HARLINGEN – It was a fine way to finish out the school year.
The students on the Speech, Drama and Debate Team placed so high in the competition in Salt Lake City, they earned the distinction of School of Honor for Harlingen High School South.
This placed the school in the top 40 out of more than 200 schools at the 2016 National Speech & Debate Tournament in Salt Lake City earlier this month.
Lee Ann Ince, team sponsor and coach, was delighted by the grand finale ending to the school year.
“They accumulated so many rounds and went so far in the competition, that it made us eligible for a School of Honor award,” she said.
Two veteran players on Ince’s team, Matthew Canon and Sawyer Warrenburg, concluded their four years of Speech, Drama and Debate with a stellar performance.
Sawyer, 17, made the top 12 out of 300 contestants in her dramatic interpretation of Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
Sawyer was one of nine students in Lee Ann Ince’s Speech, Drama and Debate Team from Harlingen High School South to compete in the event.
She admires Dr. Ruth, a popular TV personality and author, because she’s survived so many tragedies.
“She still came out of it with this amazing sense of humor and optimism about the world and what it has to offer, and she just flourished,” Sawyer said.
She’s delighted she did so well at the event.
“I’m honestly really, really happy that I was able to end my high school career with such a great accomplishment,” she said. “It just feels really good.”
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