During the weekend of school trips, March 9-11, 2022, while most students were either exploring the wilderness of Big Bend National park, playing sand volleyball at the beaches of Miami, or cross country skiing in Wyoming, six members of the Speech & Debate team competed at the most prestigious, difficult tournament in the state: The Texas Forensic Association tournament. Those competing were juniors Aditi Iyer, Alex Illaqua,  and Caroline Hsu, alongside senior Connor Huffman and sophomores Adeline Mai and Solemei Scamaroni.  Since September, these students have spent countless weekends exceeding at local tournaments to garner ten state points for qualification. The students were chaperoned at Portland by their new coach, Andrew Barret, and the middle school Speech team coach, Heather Huffman.

At the tournament, in Original Oratory (the largest speech event at the competition where one must write and present a persuasive speech), Aditi Iyer and Caroline Hsu as well as Solemei Scamaroni competed against 90 of the top orators in the state. In Duo Interpretation (a paired acting event), teams Huffman and Hsu as well as Scamaroni and Mai competed against the top 50 duo teams. Adeline Mai also competed in Program Oral Interpretation (an acting event with a binder) against 70 performers. Alongside Caroline Hsu, she also competed in Dramatic Interpretation against 80 actors.

These Vikings achieved astounding success:

Aditi Iyer, co-captain of the Speech Team, made the finals (top 6) in Original Oratory and received 3rd in the state (Next Runner Up).

Solemei Scamaroni, made the finals in Original Oratory and received 5th in the state, as well as made the quarter-finals in Duo (top 26) alongside Mai.

Alex Illaqua made the finals in Congressional Debate (top 16) and received 11th in the state.

Caroline Hsu, co-captain of the Speech Team, made the semi-finals (top 18) in Original Oratory and received 7th.

Adeline Mai, made the quarter-finals in Duo (top 26) alongside Scamaroni, as well as made the quarter-finals in Program Oral Interpretation (top 20).

These Vikings are elated at their success, as they should. Out of this state team of six, five advanced to elimination rounds and four to semifinal rounds. 

“I am extremely proud of our team,” said Ilacqua. “Three of the six people we sent to state made it to finals, the most in Village history. I think that this marks the rebirth of our team. The best part was vibing to max volume music in the bus and seeing all of our friends from other schools in person for the first time in 2 years. It was truly all a great experience and we had a blast.”       

Overall, the high school Speech and Debate team is excelling. As their season comes to a close,  they are now preparing for their district tournament (their sole chance to qualify for nationals), the Tournament of Champions, and the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions, all occurring in April. For updates on the Speech & Debates team’s success, follow their Instagram: @vhs_forensics.