NJSDA announces winners and members of national team

Students from various public and private middle schools on Saipan pose for a photo after their National Junior Speech and Debate Association regional finals last Feb. 11, 2023, at the Hopwood Middle School cafeteria. (LEIGH GASES)

The National Junior Speech and Debate Association announced its regional finals winners along with its 13-member national team last Feb. 11, 2023, at the Hopwood Middle School cafeteria.

The national team will represent the CNMI in the National Speech and Debate Association’s Middle School National Tournament in June. The national competition will resume its first face-to-face competition since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and will take place in Mesa, Arizona from June 13 to June 16, 2023.

The 13 middle school students from four different public and private schools on Saipan that will represent the CNMI are:

• Princess Rigua and Lurlene Odal from Hopwood Middle School, who will compete in the Duo Interpretation category.

• Cedric Catacutan from Francisco M. Sablan Middle School, who will represent the team in the Lincoln Douglas Debate.

• In the Declamation portion, Denilyn Jacoba from FMS will take the stage.

• Seano Pangilinan from HMS will compete in the Humorous Interpretation.

• Jim Leonard Sison from HMS will compete in Dramatic Interpretation.

• Celine Park from Saipan Community School will compete in Original Oratory.

The 13-member CNMI national team—from left, Iris Maleia Rasa, Joan Song, Celine Park, Denilyn Jacoba, Edwin Sibucao Jr., Cedric Catacutan, Seano Pangilinan, Jim Leonard Sison, Paula Surima, Lurlene Odal, (Princess Rigua not pictured), George Vinuya, and Gian Antonio—will represent the CNMI in the first face-to-face National Junior Speech and Debate Association competition since the COVID-19 pandemic, in Mesa, Arizona from June 13 to June 16, 2023. (LEIGH GASES)

• Iris Maleia Rasa from Mount Carmel School will compete in CCLHS – Chamorro Speaking.

• Paula Surima from HMS will compete in the Prose competition.

• Joan Song from SCS will compete in Poetry.

• Edwin Sibucao Jr. from FMS will compete in Extemporaneous Speaking.

• George Vinuya from FMS will compete in Impromptu.

• Gian Antonio from FMS will compete in Storytelling.

In the regional finals held before the national team was announced, Lincoln Douglas Debate winners from first place to fifth place were Cedric Catacutan, Xyris Eliazar, Boying Lin, Denilyn Jacoba, and Precious Lontoc.

Duo Interpretation winners from first place to seventh place were Princess Rigua and Lurlene Odal; Seano Pangilinan and Jim Leonard Sison; Michael Elayda and Alexander Javier; Joan Song and David Park; Yu Rong Jian and Gian Antonio; Kalie Kalen and Xyris Eliazar; and Hyacinth Gail Lobo and Mary Razielle Sobremisana.

Humorous Interpretation winners from first place to fifth place were Seano Pangilinan, George Vinuya, Breanna May Lopez, Alyana Rotap, and Joshua Yoo.

Dramatic Interpretation winners from first place to eighth place were Lurlene Odal; Jim Leonard Sison; Gian Antonio; Paula Surima; Breanna May Lopez; Paul Jacoba; Riani Sablan; and Paula Bernardo.

Original Oratory winners from first place to sixth were Celine Park, Chan Woo (Henry) Yeom, Marilet Tuazon, Fiona Zhu, Sarah Melchor, and Aron Blancia.

CCLHS – Chamorro Speaking winners from first place to fourth were Iris Maleia Rasa, Ha’ane Manibusan, Kalie Kalen, and Hanna Padolino.

Prose winners from first place to sixth were Paula Surima, Princess Rigua, Jim Leonard Sison, Qihan Wang, Iris Maleia Rasa, and Alyana Rotap.

Poetry winners from first place to sixth were Joan Song, Seano Pangilinan, Celine Park, Carly Dela Cruz, Josephine Lopez, and Alexis Salundaguit.

Extemporaneous Speaking winners from first place to sixth were Edwin Sibucao Jr., Hans Gabriel Ordas, Austin Yumul, Jose Jeffrey Bonto, Alexander Javier, and Fiona Zhu.

Declamation winners from first place to sixth were Denilyn Jacoba, Louise Manansala, Cedric Catacutan, Edwin Sibucao Jr., Marilet Tuazon, and Alexis Salundaguit.

Impromptu winners from first place to seventh were George Vinuya, Qihan Wang, Edwin Sibucao Jr., Joshua Yoo, Celine Park, Louise Manansala, and Victor Neil Santos.

Storytelling winners from first place to sixth were Gian Antonio, Qihan Wang, Yu Rong Jian, Alexis Salundaguit, Princess Rigua, and Cedric Catacutan.

Harold Easton, a key organizer of the regional events, said the students have been preparing for the competition since last October and that every student and team earned their win. “The general impression of the judges was that they were impressed. Obviously, some were better than others, but that’s the nature of the competition,” he said.

The students competed in three competitions prior to the final competition, to which they then qualified to reach the regional finals.

Since 1999, the CNMI has been participating in the National Speech and Debate Association competitions, which usually feature more than 6,000 middle and high school students every summer.