In three recent competitions the debate team has had exceptional performances, earning impressive awards.
At the Golden Desert Debate Tournament at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Feb. 1-3, ninth graders Jason Cross and Brandon Cresswell made it to the quarterfinals. Additionally, ninth graders Zain Zaidi received second place and Carson Lee received fifth place for best speakers.
Zain reflected on his performance by highlighting his improvements throughout the season.
“Practicing helped a lot, and just being able to know my arguments,” Zain said. “At Michigan, I was one of the lowest speakers, but then with practice, I got my 2nd speaker award.”
At the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Feb. 15-17, ninth graders Lara Mohindra and Nola Baldassare placed 16th and 18th out of 124 debaters. Most of the pairs from Lab made it to the elimination rounds.
Senior Theo Williams, a team captain, acknowledged the dedication that ninth graders have shown.
“Especially for the freshman, debate can be an activity with a very steep learning curve, and they invested a lot into it, and it’s been cool to see them improve quite quickly,”Theo said.
At the Maine East Regatta in suburban Park Ridge Feb. 7-9, senior Nathan Li and junior Devdan Jeffries went 4-2 for Novices but did not get through to the elimination rounds.
The season comes to an end in March, when the team will compete in the Tournament of Champions.
