In 2018, Colin Cahill set the Bishop Dwenger varsity speech team record with 26 wins. According to Mr. Chad Chenowith, the speech team coach, that record seemed untouchable. And then Samantha Ondecker joined the team. “My first impression of her in her freshman year was that she was very creative, ” Chenowith said. “She came in with her own poetry and even wrote a piece her freshman year. As the year progressed, she showed lots of grit, not getting discouraged by rough meets, although she did really well and scored lots of points.” At the time of this writing, Ondecker, a senior, has smashed the varsity wins record, notching 30 victories – and she shows no sign of stopping. Ondecker has won in a number of events, including dramatic interpretation, poetry reading, program oral interpretation, and original performance. Her achievements include a sixth-place finish at the 2025 Indiana Schools Speech and Debate Association (ISSDA) in original performance along with her performance partner, Cohen Wiwi. That same year, Ondecker took first place in dramatic interpretation and third in original performance at the ISSDA 2025 Section 3 tournament. Photos courtesy of Bishop Dwenger High School This year, Ondecker has won 15 times in three different events. Most impressively, she also qualified for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in dramatic interpretation. But Ondecker adds so much more to the speech and debate team beyond her interpretation skill. “Some of her best traits are her leadership and her humility,” Chenowith said. “She adds so much more to the team beyond points. Her leadership and guidance add so much. She doesn’t forget that the event is supposed to be fun, and she doesn’t put the competition above that,” Chenowith said. As the senior speech captain, Ondecker has certain responsibilities. She is the first person who underclassmen will come to for advice and will often coach teammates on their pieces. Ondecker is also responsible for receiving the team sweepstakes award at the end of every speech meet. “Sam is a great leader to everyone on the team,” said Kingston Schenkel, a speech team member. “She’s always there for everybody and always checking in and making sure everyone’s OK. She always puts a smile on everyone’s face.” Ondecker has been a member of the speech team since her freshman year, where she won a meet in the novice competition and another at the varsity level. In the four years that followed, Ondecker has put in the time and effort to improve to the place she is now. “I can definitely see the progress from freshman year,” Ondecker said. “Freshman year, I was still timid, and getting up in front of a classroom full of people was terrifying to me. Now, it’s second nature. I have come to love it. I’m excited to go to speech meets. You get that rush, and it’s the best feeling, especially when you’re up on stage and you can appreciate the hours that you put into this.” Ondecker is a valuable part of the Bishop Dwenger speech team not only because of her skill, but also because of who she is. Without her, the team would not be the same. This article was written by Mady Smith, a student at Bishop Dwenger High School. The post An Undebatable Success appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less