The McClintock Speech and Debate team competed at the AIA Division One Speech and Debate State Tournament on Fri., March 17 and Sat., March 18 at Copper Canyon High School.

“[Competing at State] I learned how my pieces compare to the top performers in the state. I also gained a lot of confidence in my abilities and pride in my team. I learned that even though McClintock took third place, we’re the best team in Arizona ,” senior Benjamin Pope said.

Overall, McClintock placed third in at the AIA D1 Speech and Debate State Tournament.

“With a lot of hard work and not giving up, I was able to improve my piece. The last couple of tournaments I worked really hard on it and I learned that straying a bit from the crowd pays off,” junior Jackson Hartgraves said.

Senior Erin Granillo-Walker broke in House One in Congressional Debate and Pope broke in House Two in Congressional Debate. Sophomores Katelynn Showers placed fifth and Sahel Moazezi placed sixth in Poetry. Seniors Hannah Roeich placed second and Jaylynne Lewis placed sixth in Prose.

“[Performing at my last tournament] was the best I’ve ever performed, which was very exciting, but also sad knowing it was over because I love the activity and the people ,” senior Madi Reddi said.

Senior Justin Roth placed first and junior Michael Bernard placed third in Dramatic Interp. Hartgraves placed third and Pope placed sixth in Humorous Interp. Senior Bob Chen placed second in Expository. Roeich placed second in Program Oral Interp (POI). Senior Emily Wescott and junior Kyla Goetz placed sixth, Pope and Reddi placed fourth and Roth and Bernard placed first all in Duo Interp.

“It’s always such a thrill and rush of joy to see my name up on the semifinal or final posters. It makes me so excited and happily nervous to know that I’m going to spread my message to another room full of people. More than anything, I felt ready. I was ready to go into finals and give it my all for the very last time,” Moazezi said.

For most speech and debate competitors the State tournament was their last tournament, unless they attend National Qualifications for Nationals in the summer.