Morristown High speech/debate team takes on the world during pandemic

From the Morris School District:

Morristown High School Speech & Debate Team
Excels During Virtual Season

The Morristown High School Speech and Debate team recently wrapped up an historic 2020-21 season. Because of the virtual format of all competitions and tournaments, the team was able to compete against the best and the brightest in the state, the country, and even internationally.

Topics were as varied as climate change, U.S.-China relations, the Space Force, teen mental health, and immigration policy.

Among the team’s many accomplishments, this was the first year that MHS has sent qualifying teams to the following three prestigious competitive events in the same year:

1. NJ State Championship, NJ Speech & Debate League (NJSDL)

2. NJ District Tournament for the National Championship, National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA)

3. Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament, Cambridge, MA, which not only included competitors from all over the U.S., but also, thanks to the virtual format, from China, India, France, the U.K. and Canada.

MHS students progressed to the Finals (Awards Ceremony) at five out of six NJSDL tournaments that took place from November 2020 through March 2021: Princeton Invitational, Montville Invitational, Freehold Invitational, Summit Classic, and Randolph Classic.

Highlights and top achievements of the year include:

Mary and Elizabeth Gillen: honors finalists, Public Forum Debate, Randolph Classic

Jessica Jabbour: semi-finalist, New Jersey State Championship (NJSDL); finalist, Summit Classic

Matthew McDonald: 1st place winner, Freehold Invitational; 3rd place winner, Princeton Invitational; finalist (OctoFinals) at the Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament

Chris Ruiz: 4th place winner, Summit Classic; finalist, Freehold Invitational

Teammates Caitlin Tuttle, Chris Ruiz, Matthew McDonald, Jessica Jabbour, Mary Gillen, and Elizabeth Gillen all qualified for, and competed in, the NJSDL State Championship after achieving “top 5” performances in NJSDL events throughout the year.

Teammates Caitlin Tuttle and Matthew McDonald qualified for, and competed in, the NJ District Tournament for the National Finals, as well as the Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament.

Every MHS team member, including ninth graders Jacquie Mobus and Kayleigh McDonnell, received a merit, honors, or excellence degree from the National Speech and Debate Association.

Team Captain Talia Wagener, a senior, advised the team throughout this exceptional year under the guidance of MHS Latin teacher and Speech and Debate coach Lyn Berman.

Berman stated that she was “continually impressed all year by the way this team stepped up, wrote and memorized their material, and gave up their Saturdays to compete. They are a great group of students, and I’m excited to see what they will do next. There was so much work accomplished by the entire team–it was wonderful to be a part of.”

MHS parent Anne McDonald, also a team advisor, believes the students’ success came from “making the most of every opportunity during this virtual year.”

“The best part of the story,” she added, “is the incredible discipline, talent, and intellectual curiosity that the kids showed all year.”