The Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu squads had a fantastic showing at GFCA State last weekend.
Congrats to Bryant Hodgson, Extemp Semifinalist; Ava Smith, 5th in Extemp; Maeve Malaney-Lau, 3rd in Extemp; Oliver Gray, 2nd in Extemp; George Lefkowicz, CHAMPION!
And in Impromptu, George Lefkowicz, 2nd Place; Lucia Fernandez, CHAMPION!
The Public Forum Debate team of Elena Hubert and Everett Stubin advanced to the final round at the GFCA State Varsity Championships this past weekend, debating the pros and cons of the new US Space Force.
Congrats to you both on your great run. We are so proud of you!
Congratulations to the Orators and Info speakers for their fantastic showing at the 2021 GFCA Varsity State Championships!
Their hard work and dedication paid off, no small feat in the midst of a pandemic. Being able to share information, experiences and thoughts with others is the hallmark of any speaking event and these Jesters proved their mettle.
Great job, and congrats to Matthew Vincent, 4th in Informative; Nora Ball, 3rd in Informative Speaking, Salaam Awad, 3rd in Original Oratory and Lucia Fernandez, captain of Oratory/Informative and STATE CHAMPION in Original Oratory.
What a weekend and what a way to close out the final season as the GRADY Jesters!
First, let me say congratulations to Dr. Betsy Bockman, named Administrator of the Year by the Georgia Forensics Coaches Association! A well-deserved honor indeed. Thank you for your continued support!
This past weekend, the Jesters won their 12th GFCA Varsity State Championship in a row! Every single competition attended this year was virtual, as was the State Tournament. The fortitude, dedication and talent of this team is without measure. Their hard work paid off!
Here is how we fared in individual events:
Public Forum Debate: Elena Hubert and Everett Stubin, Runners-up; Griffin Richie, 9th Speaker
Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Peter Haynes, Quarterfinalist; Lauren Scaffidi, Semifinalist; Aran Sonnad-Joshi, 5th Speaker; Kelly Tran, 3rd Speaker
Informative Speaking: Matthew Vincent, 4th Place; Eleanor Ball, 3rd Place
Impromptu Speaking: George Lefkowicz, 2nd Place; Lucia Fernandez, CHAMPION
Original Oratory: Salaam Awad, 3rd Place; Lucia Fernandez, CHAMPION
Extemporaneous Speaking: Bryant Hodgson, Semifinalist; Ava Smith, 5th Place; Maeve Malaney-Lau, 3rd Place; Oliver Gray, 2nd Place; George Lefkowicz, CHAMPION
Varsity Student Congress: 4th Place, Nicolas Kamel; Ava Smith, 2nd Place; George Lefkowicz, CHAMPION
A HUGE thank you to our Parent Boosters who provided yard signs and lunch for all competitors as well as help to create an atmosphere of support. We really couldn’t do it without you!
And thanks to the staff at Grady High School for your support as well. It means a lot.
Look for highlights on each event and category on Twitter, FaceBook, and GradySpeaks.com over the coming weeks.
Mario Herrera
Congrats to the Jesters who qualified at the Georgia Northern Mountain NSDA National Qualifier in late February
Nationals will be held virtually again this year, with the tournament still the largest high school competition in the world! Qualifying is no easy task, so these Jesters have really stepped up to the plate! Here is how we fared:
Public Forum Debate: Elena Hubert & Everett Stubin, Qualifiers; Griffin Richie & Sechan Tak, Qualifiers
Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Peter Haynes, Qualifier; Lauren Scaffidi, Alternate; Aran Sonnad-Joshi, Alternate; Kelly Tran, Alternate
Congressional Debate: Sayan Sonnad Joshi, Alternate
Informative Speaking: Eleanor Ball, Qualifier; Matthew Vincent, Alternate
International Extemp: Oliver Gray, Qualifier; Bryant Hodgson, Alternate
Original Oratory: Lucia Fernandez, Qualifier; Ava Smith, Qualifier
United State Extemp: George Lefkowicz, Qualifier; Maeve Malaney-Lau, Qualifier; Ava Smith, Alternate
District Assistant Coach of the Year: Susan Ramsey
District Student of the Year: George Lefkowicz
Winner of Congress Sweepstakes, Debate Sweepstakes, Speech Sweepstakes (tie) and Overall Sweepstakes Winner!!
The Jesters competed this weekend at the First/Second Year State Championships and the Varsity Student Congress. The team had an AWESOME showing, with students bringing home 7 State Championships!
