Burnham & Corwin Advance at Harvard
Burnham 4th Place Speaker
Over the first weekend of vacation, Manchester Essex debaters competed at the Harvard University National Invitational, one of the largest national debate and speech tournaments of the year. The team’s twenty-two novice and experienced debaters posted respectable results against the highly competitive field.
The Public Forum team of Alden Burnham and Matt Corwin were 4-2 in preliminary rounds, advancing them to elimination rounds. After winning their first elimination round on a 3-0 decision against Florida’s Pine View School for the Gifted, Burnham and Corwin lost to Stuyvesant High School of New York. In the field of 200 participants, Alden Burnham was recognized as the division’s 4th place speaker. The first-year team of Nicole D’Ambrosio and Chloe Schwartz were also 4-2 in preliminary rounds, missing elimination rounds on speaker points alone.
In JV Lincoln-Douglas debate, the team was led by the strong performances of 9th grader Nick Albertazzi, who finished preliminary rounds with 4-2 record but also missed elimination rounds on speaker points. Classmates Olivia Bonaccorso, Meghan Conway, and Will Kiley posted respectable 3-3 records in the competitive field.
For seniors Kirsten Coale, Katerina Eichenberger, Allie Freed, Margaret Henry, Andrew Randall and Graham Shaw this was the last national tournament of their respectable debate and speech careers at Manchester Essex. “These six students have made notable contributions to the team over the last four years. Their leadership, competitiveness, and upbeat attitudes were instrumental in guiding the team through its recent transition. They will be missed,” said social
studies department chair Dan Jewett.
In March the team will compete at Shrewsbury High School (MA) and Needham High School (MA) before preparing for state and national championship tournaments.
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