The CHS debate team
and its coaching staff are happy to conclude one of its busiest weeks of the
year, but according to the director of forensics Chris Lowery, “it is always
easier to put in the work when you see the kids having success at the end of
the process.”
The CHS debate
tournament is a behemoth at times. CHS was host to two states and over 300
entries competing with the backdrop of the most ambitious schedule of any
tournament during the season. “Our tournament fits six full rounds in while
a normal tournament only commits to four rounds,” said Lowery. This format
makes the results much more predictive of postseason success than a typical
tournament where one loss often-times can push a student down as far as
fifth place.
Congressional
debate typically involves debate on predetermined legislation. Chesterton is
perhaps the only tournament in the country that involves a ‘scramble round.’
In this round, students are presented with an emergency session of congress
to deal with a real-world scenario crisis. After having time to shift
through an information packet, the contestants begin debate. Ethan Kroft
continued a recent string of placings in novice Congressional debate,
earning fifth overall in the event and third in his individual chamber.
Savannah Hutchinson came in seventh overall and fourth in her chamber. John
Petro was eighth in the varsity chamber of the event.
Lincoln-Douglas had
three divisions with CHS students featured in all of them. Zachary Mullins
led the varsity CHS members with third place, followed closely by Jonathan
Sumita in fourth, and Elli Didonna in sixth. Each of the varsity members
compiled a 4-2 record overall. At this tournament, individual speaker awards
are given based upon their presentation proficiency during the round.
Mullins was the runner-up in this category and Sumita was fifth. At the JV
level, Elia Livovich (3rd), Kylie Brickley (4th), and Zoe Swanson (6th) all
placed. Elijah Root had his highest placing of the year, after compiling a
5-1 record, he received third overall. He was followed by Nicholas Wells in
fourth, another top individual performance for the year. Caroline Ausema
(6th), Olivia Lee (8th), Nathan Osborn (9th), and Cesar Mondragon (10th) all
had outstanding weekends. Osborn was the runner-up in the speaker category.
Policy debate
features the unique aspect of debaters getting to challenge their opponent
(rather than have it assigned by the tab staff). At the varsity level, the
team of Ethan Dibble and Ryan Donovan were the highest placing CHS
performers with a third place finish. Ben Hoham and Hattie Hoham came in
fourth. Ben Hoham was the top speaker, Dibble was third, and Donovan was
fifth. In the novice division, Milena Veltri and Mark Jewison came in third
overall, while teammates Emma Bolinger and Sydney Baranko (5th), and Lilli
Griffith and Brian Hansen (6th) also placed. Jewison was third in speaker
awards and Veltri came in fifth.
Public Forum debate
saw Grace Whah and Emily Krygoskec place sixth for the tournament. Salomae
Minniear was the top speaker for Chesterton with an 8th place speaker award.
At the novice level, Alexis Ioannidis and Sidney Pittman were runner’s up
for the tournament, a personal record for the two, followed by the highest
finish for Conner Mathas and Trinity Irving (3rd), and Sam Burris and Tim
Wheeler (4th). Pittman (2nd), Wheeler (3rd), Burris (4th), and Ioannidis
(5th) all received additional recognition in the speaker category. Alexander
Szmutko and Halcyon Barton-Damsch came in fourth at the JV level.