On Saturday, Feb. 25., the competitors from the Coral Gables Senior High Speech and Debate Club showed up. Waking up bright and early on a Saturday morning is already a challenging, feat but the Cavaliers took it away at Michael Krop Senior High School.

“This past tournament, and this year in general, we’ve been very successful at these competitions because so many of the club members are dedicated to Speech and Debate. As president, I’m overjoyed because I can see how hard everyone in the club works and now it’s paying off,” senior Paula Hernandez said.

Joaquin Bierman, who also won fifth place at a debate tournament earlier in the year, won second place in Lincoln Douglas this time, with a record of five wins and zero losses. The duo of Samuel White and Mauricio Cervantes did not place, but they won three of their five debates. Alexander Yagoda, in his first competitive debate, won two of his five debates.

“The debate tournament was a challenging but enjoyable experience. I did a competition with my partner called Public Forum debate, which is a mix of speech and debate. My favorite part of it would have to be the grand crossfire, which included everyone, because it became very intense and interesting,” sophomore Samuel White said.

The competition was a moderate success with the majority of people competing doing moderately well and one person, Bierman, exceeding expectations and getting the second-place trophy.