The Thomas Jefferson High School speech and debate team gave an excellent performance at the National Qualifier Tournament the weekend of Feb. 28-March 1.
As a whole, students from Thomas Jefferson High School collected 33 points and several first place rankings. Individual team members also did well, with Daanish Khazi placing first in both extemporaneous speaking and oratory, earning the team’s only berth to nationals this year.
Five team members finished in third place, and as such are the first alternates to the national tournament.
Thomas Jefferson High School team members finished as follows:
- Oratory: Daanish Khazi-first place and national qualifier; Jyoti Bodas-third place and first alternate
- Extemporaneous: Daanish Khazi – first place and national qualifier; Skyler Yesiltepe, a first-year student, third place and first alternate
- Dramatic Interpretation – Alyssa Yun – third place and first alternate
- Humorous Interpretation – Julianne Minnick – third place and first alternate; Elena Peyton Jones – fifth place and third alternate
- Duo Interpretation – Julianne Minnick and Jennifer Tran – third place and first alternate; Erica Dillard and Cindy Lee (both first-year students) – seventh place and fifth alternate
The state meet begins on March 20, and Speech and Debate coach Andrew Buchan says, “This team is really motivated to try to win the title which we haven’t won since 2007.” Last year, the Thomas Jefferson team placed second to Snohomish High School.
