MEDIA Gallery
High School
East LA National Qualifiers March 10-11, 2023
On to NATIONALS IN JUNE!!
Annika Wotherspoon (10th)
Semi-Finalist in Original Oratory
Vanessa Ramos Garcia (11th)
Finalist in Dramatic Interpretation
Nationals Qualifier
We are so proud to report that in their first year competing, the Mt. Sac Early College Academy Speech and Debate Team had two of 12 team members advance to the semi-final rounds at the East Los Angeles District National Qualifiers Tournament March 10 and 11 and one advanced to finals! Annika Wotherspoon (10th) advanced to semi-finals in Original Oratory and Vanessa Ramos (11th) competed in semi-finals and finals in Dramatic Interpretation, qualifying her to compete at the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona, June 11-16! Given that East Los Angeles District is the 5th most competitive out of 111 districts nationwide, having two students advance is quite an accomplishment for any program, let alone a first year program! Congratulations to Coach Savannah Sprague and the whole team for an outstanding year of hard work. Good luck at Nationals, Vanessa! WCUSD will be rooting for you!
Harvard National High School Invitational Forensics Tournament
Boston, Massachusetts
February 18-20, 2023
Four students from Mt SAC Early College Academy, and their dedicated Teacher Coach, Savannah Sprague, traveled across the country this past week to Boston, MA to compete in the 49th annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament:
Annika Wotherspoon - Original Oratory
Joaquin Martinez - Humorous Interpretation
Oliver McDonald - Informational Speaking
Vanessa Ramos-Garcia - Dramatic Interpretation
Annika, Joaquin, Oliver and Vanessa battled against thousands of students from across the country for the top spots. Vanessa Ramos-Garcia qualified for the Octofinal round in her first appearance at this highly competitive tournament. While in Boston, they were able to tour the Harvard campus, visit the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and learn how to ride the T subway train. They faced tough competition and were able to learn from competing in a new environment. The feedback they received from their judges will be applied as they focus on their road to nationals next month. This is only the beginning for these bright, hard-working students.
Bradley Tournament
Peoria, Illinois
November 30-December 4, 2022
We are so proud of the 15 Mt. SAC Early College Academy Speech and Debate Team students who competed at the Bradley University Tournament in Peoria, Illinois, November 30 - December 4. For most students, the level of competition was the strongest of the season, and yet 10 of the 15 students performed so well they earned medals by placing in their events! One student, Ariana Parra, was the Tournament Champion in Novice Informative Speaking. See pictures are below!
Informative Speaking (Novice)
2nd place, Paola Aldana (11th)
Tournament Champion,
Ariana Parra (10th)
Informative Speaking (Varsity)
6th place, Oliver McDonald (11th)
Dramatic Interpretation (Novice)
Finalist, Ariannie Avila (10th)
4th place, Tara Phapornchai (9th)
2nd place, Vanessa Ramos-Garcia (11th)
Humorous Interpretation (Novice)
2nd place, Joaquin Martinez (11th)
Original Oratory (Novice)
6th place, Isabella Quezada (11th)
5th place, Maab Masri (10th)
3rd place, Annika Wotherspoon (10th)
Glenbrooks Invitational Speech Tournament
Northbrook, Illinois
November 17-21, 2022
Four students from Mount Sac Early College Academy (MECA) were chosen to compete at the first high school travel tournament at Glenbrooks North High School, November 17-21 in Northbrooks, IL near Chicago. Students participated in four rounds and did well for their first and very competitive tournament!
The Academy Chronicle
TimberNews for Timberwolves
November 18, 2022
Gabrielino Tournament
Gabrielino High School, CA
October 15th, 2022
Our Mt. SAC Speech and Debate Team had a strong showing at their very first tournament on Saturday, October 15th, at Gabrielino High School. Students left the tournament excited and invigorated to keep working on their scripts using what they saw from other competitors as well as the feedback they got from judges.
