Wooster Speech and Debate team captures 25th straight district title
By Sharon Haught
January 31, 2012
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The year was 1987.
LA Law, Cheers and Golden Girls were the big hits on television. Michael Jackson released his new album, Bad.
President Reagan was challenging the Russians to tear down the Berlin Wall. Plans were announced to dig a tunnel beneath the English Channel.
At home, Americans were captivated by the Unabomber and the rescue of little Jessica McClure from a well in Texas .and it was the last year that the Wooster High Speech and Debate team did not win the Akron District Championship!
That was the message passed on to the members of the Wooster High School Speech and Debate Team Parents Association by the organizations co-presidents, Craig and Jennifer Reynolds, when the team captured its 25th consecutive Ohio High School Speech League Akron District Championship Jan. 28.
In addition to the team taking the title as tournament champions, a feat it has accomplished 32 times in the teams history, three team members took home individual titles as tournament champions when Kayle Villegas placed first in Dramatic Interpretation, Noah Spector placed first in Humorous Interpretation and Hannah Doan took first in Prose/Poetry Reading.
During the two day tournament, which was held at Copley High School Jan. 26 and 28, the team also qualified 22 members for the Ohio High School Speech League State Championships to be held at Jackson High School March 1-3.
Thats in addition to the eight students who previously qualified for the State tournament earlier in the season in the Policy Debate category for a total of 33 State qualifiers.
Six Wooster team members were also named as alternates to the State tournament.
The teams season isnt over quite yet.
On Feb. 11 the teams Lincoln Douglas Debate and Public Forum Debate squads travel to Norton for another tournament.
The following week most of the remainder of the team will head to the National Forensics League Eastern Ohio District Championships at Perry High School Feb. 17-18, where team members who didnt qualify for the State championship tournament will get one more chance to qualify.
Generally regarded as one of the most competitive districts in the nation, the competition at the National Forensics League Eastern Ohio District Championship tournament is fierce.
Though Wooster has had team members qualify for State in the past at the National Forensics League district tournament, backdoor qualifying is extremely difficult, cautioned Woosters head coach Bill Franck.
According to Franck, in order to qualify for State at that tournament students must make it through to the final round of competition in speech or into the quarter final rounds in debate.
The National Forensics League Eastern Ohio District Championship tournament is also the qualifying tournament for the National Forensics League national championship tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. in June.
With 61 tournament appearances to date, Wooster currently holds the national record for the number of appearances at the national tournament of any school in the United States, public or private.
Here is a list of the members of the Wooster High School Speech and Debate team who have earned a berth at the State tournament and those who will be serving as alternates:
State Qualifying Students and Alternates:
Policy Debate
Austen Yorko and Joseph Gorman
Seokyeon Ryu and Jonathan Velasquez
Ben Snoddy and Gaelen Gatz
Suen Gourapura and Liz Keller
Public Forum Debate
Thomas Fitz Gibbon and Kristy Kalikasingh
Charlie Reynolds and Devlin Gatz
Hans Qu and Paul Dugan Wood
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Michael Pinkham
United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Elizabeth Kleinhenz
Paige Clayton (Alternate)
International Extemporaneous Speaking
Vicki Anderson
Lizzy Kalikasingh
Original Oratory
Allie Schwartz
Michelle Bielski
Oratorical Interpretation
Stephanie Haught
Amanda Petit
Paul Williams (Alternate)
Dramatic Interpretation
Kayla Villegas (District Champion)
Matt Friedhoff (Alternate)
Humorous Interpretation
Noah Spector (District Champion)
Jack Reynolds (Alternate)
Prose/Poetry Reading
Hannah Doan (District Champion)
Corey Yacapraro
Duo Interpretation
Jenna Coppola and Dylan House
Abby Peabody and Charles Wright
Tom Meyers and Zack Buchholz (Alternate)
Congressional Debate
Brooke Hemphill
Taylor Bennington
Kenny Kalikasingh
