A record number of Seahawk forensicators qualified for the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament  this year.

Five speech competitors and three Lincoln-Douglas debaters will represent South Lakes at nationals. According to debate coach Cheryl Finley, this is only the second time that the team is sending students to a national tournament in both speech and debate categories.

Sophomore Kiran Hampton and juniors Amar Singh and Sahana Thirumazhusai secured their spots by placing among the top six debaters in the Arlington Diocese at the Washington Arlington Catholic Forensic League‘s Lincoln-Douglas Debate Metropolitan Championship Final Tournament held at Dominion High School  Feb. 28-March 1. Hampton was the Arlington Diocese Champion, Singh finished fourth, and Thirumazhusai placed fifth.

“When I found out that I qualified for nationals, I was extremely excited that all of our dedication and hard work paid off,” Singh said. “I’m glad that I get the opportunity to represent South Lakes at nationals, and I could not be happier to share the experience with two of the best debaters I know.”

Hampton, Singh, and Thirumazhusai,  along with seniors Grace Erard, Nojan Hajiabbassi, and Amelia Koby and junior Julian Levy-Myers, earned the right to compete in varsity Metro Finals based on their performances in preliminary league tournaments. South Lakes was the sole school to have all of its varsity debaters qualify for the competition. Junior Tyler Kirk represented the school in the junior varsity division of Metro Finals. 

During the two-day Metro Finals tournament, Seahawk debaters alternatively affirmed and negated the resolution “Resolved: Placing political conditions on humanitarian aid to foreign countries is unjust” throughout six rounds of competition against students from the Northern Virginian schools that make up WACFL’s Arlington Diocese. Standings were determined based on win/loss record, cumulative speaker points, and total ranks.

Hampton faced Maret School senior Miriam Pierson, known in debate circles as “Miriam Fearsome”, in a final round between the top seeds from each diocese.

“Miriam has a reputation for being amazing at debate, and she’s earned it,”Thirumazhusai said. “Kiran was absolutely able to hold his own, and it was a great debate.”

Although Hampton lost the round to Pierson in a split decision, he is still number one in Singh’s book.

“It was nerve-racking watching Kiran compete against a nationally renowned LD debater, but after seeing him rise above the competition throughout the tournament, I knew that he would make South Lakes proud,” Singh said. “Despite the fact that he lost, he put up a strong fight. In my eyes, he won that debate.”

South Lakes earned second place in the team sweepstakes based on its Lincoln-Douglas debaters’ collective achievements throughout the season.

“Our entire team has been extremely successful this year as a result of the way by which we have been able to come together and tackle any challenges collectively rather than individually,” Singh said.

Speech competitors also took home a second place team sweepstakes trophy from their Metro Finals tournament at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School March 15.

“Every single person who competed this year contributed to us winning this,” captain Noni Shemenski said in a message to her teammates. “We’re so proud of all of you.”

Shemenski’s performance in Oral Interpretation, an individual event in which contestants read 10-minute prose and poetry selections aloud, during the four preliminary Metro Finals rounds qualified her to compete in the final round featuring the top three competitors from each diocese. Shemenski placed second overall in Oral Interpretation and fourth in Dramatic Performance, an event requiring competitors to memorize and perform a 10-minute excerpt from a published play, novel, or short story.

Senior Chiara Sauvage and junior Manaal Siddiqui qualified for nationals in Dramatic Performance as well, placing fifth and sixth respectively.

Freshmen Caroline Kulczycky and Anusha Rahman will join their teammates at the national tournament in Chicago, Illinois over Memorial Day weekend. They finished fifth in Duo Interpretation of Literature, an event involving a pair of performers who act out a selection while maintaining an off-stage focus and refraining from touching or making eye contact with each other.

Levy-Myers placed sixth overall in Impromptu Speaking, but will not advance to nationals because the NCFL does not offer the event. Impromptu Speaking competitors are given seven minutes to draw three topics, select one, prepare a speech without consultation or use of any reference materials, and present the speech. The topic area for the finals round was quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Levy-Myers gave a speech responding to the statement ‘None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

Speech coach Rebecca Samba expressed her delight with the Metro Finals results in a post on the team’s Facebook page.

“You are all exceptional individuals and it’s been wonderful watching everyone grow this year,” Samba said. “You represent yourselves and South Lakes with such talent and pride. Congrats to the team and good luck to those of you heading to Nationals in May.”