Hi all. The Bells competed Thursday through yesterday for the right to represent the California Coast District at the National Championships (which will be held this June in Philadelphia and Delaware...long story.) First, I'd like to thank those teachers who judged for us on Thursday and Friday. Also, I'd like to thank Bill Healy, Chris Wolf and Dee Dee Sullivan for putting in long hours despite challenges (Bill-plague, Chris-open wound, Dee Dee-dead laptop) so that the speech community could enjoy the weekend. (The team parents were also spectacular, and I'm thanking them elsewhere.)

However, words fail when I try to describe the work and focus of the speakers and debaters. It is one tough and tension-filled weekend, and they handled the wins and losses with equal grace. Please congratulate the following for their very special achievement:

The top two finishers in each event go to the national tournament.

Foreign Extemporaneous
First Nikhil Matani - Bellarmine
Second Akshay Rao - Leland
Fourth David Chiang - Bellarmine

U.S. Extemporaneous
First Jonathan Weed - Bellarmine
Second Brian Stephan - Bellarmine
Fourth Dylan Groves - Bellarmine

Original Oratory
First Ananth Srinivasan - Bellarmine
Second Kelcey Chung - Saratoga
Third Bobby Holley - Bellarmine

Duo Interpretation
Iqwak Bhurji/Yue Tu - Leland
Anthony Tran/James Tseng - Leland

Dramatic Interpretation
First Nina Sung - Leland
Second Stephen Elrod - Bellarmine

Humorous Interpretation
First Christopher Lin - Bellarmine
Second Varun Rajan - Leland
Fourth Ashwin Bhagat - Bellarmine

Public Forum Debate
Undefeated Vikram Mahal/Sachin Thakkar - Bellarmine
Qualifying Carol Shen/Dharini Subramanian - Lynbrook
Alternate Sharat Raju/Tushar Khadloya - Bellarmine

Policy Debate (Because of entry size, three teams qualify.)
Undefeated Chris Weldon/Arun Badhwar - Bellarmine
Qualifying Phill Baker/Thomas Mathew -Bellarmine
Qualifying Hassan Khan/Nick Singh - Lelan

Lincoln Douglas Debate (Because of entry size, three qualify.)
Undefeated Katie Heil - Presentation
Qualifying Sameer Jain - Bellarmine
Qualifying Sonya Mehta - Lynbrook