Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Underclassmen Stand Out


Fifteen Manchester Essex debaters traveled to Harvard from February 16 -18 for the university’s annual high school debate tournament. The students were accompanied by coaches Jessica Tran and Jennifer Coleman. Six Public Forum teams, three Lincoln-Douglas debaters, and congressional debaters competed. In Public Forum, sophomores Parker Malarkey and Natasha Statz-Geary advanced to break rounds, an astounding feat for participating in a tournament with hundreds of Public Forum teams.  Malarkey and Statz-Geary left with an impressive 5-2 record. Similarly, sophomore Nick Albertazzi broke in Lincoln-Douglas, also leaving the tournament with a 5-2 record.

Also earning honorable mentions, sophomores Meghan Conway and Olivia Bonaccorso and freshmen Jenny Cochand and Charlie Davis earned 4-2 records in Public Forum and sophomore William Kiley left with a 4-2 record in Lincoln-Douglas. Others who participated at the tournament include: Zach Even, Julia Mitrano, Jack Haynie, Maren Corrigan, Aisling Batchelder, Winston Feuerbach, Jack Hay, Lucas Martz, Landon Komishane, Erik Rajunas, Ben Gonzales, David Reid, and Connor Senay.

At the Mardi Gras Tournament held at Shrewsbury High School this past Saturday, four representatives from Manchester Essex earned high recognition. Nick Albertazzi placed second in Lincoln-Douglas, a very impressive feat for a sophomore. Three underclassmen advanced to break rounds in Group Discussion. Freshmen Oscar Heanue and Charlie Davis made it to semi-finals and teammate Jack Haynie placed fifth overall.

In Lincoln-Douglas, sophomore William Kiley earned a respectable 3-1 record while sophomore Jack Hay left with an even, 2-2 record. Sophomores Cameron Holley and Hannah Riordan did exceptionally well at the tournament, leaving with three wins and two losses. Freshman Zachary Even led the team in Congressional debate, earning 23 NFL points. A total of thirty-one students represented Manchester Essex at the Mardi Gras Tournament.

This week, the team will be preparing for the National Catholic Forensics League Qualifying Tournament which will be held at Shrewsbury High School on Sunday following National Forensic League Qualifiers for Congress on Saturday. Once again, the team thanks all supporters of the program for making its successes possible.