Needham Speech and Debate had a celebration had a parade of firsts and other fantastic performances, from Lexington to Philadelphia’s Cradle of Liberty, during the weekend of November 18-19.
At St. Joseph University’s Villager Invitational, sophomore Annie Stein ranked first in declamation, while also finishing sixth with partner Shayan Raza in duo interpretation. Senior Sarah Sylvan was third in informative and fellow senior Jackson Segal fifth in extemporaneous speaking. Also finishing strongly were senior congressional debater Conor Hynes, the sophomore duo team of Simone Hernandez and Hannah Warn, sophomore Henry Huvos in declamation and Sylvan in original oratory.
At the Lexington November Classic, ninth grader Sasha Rieser and sophomore Will Conroy were both undefeated, ranking first and third, in turn, in novice Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate. Sophomores Terrence McFarland and Eric Xu also medaled. Strong LD performances were turned in by Noah Basson, Joshua Fleckner, and Andrew Li. The sophomore varsity Public Forum Debate team of Cy Kurd and Jack Warn reached the bid round for a state qual. Juniors Olivia Blackner, Chidinma Nwodo and Nina Yee judged for Needham, as did parent Jamie Fleckner.
