Wellington High School’s speech and debate program had a dominant performance at the final regular-season PBCFL tournament of the 2024-25 school year Saturday, Feb. 22 at Park Vista High School.
In Congressional Debate, both Emma Gardner and Patrick McDermott took home first-place trophies from their respective chambers. Caden Sahlberg placed fourth, Kathryn Polcz took fifth, and both Sara Akif and Aliah Oliva placed sixth. Four Wellington legislators also took home gavels as their respective chambers’ top presiding officer: Beckett Brent, Kathryn Polcz, Elisa Syla and Richard Tanton.
In Oral Interpretation of Literature, Genesis Cabrera placed second overall. Quinn Mawhinney took third in Novice Original Oratory, while Danielle Beaulieu placed sixth in Varsity Original Oratory. Izzy Parissos finished fifth in Dramatic Performance, and Arthur Hu-Manning took sixth in Extemporaneous Speaking.
Wellington students earned eight new National Speech & Debate Association degrees. Earning the Degree of Excellence (150-plus honor points) were Beckett Brent and Leonardo Fernandez Castillo. Two debaters, Loreley Fajardo and Jesse Santos, each earned their Degree of Honor (75-plus honor points), as well as their varsity letters. And four first-year debaters earned their NSDA membership and the Degree of Merit — Anna Bzhuyian, Jazzlyn Capellan, Robert Haid and Arthur Rocha.
