Wellington Debate Success at Yale and
Flying L
Wellington Debate’s third and fourth debate tournaments of the 2012-13 season proved to be
a continuation of the Wolverines’ success.
At the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Connecticut (September 19-21), Stephie Maravankin ranked first in her preliminary Congressional Debate chamber, advancing to the tournament’s semifinal round and securing a Tournament of Champions bid. She also earned the National Forensic League Speech and Debate Honor Society’s “Degree of Superior Distinction” by reaching the 750-point mark. She ranks second among current debaters in NFL points.
In addition, Yourui Ruan went 4-2 in JV Lincoln Douglas Debate competition, advancing to the double-octofinal round. He ended preliminary rounds as the 15th seed and the 4th-best speaker.
At the Flying L Invitational at Ft. Lauderdale High School Saturday, September 29, Leatherman earned the first place trophy in Lincoln Douglas Debate with a perfect 4-0 record, earning 117.3 of a possible 120 speaker points. In Public Forum Debate, two of Wellington’s teams went 3-1. Alexa Fortuna and Logan Weber went 3-1 and placed 11th out of more than 50 teams overall, while the team of Greg Foster and Vinnie Gasso went 3-1 and ranked 12th overall. In addition, the team of Olivia Davy and Jayleen James went 2-2 and placed 15th overall.
In her first-ever competition in Original Oratory, Madison Dalton placed eighth overall, while Reynolds placed 11th in Dramatic Performance out of more than 40 competitors.
Five Wellington debaters earned advanced NFL degrees at the Flying L Invitational. Juan Arango, Foster, Gasso and Weber all surpassed the 250-point mark, earning NFL “Degree of Distinction” recognition, while Davy earned her Degree of Honor by surpassing the 75-point plateau. Davy also earned her Wellington Debate varsity letter, which she will receive at the team’s spring banquet.
Wellington’s next tournament is Saturday, October 13 – the PBCFL @ Lake Worth HS. Wellington Debate is coached by Paul L. Gaba.