Here are results:
1st Year Public Forum Debate: Zach Spangler and Jamie Marlowe, CHAMPIONS; Augie Werthman & Delia Schroeder, Semi-finalists; Charlie Suazo & Abby Hyken, Quarter-finalists; Abby Hyken, 10th Speaker; Charlie Suazo, 8th Speaker; Zach Spangler, 6th Speaker; Jamie Marlow, 4th Speaker
1st Year Policy Debate: Millan Bhatia and Shalin Gupta, Quarterfinalists
1st Year Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Harry Cook Semifinalist; Harry Cook, TOP SPEAKER
2nd Year Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Aran Sonnad-Joshi and Kelly Tran, CO-CHAMPIONS; Peter Haynes, Semifinalist
Extemporaneous Speaking: Sayan Sonnad-Joshi, CHAMPION; Ava Young, Runner-Up
Impromptu Speaking: Sayan Sonnad-Joshi, Runner-up; Ava Young, 3rd Place
George Lefkowicz, CHAMPION
Ava Smith, Runner-up
Nicolas Kamel, 4th Place
Finalists: Oliver Gray, Lucia Fernandez, Eleanor Ball, Sayan Sonnad-Joshi, Maeve Malaney-Lau
Thanks for your continued support! You can see all the results by clicking on the “Tournaments” page on this website: http://www.gaspeechanddebate.org/2021-varsity-state-results
The Jesters started off 2021 competing at two tournaments, the Alpharetta HS Treasure Hunt in Georgia and the Cavalier Classic Invitational in North Carolina. An incredible 21 students advanced to elimination rounds!
Here is how we fared:Mario Herrera is the longtime coach at Henry W Grady HS (soon to be Midtown HS). He is a titan of our activity, but it isn’t the dominance of Grady Forensics that makes him worth of recognition. Mario approaches each moment in this activity as someone who is committed to doing the right thing and knowing that every person can grow from this activity. But Mario doesn’t just try to help students grow. He is a mentor to every coach around him. He works to find the best in each individual and inspire them to grow more. Mario is humble, grounded, and inspiring. This community is a better place because of Mario.Thanks for your continued support!
I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving Break!
Over break, the debate team of George Lefkowicz and Griffin Richie competed in the Chengdu, China Youth Debate Challenge. I’m happy to report that the team went undefeated in preliminary rounds, advanced to elimination rounds and ended up taking 5th place at the China/US competition. They are one of only 2 teams from the United States to be in the top 8 teams. It was a remarkable experience!
I know some asked if they could watch and I meant to let you know that the rounds were not open to the public or I would have invited everyone to sit in the debate rounds. But I told the debaters about the request and they were deeply touched. Thank you!
Thanks for your constant support!
Mario Herrera
The Jesters were busy this weekend, competing in three different speech and debate tournaments: The Peach State Classic in Carrollton; Westminster Debates in Atlanta; and the Toro Country Classic in Mesa, AZ. We advanced/received 28 awards this weekend!
Here is how we fared:
Impromptu Speaking: Lucia Fernandez, semifinalist; George Lefkowicz, semifinalist
Original Oratory: Lucia Fernandez, semifinalist
Extemporaneous Speaking: Jorge Navarrete, semifinalist; Oliver Gray, semifinalist; George Lefkowicz, 3rd Place
Congressional Debate: Jorge Navarrete, 5th Place; Oliver Gray, 4th Place; Lucia Fernandez, 2nd Place; George Lefkowicz, CHAMPION
Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Walker Land, 9th Speaker; Harry Cook, Top Speaker Harry Cook, 2nd Place
JV Public Forum Debate: Gabby Berger, 9th Speaker; Lilah Bransfield/Gabby Berger, CHAMPIONS
Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Aran Sonnad-Joshi, 9th Speaker; Kelly Tran, 7th Speaker; Peter Haynes, 6th Place; Lauren Scaffidi, TOP SPEAKER; Lauren Scaffidi, Quarterfinalist; Kelly Tran, Quarterfinalist; Peter Haynes, Semifinalist
Varsity Public Forum Debate: Elena Hubert/Everett Stubin and Cole Parker/Griffin Richie, Octofinalists
Extemporaneous Speaking: Mark McClain, 4th Place; Ava Smith, CHAMPION
Impromptu Speaking: Sayan Sonnad-Joshi, 6th Place; Ava Young, 3rd Place
Informative Speaking: Matthew Vincent, 3rd Place; Nora Ball, 2nd Place
