Revere Speech and Debate Team finishes successful year with state qualifiers

by Wendy Turrell

The Revere High School Speech and Debate Team concluded a successful season, culminating in the Ohio Association State Finals at Austintown Fitch High School in Youngstown on March 3-4. Revere had two Public Forum teams, six individual Congressional Debaters and three Individual Event competitors who qualified for the state tournament.

Revere Speech and Debate Team Head Coach Hanna Steinker said she thinks people often mistake this activity for an after-school club. “In reality, competitive speech and debate is much more like a sports team than people realize,” she said. “The amount of hours these students put into practicing each week between competitions is inspiring, and I’m sure they would say exhausting.”

Steiner was a speech and debate competitor herself, as a student at Austintown Fitch High School.

“Those 13 students who qualified for state … each played a very important role in our overall finish as a team,” Steinker said. “We landed in the top 15 schools in Ohio, coming in 14 out of 80 teams. That was not an easy accomplishment, but rather a testament to the students who qualified and worked so incredibly hard.”

Of the six Congressional Debate qualifiers, all advanced to the semi-final rounds. Neal Pannala advanced to the finals and placed seventh in the state. Pannala is a junior and will return to compete next year as the team’s president. Other Congressional Debate qualifiers were Shreya Gupta, Anish Chandran, Saumya Sharma, Rhea Rajesh and Rohan Dasanoor.

In individual events, Ria Mahaparta and Tarun Venkatesh qualified for state in Declamation and Suhesh Venkatesh in Informative speech. Although they did not advance to the elimination rounds, Steinker said, “We’re still very proud of them. It was a very competitive field for all three of them.”

Both Public Forum teams of Anthony DeRubeis and Edward Liu, and Adam Stano and Dylan Molter, made the Octafinal round, meaning they were in the top 16 teams statewide. Both duos narrowly missed advancing to the quarterfinals by one ballot.

Stano and Molter garnered enough bids during the season to be invited to compete in the Tournament of Champions at Kentucky State University on April 15-17. Invitations to this prestigious national competition are earned by getting high rankings at specific tournaments, including those held out-of-state. Making the Octafinals in the Barkley Forum for the high school debate tournament in Atlanta in January clinched their participation. Steinker said many parents of debaters serve as chaperones, so team members can compete in out-of-state events.

The Revere team fielded 28 competitors this year, 18 in debate events and 10 in individual speech events. Steinker is aided by assistant coaches: Julia Bonneau, who helps coach individual events; Corey Anderson, who helps with Public Forum; David Burnett, who coaches Congressional Debate; and James Summerville, who coaches Lincoln Douglas and Congressional Debate.

“This is the first year I have had students all four years. It is so gratifying to see their growth from freshmen to seniors,” Steinker said.

Taking over the job in 2020, when events were held virtually because of the pandemic, was a challenge. Steinker said it was rewarding to see students who began their high school careers by competing solely online evolve into confident face-to-face competitors as juniors.

“I saw a lot of students this season embrace that mentality of being a serious team representing the school each weekend,” Steinker said. “I saw students rallying around one another when they were succeeding, and I saw them comfort one another when we faced tough losses. I’m really honored to be leading this team and think our overall success as a group is only beginning,” said Steinker. ∞

Featured Photo: Coach Hanna Steinker (middle) stands with the two Public Forum teams (l-r) Anthony DeRubeis, Edward Liu, Adam Stano and Dylan Molter. Photo by Wendy Turrell.