On January 12th, Francis Howell North (FHN) hosted the second annual Greater St.Louis (GSL) round robin debate tournament.  The team ended up winnning first place overall.

In addition, senior Smitha Milli took 1st place in Lincoln-Douglas debate, while freshman Zoe Lawson took second place in Lincoln-Douglas debate.

When describing why she does speech and debate Lawson said, “The people in it are really nice, it’s fun to go to tournaments.  I’m very competitive, so it gives me a chance to compete in something that’s not a physical activity because I’m not very good at physical activity.  Learning about the topics in resolutions and getting to learn about a variety of different controversial subjects””

The weekend after, FHN continued to receive high accolades.  The team split up over the weekend, with some competitors competing in the Greater St.Louis finals and others competing at Warrenton’s annual speech tournament.

At the Greater St.Louis finals, senior Smitha Milli took 1st place in Lincoln-Douglas debate, while Zoe Lawson received Most Improved Speaker in her congress chamber.

The team also won several awards at Warrenton’s speech tournament.

Mallory Echelmeyer and John Hallemeier received 7th place in duet acting piece.  Brittany Steck received 2nd place in storytelling.  Gabby Jones and Rachel Rotter received 1st and 3rd place respectively in poetry reading.  Smitha Milli and Abigail Griffin received 1st and 3rd place in impromptu speaking.

While commenting on her reaction to receiving a trophy, Abigail Griffin said, “I was a little surprised because I didn’t think I performed that well.  But I was excited to get a trophy and it makes me want to do even better next time.”