Article by Phoenix writer Michelle Paszek ’24:
The Kellenberg Speech and Debate Team competed at the annual Harvard Invitational Tournament against top schools from all over the country from Friday, February 16 through Monday, February 19.
Junior Caroline Malewski engaged in the Junior Varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate.
Here, Caroline scored a record of 4 wins and moved on to the break rounds where she unfortunately dropped from the competition after a split decision loss to a tough opponent. However, Caroline earned honors as one of the top JV debaters in the tournament.
Caroline shared, “I was a little intimidated by the size of the competition, but I just tried to have fun and learn. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to go because I got to meet all kinds of very intelligent and confident debaters. Overall, I had a great time, and I hope to do it again next year.”
Representing in speech events, seniors Kevin Vitale and James Abruzzo took on Duo Interpretation while senior Paulina Barnjak took part in the Original Oratory category. Seniors Daniella Lausev and Prescilla Ferri worked together in the Varsity Public Forum debate.
Paulina stated, “The Harvard Invitational was an extraordinary experience that my fellow competitors and I enjoyed. My team and I were very ecstatic to attend this tournament, and we really bonded over the time we had.”
The team now anticipates competing at the Chaminade Invitational on March 9th and hopes to qualify for the National Catholic Forensics League Tournament.
Mr. Cummings, one of the club’s moderators, said, “We had a very impressive regular season with great results at Harvard. It was the first time in a long time that we were able to participate in the invitational as a school. I was really happy to see someone break, and now I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone does in qualifying for the state tournament in April and the national tournament in May.
The High School Speech and Debate Club meets Tuesday through Friday after school in room 235. Students interested can contact Mr. Cummings or Mr. Cartier with any questions.
