WCE Speech and Debate Team Dominates in Home Tournament

By: Jimmy Deorio

“Two years ago, none of us had any experience competing, but this year (2024-2025), we were able to send members of our team to the state competition. I think this exemplifies the tremendous growth our club has seen, and we are only just getting started.” - Jack Armbruster (S&D membership officer)


      In the 2024-2025 season of speech and debate, two of the team's members, James Deorio & Akshara Nimmiagada, at the time two rookie members, were able to place second in parliamentary debate together in the district playoffs. This win made them state qualifiers, and a month later, the two would go off and compete at Bloomsburg in the state tournament. Their qualification was, according to co-president Angelina Vo, “an amazing validation of everyone’s hard work!”

    On October 23rd, the speech & debate season will officially start again, only this time the team is going to be hosting the first-ever cross-school tournament (held at West Chester East High School). While the team is at its highest it’s ever been with a load of new members joining, along with the team fresh off a state qualification, this leads to one question going into this home tournament, “How high are the stakes?”

To answer this question, I set out to interview multiple members of speech & debate, all at different stages and categories, from parliamentary debate to speech. 

The interviewees included Angelina Vo & Naina Bhatia, the co-presidents and original founding members of the club. Followed up by a second-year debater, James Deorio, this will be his first tournament since states. However, this is a new season, and James is with a new debater this season (Ryan Agamalian). The interviewees also included two rookie parliamentary debaters, involved in a multitude of clubs here at West Chester East, named Manas Dharma & Enishk Muruganandam. 

However, parliamentary members are not the only ones facing high stakes. Last year, Anika Jain and Shreeya Gurram, coincidentally, tied for third place at the district playoffs last year as freshmen. Their performance at districts showed tremendous growth for the club in the speech category, along with illustrating tremendous hopes for the club’s future. However,r Anika has decided to sit this tournament out, but this tournament will be Shreeya’s first tournament back since the district playoffs. 

Coach K has also decided to have a large majority of the rookie members spectate, the WC East competitors in this upcoming tournament, to get a better feel for the style of debate they will soon compete in themselves. 

With members in all different places at such an exciting time of growth and recent accomplishment the stage could not be set any better then for West Chester East Speech and Debate to host their first ever cross school tournament with teams all over the district including Harriton, Haverford, Lower Merion, Malvern Prep., Marple Newton, Shipley, Sun Valley, The Haverford school, Unionville, WC Rustin. This tournament is recorded to have approximately 150 members, making it one of the largest tournaments held in the district in a very long time.  

In the words of Coach K. Rosenthal, “we gotta show out for this tournament, and I think we’re gonna come in strong. We just got to get a few logistics things done, but I feel good about it.” 


Part 1: The Pre-Game Plan

Question 1: While this tournament provides high stakes for everyone with Vo & Bhatia technically hosting the tournament as presidents, along with Deorio competing in their first real debate since the state tournament, followed by Manish & Enishk’s debut, does anyone's approach or mental preparation for the debate change in any way? What is your current mindset going into these debates, and have they been affected in any way, knowing the stakes? 

Naina Bhatia: My current mindset is focused. If I treat this like any normal debate, then I will be able to perform well. 

Angelina Vo: My approach and mental preparation do not change for my debate, but preparing for a home tournament entails more working components. My current mindset is the same as it usually is going into a debate: concentrated and open-minded.

James Deorio: I just believe it’s important to discern between ego and confidence, and belief in yourself in comparison to disbelief in your opponent and in their abilities. I think I’m just much more confident in my abilities going into this season. My nerves are all always calmed by Lord Jesus. I just feel excited to be debating with home field advantage coming off such an exciting high point from last year. 


Enishk Muruganandam:  I feel scared for sure; however, since this is my first competition, I am not going in with any expectations and thus with little stress. This, in turn, is allowing me to focus more on the debate and how well I perform compared to my placement against other teams, but more so on improving my own skills.


Manas Dharma: I'm certainly nervous for my debut, especially since I'm starting off with VARSITY parli. The stakes feel higher, and my stress feels even higher. I mean, I’ve gone over a few videos and articles talking about advice for your first timers, but that's about it.


Question 2: In one sentence, what do you feel is the biggest deciding factor in your performance that dictates whether you win or lose? 

Naina Bhatia: The quality of my argument is the deciding factor. 

Angelina Vo: The focus and confidence of our argument can dictate the outcome of an entire debate.

