On Saturday, November 1, the STEM high school speech and debate team competed in its first varsity tournament of the year: the Cherry Creek Classic held at Cherry Creek HS.  Over 500 students from 32 schools competed, including all of the most competitive schools in Colorado.  STEM brought 10 students; in addition, 5 parents served as judges for the nearly 12-hour tournament, special thanks to: Jane Kim, Ambal Jayaraman, Kerry Ard, Thiyagarajan Paramasivam, and Dale Taylor.

The Cherry Creek Classic is one of the most competitive tournaments of the year and includes Colorado’s top varsity competitors, several of whom have won national recognition.  Most of our students are freshmen who were competing in their first varsity tournament ever.  Regardless, there are some highlights to brag about!

·       Alex Gerali (US Extemporaneous Speech), Aidric Peterson (Informative Speaking), Orfeas Sioutous (Original Oratory), Darshan Satish Kumer (Public Forum Debate) and Lauren Ard (Public Forum Debate) all earned “Excellence” ribbons for outstanding performances.

·       Emmett Cumbler won fourth place out of 53 entries in Lincoln Douglas Debate, going undefeated throughout the tournament (fourth place was determined based on opponent win-loss record, something out of his control; the high number of entries didn’t permit a run-off within the tournament’s time-frame).

Congratulations on the fine showing Spartan Speech!

-Coach Griffin