The FUHS Speech and Debate team participated in the 33rd Annual Stanford Invitational during the weekend of Feb. 9-10. The team ended the tournament with 12 semi-finalists and 4 finalists.

In the event of Impromptu, where competitors are given two minutes to prepare a five-minute speech, seniors Tommy Kim and Joshua Miller earned 3rd and 5th place respectively.

Miller’s style of speaking, which is different than most, proved to be successful over the weekend.

“My advantage or disadvantage would be my style.” Miller said. “On one hand, it is so different than what most judges are expecting from a speech and debate competitor, and for some judges, it really stands out. For other judges, it’s like ‘Oh this isn’t what we want, this is not the correct way to it.’”

Seniors Zachariah Juarez and Isabella Alcaraz earned 3rd place in Duo Interpretation. Though Juarez wanted to place higher, he still feels proud of his standings in the tournament.

“I’m going to be completely honest, I would’ve wanted 2nd or 1st place but I’m completed proud of getting 3rd place because the two pairs who did do better than us were actually really good. I’m not complaining,” Juarez said.

Despite not having a lot of time to prepare the piece, Juarez and Alcaraz worked hard to make it the best possible in the time allotted.

“We only had the piece for about 2-3 weeks in advance. We practiced, memorized, and received help from numerous coaches. I think the amount of practice that we put in reflects the place we got in Stanford,” Juarez said.

The tournament provided the team an opportunity to solidify the bonds they share with one another.

“Actually everyone did really well; we had a lot of advancing to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals which is pretty cool.” Miller said. “We all really bonded as a team. So both competitively and in a family aspect, it was a really successful tournament.”

The 33rd Annual Stanford Invitational provided an opportunity for the Speech and Debate team to earn more experience, deepen their bonds, and prepare them for the upcoming State Qualifiers on Mar. 8-9.