James Deorio: Controlling the flow of the debate. 

Enishk Muruganandam: I feel that the biggest factor in determining who wins or loses is being able to summarize and organize the data and information about the topic and being able to convey and make connections during the debate.

Manas Dharma: Not cracking under pressure is definitely the biggest factor for me.


Question 3: Rate your confidence level in your ability to come away with wins in these upcoming debates?  How are you feeling about your abilities and capabilities at this current moment? 

Naina Bhatia: I'm feeling alright with my capabilities, as I will try my best.

Angelina Vo: My confidence usually remains at 7/10. At the moment, I feel fine even though I'm a little out of practice for debate, because I have practiced public speaking and argumentation through means of DECA and other opportunities.

James Deorio: I’d say I’m a 10 out of 10 in terms of my confidence in our ability to win these debates; however, I wouldn’t say I’m a 10 out of 10 in terms of whether or not we actually will. You never know what’s going to happen in the debate. But I’m confident in my abilities, along with Ryan’s. I feel that we’re going to be a dominant duo, and we definitely have the capabilities to win these matches. 

Enishk Muruganadam: Personally, I am still pretty nervous about this competition as I am not completely sure of my ability at this moment. In addition to that, since this is my first time doing varsity parli AND a debate in competition, I have those nerves. However, my overall goal is to simply do the best I can, and thus I am just going to trust in my ability as well as Manas's ability.

Manas Dharma:  On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate my confidence a solid, nice negative 6. Aside from my evident lack of confidence, I do believe I've prepared well at practices over the past few practices that I was present at.


Question 4: What are you most excited about and worried about going into this home tournament?


Naina Bhatia: I am the most excited about seeing everyone at our school, while I'm nervous about making sure everyone goes to the right classroom. 

Angelina Vo: I am most excited that the tournament is hosted on our home field, where most of our members can attend. I am most worried about things running smoothly, like helping people find their way around our school and making last-minute changes.

James Deorio: I’m not necessarily nervous about anything at this point, more just excited for the tournament. Especially since it’s taking place at East.

Enishk Muruganadam: I am most excited about being able to participate in my first tournament and learning and gaining new experiences. What I am most worried about is if I choke during a debate and or make a silly mistake. Along with that blanking while doing my research and speaking.

Manas Dharma: I'm definitely most excited about making my debut, but that's also my biggest worry; no one wants to mess up their debut.


Question 5: What would you classify as your style or approach when it comes to breaking down the components of a debate? 


Naina Bhatia: While debating, I try to talk as if I am having a normal conversation. This way, my argument comes across clearly to the judges. 

Angelina Vo: I usually take the rebuttal in my pair. I like to actively listen to my opponent's first speech (and rebuttal if applicable) instead of taking notes on everything. I write down the main points and small jots of my rebuttal.

James Deorio: I attempt to build credibility through our contentions with emotional aspects, logical aspects, and credible sources, along with making sure that we win the clashes.

Enishk Muruganandam: I would say that my style/approach is to gather as much data as I can and come up with creative workarounds for content and ideas.

Manas Dharma: I like to be methodical, stick to the script, and just break down the opponents' resolutions and contentions into smaller arguments and subpoints. Mainly using a lot of strategies taught to me by Brian and Jimmy.


Specific Questions:


Question 6: James: Do you feel any additional pressure or confidence knowing what you were able to achieve last year? 


James Deorio: My mindset since districts has been what I call “any given Thursday” or “agt”, meaning any given debate, it’s important to not underestimate your opponent and to make sure you don’t overestimate yourself. Every debate, I try my best, and I try my hardest. No matter what the stakes or pressure or exceptions. I’m going to try my best. I definitely think my confidence has improved, but at the same time, I think it’s important to discern between crediting yourself and your own abilities compared to immediately discrediting your opponent and focusing on their capabilities. However, regarding feeling pressure, I would say no because my goal is still the same as everyone else’s: getting better and trying my best to win. 


Question 7: Manas & Enishk: What are your goals for this upcoming debate? And describe your feelings about entering the tournament as two rookies?


Enishk Muruganandam: Our goal is to win.

Manas Dharma: Our goals for our first tournament are pretty grand since we want to WIN IT ALL, but also gain experience and understand how everything works. I'm certainly scared, but on the contrary, my partner is inspired by this chance to compete.


