatic Interpretation, going against more than 25 people overall in each event.
“I felt like it was really fun, [and] I thought that the people I went against were really good. [I enjoy] meeting the people from other schools,” Hale said.
Before the tournament, the team competed at MSHSAA Districts on March 1-2, punching 21 tickets to state and winning 1st place in Reader’s Theater.
“[My favorite memory was] being able to compete with the entire team [in] Reader’s Theater and building those team bonds because at the end of the day, the best part about your team is that you’re together and friends with one another,” Angia said.
Angia and Nagareddygari made Howell history when they qualified for Public Forum, the first time Vikings have qualified for debate at state.
“[My favorite achievement] is also qualifying for state this year, and we’ll see how state goes down,” Nagareddygari said.
In addition, senior Brigid Reichart and sophomore Claire Burchett qualified for state in individual events, Prose and Storytelling.
“All [the] hard work that I put in last year and before the Speech and Debate season has finally paid off. I think it’s really cool to see the benefits and where hard work can take you,” Burchett said.
Speech and Debate state qualifiers will be competing in Springfield, MO on April 17-20.
“I felt a little bit more nervous going into [district finals] than my previous tournaments,” Reichart said, “but I started feeling a lot better at the end. [Since] my competition was good, watching them made me feel more energized with my piece.”
