The McClintock High School Speech and Debate team competed at the Southwest Speech & Debate Institute Tournament (SWSDIT) competition on Fri., March 10 and Sat., March 11. Unlike most tournaments, only a few competitors from McClintock attended the SWSDI tournament.

“It felt a little weird competing without the whole team, but it was still fun,” sophomore Harshini Venkatachalam said.

Senior Ben Pope placed third, junior Jackson Hartgraves placed fourth and freshman Sachi Sengupta placed fifth all in Humorous Interp. Hanna Roerich placed first and Jalynne Lewis placed sixth both in Program Oral Interp (POI). Venkatachalam placed sixth in Extemporaneous speaking.

Junior Michael Bernard and senior Justin Roth placed first in Duo Interp. Bernard placed first, Roth placed second, and freshman Gabriela Cruz placed sixth all in Dramatic Interp. Liam Huggins placed second in novice Lincoln Douglas debate.

“My favorite part about competing at SWSDIT and double finaling, Duo with my best friend, is that it shows what I’m doing matters, that all my hard work matters,” Bernard said.

SWSDI is the tournament prior to the statewide competition and competitors who attend use the comments on their performance to enhance it between SWSDIT and State.

The members of the McClintock Speech and Debate team have spent hours preparing for their events.

“I practice every Monday and Wednesday from five o’clock to eight o’clock. Then I practice all the time at my house, and I run my pieces over and over. I also have friends over, like Vincent (Gomez) and Michael to practice and give feedback,” Roth said.