Question 8: Angelina & Nania: Going from rookie competitors starting out a club, to competing in districts as sophomores, then having a team that sent a rookie parliamentary duo to the state tournament your junior year, to now as seniors hosting a tournament here at East, what’s been the key in growth, both personal and club growth these last few years?


Naina Bhatia: The key to growth is learning from our mistakes. 


Angelina Vo: Research about speech and debate has been our cornerstone. As two freshmen co-founding this club with no upperclassmen guidance or previous speech & debate experience, Naina and I first learned everything we could about Speech & Debate before we could teach our members. This knowledge allowed us to navigate this activity's world with clearer goals. 


Question 9: How big of a role would you say you feel your coach and teammates have played in your development as debaters?


Naina Bhatia: So much! Especially Mrs. Rosenthal, who has guided us every step of the way. 


Angelina Vo: Mrs. Rosenthal has been our rock throughout this process. She has been researching and outreaching alongside me and Naina since the club's start, and dedicates her time inside and outside of school to developing our team and recruiting judges. As our team grows, our team dynamic has grown in support of one another. We lean on each other to practice and build confidence in our areas. Our team is truly irreplaceable!



James Deorio: Coach Rosenthal has been a resource and a leader for me personally, and played a huge role in my development as a debater. Her leadership motivates me to want to be the best teammate I can be, especially for the rookie debaters. As for my teammates, I’ve been partnered up with I think virtually all of my teammates at some point or another, and I think mainly in the beginning, just learning and sort of being like a sponge to all of what I was witnessing, definitely helped drastically improve my skills and gave me a lot more overall insight to parli. 


Enishk  Muruganandam: I would say that the people I debated with and against (coaches and teammates) both were able to teach me many skills, which I hope to implement during my debate today.

Manas Dharma: If I've learnt a hundred things about speech and debate, ninety-nine of them were taught to me by my coach and teammates. They've certainly helped me a lot and even pushed me to compete in this tournament I was hesitant about.


Question 11: What role does chemistry play in competing as a duo?


Naina Bhatia: A lot, team chemistry is important so that we can easily communicate, especially while debating.

Angelina Vo: Chemistry is extremely important. Naina and I are best friends, and that contributes to our relaxed disposition and communication going into a debate.

James Deorio: It plays a huge role. Both Ryan and I were without a set partner last year, and while we haven’t debated together yet, we both understand each other's mental approach to parliamentary debates, and I think we’re going to cover all bases in this tournament because of our ability to communicate with each other.


Enishk Muruganandam: I would say that our skills can coordinate with each other and that we can handle and perform different tasks, which in turn allow us to cover more of the debate and get more viewpoints and beliefs.

Manas Dharma: After knowing each other for a few years, our chemistry is evident in most things we do while debating. I think the chemistry will certainly help us when one of us loses track of the debate or just to keep us sane in a high-stress environment.



Speech: 

Shreeya Gurram:

Question 1: Describe your sense of personal accomplishment knowing that you placed in the district qualifiers last season?

Answer: I felt really proud to have placed in the district qualifiers, especially since it was my first year doing speech and debate. Achieving that in my first season gives me confidence that I can make it to states this year!

Question 2: What do you feel is going to be the key difference maker this season in terms of your personal success? 

Answer: This season, I have a much better understanding of what speech and debate is all about. Last year was the club’s first time participating in speech events, so I had no idea what to expect. Now, I know how to prepare more effectively and feel much more equipped to succeed.  

Question 3: What does this upcoming tournament mean to you personally?

Answer: This upcoming tournament is a meaningful way to kick off the season. It also represents a major accomplishment for our club, considering all the effort it must have taken to organize and prepare for it.

Question 4: What is your speech currently on?

Answer: My speech is currently about the history of human evolution and Homo sapiens. I’m focusing on the major timelines and key events that explain how humans came to be.

Question 5: Rate your confidence level in your ability to come away with wins in these upcoming debates?  How are you feeling about your abilities and capabilities at this current moment?

Answer: I feel much more confident than I did last year. I believe there will definitely be some wins this season, though I know there may be some losses too. Right now, I’d say I’m at a 50/50 confidence level.

Question 6: What are you most excited about and worried about going into this home tournament?

Answer: I’m most excited to start the season with a home tournament—it’s a great way to build momentum! However, I’m a bit worried about messing up my speech, so I’m focusing on practicing and staying calm.


