For the second year in a row, the Irving Society has won Mercersburg’s annual Irving-Marshall Week competition, narrowly edging rival Marshall Society, 1,040 to 945 total points.

Marshall’s Renee Jin ’26 (McLean, VA) took first place at Declamation, Mercersburg’s 132nd prize speaking contest. Irving’s Jacob Bershatsky ’28 (Mercersburg, PA) was second. Irving’s Audrey Hua ’26 (Guilford, CT) placed third, and Marshall received the overall team prize with declaimers Jin, Claire Chow ’26 (Hong Kong), Sean Flaherty ’26 (Kensington, MD), Lilly Killinger ’26 (Middleburg, VA), and Michael Kremers ’26 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates). 

Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27 announced the results at an all-school dance following Declamation March 5.

Jin won with “The Swan Queen,” a self-written work inspired by the film Black Swan. Her piece explored the duality of innocence and temptation of the Swan Queen role in Swan Lake, and the danger of feeling threatened by perceived adversaries. Pondering this near the end of her presentation, she questioned, “Did I make some innocent girl into my enemy over nothing?” 

Bershatsky’s second-place win came from a humorous rendering of “The Comeback Kid” by Olan Rogers, in which Bershatsky–the only 10th-grade declaimer–recounted a middle school paintball experience where he and his friend Wesley faced off against some “professional” paintball players. While their paintball strategy was initially off the mark, it came full circle near the end of the day’s play, enabling them to make a comeback.

Hua’s delivery of “Junie” from the novel Yellowface by R.F. Kuang earned the third-place prize. A deep envy and resentment against her friend Athena prompts the author to question, “Have you ever wanted someone else’s life so bad that you forgot to live yours?”

The Declamation judges were asked to determine first-, second-, and third-place winners from the 10 speakers, and then make a judgment of the stronger overall team performance.

For Marshall, Jin was the only repeat declaimer. She was joined by Chow, Flaherty, Killinger, and Kremers for the team prize of 100 points. Angela Tang ’28 (Shanghai, China) acted as Marshall’s declaimer-in-training. 

Bershatsky and Hua were new faces for Irving’s declamation team, which included two repeats, Sophie Koroma ’26 (Hyattsville, MD), who earned third place last year, and Lily Hubbard ’26 (Camas, WA). After serving as Irving’s 2025 declaimer-in-training, Caroline Hobbs ’26 (Pottsville, PA), joined this year’s team. Audrey Stambaugh ’27 (East Berlin, PA) served as Irving’s declaimer-in-training.

For Irving-Marshall Week, each student belonged to one of the two societies, which faced off in a number of athletic and other contests—most notably Declamation, which pits five representatives from each society in a public speaking contest where prepared monologues are delivered in formal attire for an energetic yet dignified crowd of students, the school community, and distinguished judges. Victories in each event during the week garner points for the winning society.

Simon Brennan ’26 (Highland Beach, FL) was the Irving Society president, and Cole Piraino ’26 (Chevy Chase, MD) served as the Marshall Society president. De-Enda Rotz P ’25 was the Irving Society adviser, and Bethany Galey ’02 was the faculty adviser for Marshall. Matt Maurer P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’28 advised the declaimers.

Maurer noted that the biggest challenge for the declaimers is finding the right material for a piece, explaining that it’s also challenging to adapt or cut the piece, as needed. 

“The rest is just hard work, preparation, confidence, and execution,” Maurer said. “But they always seem to peak at the right time.”

Declamation is a valuable tradition for both the participants and the audience.

“For the participants, I hope they come away proud of what they accomplished, whether they win a place or not. One of the most common comments from the judges is ‘They are all so strong!’” Maurer said. “I also hope that in addition to being proud of themselves, they’ve created some fantastic memories of the process and the event, as well as meaningful relationships with the society officers and their fellow declaimers from both societies.”

Declamation also provides the audience with a great opportunity to see what’s possible on stage. 

“In addition to walking away deeply moved, with a powerful message, and/or after having a hilariously good time, I hope students feel inspired to start looking for a piece of their own that gives them the best chance of making the team when they audition next year,” Maurer said.

Entering Declamation, the point total stood at 740 for Marshall and 545 for Irving, with 700 points available at the speaking contest.

Marshall won in 2024. The previous two years, Irving was victorious. Prior to 2022, Marshall had a six-year winning run, tying Irving’s six-year winning streak from 1911-1916. The loss in 2022 ended Marshall’s hope of becoming the first society to reach a seven-year winning streak. The annual competition has been held every year except one since the school was founded in 1893. In 1936, Irving-Marshall Week was canceled because of a flu epidemic.

Declamation Prizes

 Jin (Marshall), first place: John K. Berger Prize, John S. Derr Prize, and Scoblionko Declamation Cup (given by David Scoblionko ’66 and Eric Scoblionko ’72)

Bershatsky (Irving), second place: J. Harry Wood Prize, John S. Derr Prize

Hua (Irving), third place: Dorothy Baker Prize, John S. Derr Prize

Marshall team: John K. and Mary Jane Berger Prize

Pictured: Cole Piraino ’26, left, served as the Marshall Society president, and Simon Brennan ’26 was the Irving Society president.