Speech and Debate team competes at June nationals

LAURA RAPPORT a&e editor

Members of the Speech and Debate will be competing at the National Speech and Debate Association’s national tournament this summer in Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona, which begins on June 11 and will end on June 16.

Wooster’s team has seven students competing at the national tournament this year. Tristan Miller (10) will be competing in International Extemporaneous Speaking; Ishaan Gireesh (12) will be competing in Program Oral Interpretation; Xander Amier (11) will be competing in Original Oratory; Jiawei Ge (10) and Rhys Florence-Smith (10) will be competing in Policy Debate; and Layne Nelson (12) and Allison Snyder (11) were selected to compete in supplemental events.

This will be the 73 year that WHS students will compete at the national tournament.

Head coach Holly Custer spoke about her hopes for the national tournament, saying, “I hope that the team is able to have a good time while competing and to represent our community. I hope that the students perform to their potential and I would love to see a few of them advance to elimination rounds. I am incredibly proud of these students and I am excited to see what they will accomplish this summer.”

Tryouts for the speech and debate team will be held at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.