St. Philip the Apostle School in Pasadena hosted its 15th annual Fall Speech and Debate Tournament Dec. 1-2 for middle school students in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Eighty-six students from Holy Angels, Our Lady of Miraculous Medal, San Gabriel Mission, St. Andrew’s, St. Rita’s, St. Philip the Apostle and St. Thomas Aquinas schools competed.
Students from Flintridge Sacred Heart High School in La Canada-Flintridge and Mayfield High School in Pasadena judged the event together with current and past parents and faculty from St. Philip the Apostle.
Forty-two students competed in five categories, including debate, dramatic interpretation, duo interpretation, poetry and storytelling. A total of 22 teams debated on the following topic: “Resolved: Ryan Lochte should be disqualified from competing in the 2020 Olympics.”
Debate coaches picked the entry-level topic knowing some schools had never participated in a speech and debate tournament. Medals were awarded to students who placed first through fourth in each category.
The first place winners included: Vivian Nguyen and Sam Campagna, St. Philip the Apostle (debate); Carolyn Awad-Hazan, St. Rita School (dramatic interpretation); Ximena Santoro and Daniela Salazar, St. Philip the Apostle (duo interpretation); Helena Locatelli, St. Rita School (poetry); and Dominic Domenghini, St. Philip the Apostle (storytelling).