Part 2: The Tournament Scores

PARLIAMENTARY:

Round 1 Resolution: This house believes that online anonymity should be abolished
 Round 2 Resolution: This house supports the breakup of large tech monopolies. 

R1: W R2: W

R1: W R2: W

R1: W R2: L

R1: W R2: L

R1: Did not compete R2: L

Standings: 

Finished #3 in the tournament BHATIA & VO

Finished #4 in the tournament AGAMAILIAN & DEORIO 

Finished #6 in the tournament ARMBRUSTER & CHEN

Finished #9 in the tournament BAFFA & BRITTIGHAM

Finished outside top 15: DHARMA & MURUGANADAM


SPEECH:

SHREEYA:
R1: 2nd R2: 1st



Part 3: The Post Game Review


Question 1: Angelina & Naina:  WCESD had two of the top five teams, and four in the top ten for the largest tournament ever in the district, with over 150 competitors, at a tournament you hosted and even placed third at. My question is, how does the overall success of this home tournament make you feel? 


Angelina: I am elated! After everyone's speech or debate, I could see that our members were beaming and felt good about their performance. It's an amazing feeling getting back into the debate season, and I can't wait for more home tournaments.


Naina: I feel great! I was really tired with everything going on and worried about debating for the first time in a while. But it was so much fun! I loved seeing the speech & debate community and forgot how much fun it was. 


Question 2: Manas: Manas, you stated that “no one wants to mess up their debut”. How are you feeling about your debut? And Enishk you mentioned a feeling of pressure how do you feel you handled the pressure?


Manas & Enishk: My debut was definitely more awkward than I hoped it would be, as our first debate had to be canceled because the judge and opposing team were stuck in Fugett and couldn’t get back in time. Thanks to Mrs. Rosenthal, we were able to actually debate round 2. It was pretty thrilling, the nervousness slowly started to lift, and I delivered a confident closing statement, but the debate did end up in a loss, with it being very close points-wise. I’m hoping we improve in the future and start the debate off strong.


Question 4: James: You believed you were going to cover all bases. Do you feel as though you did that? 


James: While I feel as though we covered all the bases in terms of contentions and rebuttal, the judges' post-debate notes suggested that there was room for improvement in other aspects of the debate, but that’s the name of the game. However, the improvement stuff… It was small things, such as Ryan needing to speak more slowly and me needing to refrain from making side comments to my partner during my speech. Those are small things at the end of the day that we’re going to keep working on. We just gotta keep working on it every practice.


Question 5: James & Brian: Manas mentioned how he intended to use the strategies you gave him. What advice would you give to both him and Enishk after their debut? 


James: If you keep putting in the effort, the results will follow. Everyone who’s done parliamentary started slow, don’t get discouraged.


Brian: Some advice that I would give them is to increase their confidence when speaking and project their voices out more. I would also recommend that they stop reading off the words on the page, and speak at a more natural pace, like engaging in a conversation.


SPEECH:

Shreeya: 

Question: How are you feeling about the competition after placing second in round one and first in the second round?

Answer: I feel really proud and accomplished about my progress! I'm really happy about the judge's feedback, and even more proud of how far I have come since last year. The same judge who evaluated me in my first tournament- and gave me very tough critiques- placed me in first on my second round this year! That moment felt like a turning point. I'm super excited and thrilled for the upcoming tournaments. With continued improvements and visuals added to my speech. I'm hopeful it will be a game-changer. 


Rosenthal’s Review:

(A statement from Coach K detailing her thoughts on the tournament)

    Coach K: “Having such successful teams makes me so unbelievably proud as a coach. I’ve watched this group put in so much work and preparation, and it’s incredibly satisfying to see it all pay off. The team exceeded my expectations, and I have such high hopes for this season! While there weren’t any glaring flaws in our strategy, there is always room for improvement. I think the team should continue to work on preparation and strategy; practice makes perfect, and the more scenarios we practice for, the better we will be. After reading all the judges' feedback, it was an overwhelmingly positive review, and all the judges indicated professionalism and an overall high-level debate for all teams involved. The speech judges also indicated that they were excited to see more from our team in upcoming tournaments. When judges want to see more of us, I can only conclude that we made a strong, positive impression. I am so thrilled to be a part of this group of inspiring young people, and it is always a privilege to watch them learn and succeed. As our team grows, I am very confident that we will continue to make an impact on this district and beyond in the Speech & Debate world.”


Thank you Speech & Debate.