Pueblo Central High School hosts 450 students at Colorado speech and debate tournament

Pueblo-area high schools were well-represented at this year's 4A speech and debate championship tournament this weekend.

Pueblo Central High School, 216 E. Orman Ave., hosted almost 450 students from 40 schools across Colorado on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. Thirteen of those students came from Pueblo West High School. Nkechi Onyejekwe, a junior, represented the Cyclones as a defending champion in the Original Oratory competition.

"I do recommend that anyone who joins Pueblo West participates in speech and debate," Onyejekwe told the Chieftain. "It prepares you not only for public speaking skills, you get to learn about different types of topics and just become more educated about the world around you."

Onyejekwe advocated for racial equity through honest conversations in her oratory speech, "Forget Decorum" at this year's state tournament.

"I just wanted to bring attention to how, when you erase certain parts of history, it creates a dysfunctional future," she said prior to competing.

Cyclone senior Riya Singh competed in the Lincoln Douglas Debate competition. She was given the debate topic, "The United States ought to substantially reduce its military presence in the West Asia and North Africa regions."

"We have a really good camaraderie between our team," Singh said. "Being an older member, I help coach the younger novices and our coaches are just amazing. They're basically like our second parents on the team."

Pueblo County High School had six state qualifiers compete in this weekend's competition. Craig Allen, a Hornet junior, whittled the three-hour script of "A Bronx Tale" by Chazz Palminteri into a 10-minute speech fit for the Dramatic Interpretation competition.

"Our speech and debate program is small but mighty," Allen said. "We don't have a lot of members, but the members we do have are good at what they do."

Allen's classmate Sunny Wiggins is a third-year state qualifier and recent national qualifier who spliced pieces from about a dozen existing works, including songs and poetry, to create a Program Oral Interpretation competition performance about children raising their siblings.

Pueblo Centennial High School brought a trio of state qualifiers to this weekend's championship tournament. Bulldog seniors Sam Francis and Jacob Welte competed together in the Varsity Public Forum Debate competition.

Ky Burton, a Bulldog senior and aspiring actress, returned to the state competition as a three-time qualifier and three-time finalist for national qualification. Burton delivered the tragic monologue "Normalcy" in this year's Dramatic Interpretation competition.

Despite being in the den of rival Central, the three Centennial seniors preferred having the competition in Pueblo over a long trip north of the city.

"It's refreshing compared to having to wake up at four and get on a bus," Francis said.

As a 3A school, Central students did not compete in the 4A state tournament at their school. However, the Wildcat debate team stayed busy this weekend by assisting with concessions. The Central booster club, alumni foundation and staff also joined the "team effort" to host the tournament, Central speech and debate Coach Phil Gomez said.

"I put up a bid for (hosting) this... My line has been to share the Latino culture and all the things Pueblo has to offer with the speech and debate community," Gomez said.

Prior to the tournament, Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce President Duane Nava told the Chieftain that Central's hosting of the two-day event will "absolutely" benefit the local economy, as hundreds of people come to Pueblo and stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, and patronize local businesses.

"Any time we can showcase our city and how amazing it is, having people from outside coming to our city usually results in them coming back, spending time and visiting our amenities here in Pueblo," Nava said.

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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news. Subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Central hosts 4A speech and debate tournament