The Mount Pleasant High School Speech and Debate team is gearing up for another great season. Team members recently opened their seasons in Cross Examination (CX) and Lincoln Douglas (LD) debate, placing at the top in two different tournaments.

The CX team of senior Connelly Cowan and junior Anthony Orellana were undefeated at the Plano/Clark Invitational on August 27-28. They defeated teams from Princeton (3), Westwood (2), and St. Mark’s to claim the championship with Cowan being named Top Speaker of the tournament.

In LD, freshman Gopi Amin, sophomore Angie Hernandez, and sophomore Kiara Rundles competed in their very first tournament at the Hendrickson Pflugerville swing on September 3-4. In the Novice LD category, Rundles was a semifinalist with Amin and Hernandez being named co-champions.

“These students have been working since early August,” said MP Speech and Debate coach, Enrique Martinez. “It is always tough to start before classes begin, but seeing such a dedicated group of students is very encouraging to everyone on the team. I am very excited to see that we are starting in such a spectacular fashion. It is on us to continue building on this great start throughout the next few weeks and months. It is also amazing to see the team’s veterans go above and beyond, helping the new members in many ways, creating a strong, cohesive unit.”

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1st row L to R: Kiara Rundles, Gopi Amin, Angie Hernandez
2nd row L to R: Coach Enrique Martinez, Connelly Cowan, Anthony Orellana