Speech & Debate Students Continue Record-Setting Start to Season

Twenty-two Princeton Academy students competed at the asynchronous portion of the National Online Forensics (NOF) Oak Invitational Tournament which featured over 360 students from 27 schools and programs across the country. This total of PASH participants represented the most students to compete this early in the season. Currently the team also has a record number of 48 total middle school students preparing for November and December competitions!

In the Pro Con Challenge, Yidrew C. ‘24 submitted speeches for and against the topic Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its military presence in the Arctic. Yidrew presented two excellent cases earning both the gold medal and the silver medal in the Pro Con Challenge. Mathew R. ’25 submitted speeches for and against the topic: Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee the right to housing and one of Mathew's submissions received the bronze medal ensuring a PASH sweep of the top three entries in the category.

In the event of Asynchronous Congressional Debate, Sam B. ‘25, Felix Y. ‘25, and Gregory F. ‘26 advanced to the Final Round each earning a bronze medal. Daniel I. ‘24, Dylan C. ‘26, Zephaniah C. ‘26, Nathan L. ‘26, Alex N. ‘26, and Matthias L. ‘27 also competed in Asynchronous Congressional Debate, with all students presenting speeches on the proposed legislation including a Bill to Stock Community Food Banks, A Bill to enhance Meat Product Labeling, and a Resolution to Mine Landfills.

In the interpretation speech events, Anthony M. ‘26 competed in Prose Interpretation while Levi M. ‘24, Ryan Z. ‘24, and Jonathan I.-O. ‘25 competed in Poetry Interpretation. Jonathan received the silver medal in the Poetry category. In the rhetorical speech events, Asa G. ‘25 competed in Impromptu Speaking and Vincent L. ‘27 competed in Informative Speaking, while Levi M. ‘24, Gonzalo K.-P. ‘25, Jayden L. ‘25, Waliyy M. ‘25, Luke T. ‘25, and Declan S. ‘25 competed in Declamation. Jayden, Luke, and Waliyy just missed advancing to a very competitive Final Round in Declamation.