By Matt Walcutt
Surely, if we all think long and hard enough, all of us remember our speech class. (Some of us (freshmen, that’s you) are still in it.) I know that I still remember standing up in the front of Mr. Buzzelli’s room, wearing a blazer that was too big on me, and trying to remember what was the next thing I wanted to bring up in my speech on my ancient civilization. I even more specifically remember myself stuttering at a loss of words when Mr. Buzzelli and I went mano a mano in the debate. To say the least, speech class was a bit rough for me as a freshman.
Yet, for a talented group of Ignatius men, Speech is their gift. The Ignatius Speech Team is a group of men who go to various competitions and tournaments throughout the school year to show just how eloquent their speaking ability is.
The Speech Team, albeit small, has done exceedingly well this past year – apparently much better than expected, according to one member, Pat Gleydura ‘16. At the end of last year’s season, after this year’s juniors did not perform all that well, the casual observer might have written them off for this season. But not so: many have placed well in this season, including Mark Drozd ‘16, a new member, who has done a great job at the tournaments he’s attended. Casey Sobecks ‘15, a senior first-timer, has done quite well, having received fifth place at a recent tournament.
The only things remaining for the speech team are state qualifiers and the state tournament itself. One member, Phu Duong ‘17, has already qualified for states by placing high enough multiple times at tournaments. At state qualifiers, the rest of the team will have a chance of making states by placing in the top 10 or 11 in their event. In the estimation of Mark Drozd ‘16 and Paarth Sharma ‘16, some members who have a good chance of making it include David Faust ‘15, Craig Wischmeyer ‘15, and Casey Sobecks ‘15.
All in all, the speech team has had a great showing this past year. As they approach state qualifiers and states, the team is perfecting their speeches and preparing as much as they can.
