The efforts of the North Allegheny Speech and Debate team have greatly paid off this year, with the team earning a second-place finish in the Large School Sweepstakes at the PHSSL Championship and winning the Jeanne Lutz Award for the highest cumulative points. Many NA students took home high placings, including four second-place finishes and a first-place finish. The first-place finish came from the efforts of Pavit Saini and Risa Rajeeve, who took home the win for News Broadcasting.
“We were placed in this event last year for the state tournament when we had no idea what we were doing. But, we made it to the semifinals and thereafter decided that this was the event for us,” Saini explained. “We honestly really enjoyed News Broadcasting way more than our typical event, duo, and felt like we could do really well again this year if we just worked a little harder and gave it our all.”
Saini finished his final year of Speech and Debate at North Allegheny strong, but he said he “will definitely miss the people we met at each tournament; everyone was super friendly and we all vibed with each other. Also, the chaos of each trip — although not so fun in the moment — definitely made for a unique experience.”
Aside from being first in News Broadcasting, NA had plenty of other high placements in the PHSSLs, including senior Charles Potter and junior Alicia Gasana, who placed second in Duo Interpretation of Literature.
Potter explained the rigorous preparations required for such an event.
“Each event is different, but for my event, early in the year, I watch movies and find a movie I want to perform with my partner, and cut the often hour-long or longer performance into a ten-minute section. We then recite it many times, until we have a polished performance we are proud of. I’d say most kids have a total of around 300 in school practice hours,” stated Potter.
In addition to placing highly in the PHSSLs, Potter participated in the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament.
“A few other members of the NA Speech and Debate team and I, as well as around 200 other competitors went head to head at the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, and I’m proud to say that I was an octofinalist in Duo alongside Alicia Gasana,” he said.
Seniors who are leaving the North Allegheny Speech and Debate team this year will certainly be missing it.
Kelly Tai, for example, said, “I’ll definitely miss seeing my teammates after this year. They’re some of the smartest, silliest, and sweetest people I know, and I’ve spent so much time with the LD family that it always feels weird when weekly practices stop at the end of each season.”
Saini concurred.
“I will definitely miss the people we met at each tournament,” he said. “Everyone was super friendly and we all vibed with each other. Also, the chaos of each trip — although not so fun in the moment — definitely made for a unique experience.”
