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HARLINGEN — Top in the nation.
The Harlingen school district brought home four national champion awards earlier this month from the 2024 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.
“I am overjoyed, over the moon,” said Eddy Cavazos, theater and speech director.
He was celebrating the success of Karla Rivera, 17, who was named national champion in dramatic interpretation. George Matthew Gutierrez, 16, took home the humorous interpretation championship.
Sadie Jensen, 18, finished off her high school career as a two-time national champion in prose reading and in storytelling.
Cavazos said he feels as though he has been walking on a cloud since the nationals.
“The announcer stopped the ceremony and wanted everyone to acknowledge that Sadie was a double national champion and that our program alone in one night had picked up four national championships,” he said. “This was quite a fantastic showing.”
At the middle school level, Lauren Elliott, 12, was a double finalist in original spoken word poetry and in storytelling. Javier Cabello-Corona took second place in dramatic interpretation and Camilla Rohrbough took second place in prose.
Their instructor, Matthew Rodriguez, was pleased with the performances of all his students.
“Our students’ success is because of the artistic excellence of HCISD and its pipeline from Lee Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy to the Summer on Stage and Gutierrez Middle School of Arts and Sciences,” he said. “Our students have been performing since they could talk, and now since they are older they are able to demonstrate their talent at a national level.”
Back at the high school level, Sadie has just graduated from Harlingen High School South. She’s delighted to finish off her years in the school district’s theater and speech programs in such a stellar manner.
“Being named the national champion in two events at my last speech tournament ever was truly such a life changing experience and a testament to the cultivation of seven years of hard work,” she said. “In my eyes, it was so much more than a victory. It was relief that I had finally accomplished the goals I had set for myself at the start of my career in sixth grade.”
Karla will enter her senior year at South already with a championship.
“Being at nationals was definitely an incredible experience that I will never forget,” she said. “It was also one of the most difficult tournaments I have ever been to; I would go into my rounds and see amazing performances so early on in the competition. When they announced that I had won, a wave of relief and joy overcame me. It was truly a dream come true.”
George Matthew, 16, is entering his junior year at South as a national champion in humorous interpretation.
“My experience at nationals was so surreal,” he said. “I felt as if I was a part of something bigger to see other people who had similar stories. I’m so glad to be representing the Valley alongside other champions like Karla Rivera and Sadie Jensen.”
