The Mountain Ridge Speech and Debate team competed in the national qualifiers tournament this March, excelling in Big Questions, Public Forum, International Extemporaneous Speaking, United States Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, and Congress categories. 

Andrea Jewett, MRHS’s Speech and Debate coach, praised the team for their tenacity during their first in-person season. While their preparation for Qualifiers was the same as any other tournament, Jewett noted the challenging topic of the Public Forum debate and the success of Priya List and Raksha Suresh in advancing to round 7.

“Fallon Sullivan made it to the finals of International Extemp, Aaditiya Agnihotri made it through several rounds of Big Questions,” Jewett applauded. 

Along with excelling in her category, Sullivan the chapter leader in points and was awarded an alternate position for the National Tournament in International Extemporaneous Speaking for the World Schools Debate team. 

Mrs. Jewett was selected as District Coach of the Year, determined by the National Speech and Debate Association for Arizona state. 

“It feels great to be recognized and I hope that I can continue to grow as a coach so I can best support the team,” Jewett said.  

Although the regular Speech and Debate season is over, the team is not done. They have begun preparing for next year and many students plan to attend summer camps to focus on their particular skills.

Congrats to the 2021-2022 Speech and Debate team for all of their hard work!