Debate Wins Second Consecutive State Championship

For this year’s debate team, there may be one thing that feels better than claiming Rowland Hall’s second consecutive region and state titles: doing it in person.

After two years of online-only competition, debaters from across the state gathered in person once again for the 2022 regional and state tournaments. After numerous Zoom-room competitions, said Mike Shackelford, debate coach, these gatherings were welcome.

"A return to in-person debate was rejuvenating,” said Mike. “Sure, it meant more planning and earlier mornings—but it also meant pep talks and motivational speeches, real-time collaboration, bonding and playing together between rounds, and supporting one another by watching final rounds as a group. It allowed our students to be truly seen and heard by their opponents, judges, and teammates." And it was especially exciting for the team members who hadn’t yet experienced in-person debate events. “They didn't even know what they were missing,” said Mike.

Sophomore Zac Bahna was one of these students. He experienced his first year of competition—where he placed third in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking at state—on Zoom, and now understands the contrast between the two settings.

“The in-person experience is a lot different but more fun,” said Zac, who, with fellow sophomore and partner Harris Matheson, took third place in the Public Forum event. “You get to talk to debaters from other schools and hang out with your teammates between rounds. Although last year’s debate season was still a great experience, the team felt more isolated and disconnected when we were all debating from our own homes. The state tournament was one of the first times that I could really feel the good energy of a team environment.”

That energy makes a difference for Rowland Hall not only because the team plays up a division into the 3A classification, pitting them against larger schools, but also because they had to spend a lot of time preparing for individual speech events—an area they don't practice during the regular season—to be competitive.

“It was so awesome to see so many Rowland Hall debaters come together and push themselves to compete in different events than they normally would and work together to achieve a common goal,” said Zac. “We were able to foster an environment in which everyone was willing to help each other out and push each other to succeed.” And as a result, the team walked away from the state tournament with their second consecutive 3A state title (their total score, 108, was 33 points higher than the second-place team) and an impressive list of performances (see sidebar).

“The season allowed me to grow and learn about topics and ideas that I never would have explored otherwise,” said ninth grader Aiden Gandhi, who emerged as a team phenom in his novice season, taking fifth place in Lincoln- Douglas at his first state tournament. “I am most proud of achieving the growth that I did this year in debate. It means that I will be better equipped for next year and future debates.”

It’s this kind of attitude, found across the team, that promises continued excellence for Rowland Hall Debate. Aiden and Zac have already promised to contribute to the team’s ongoing success by challenging themselves and their teammates, cultivating a positive environment, and building community.

“I am excited for the opportunity that next year's season brings to connect, grow, and improve,” said Aiden.

2022 Rowland Hall Debate State Performances

National Extemporaneous Speaking: Senior Samantha Lehman took first.

Public Forum: Senior teammates Ella Houden and Kit Stevens took first, with senior Samantha Lehman and junior Micah Sheinberg, as well as sophomores Zac Bahna and Harris Matheson, closing out the top three spots.

Policy: Junior Layla Hijjawi and sophomore Joey Lieskovan took first. Juniors Ruchi Agarwal and Julia Summerfield also went undefeated, giving them the co-championship, while senior George Drakos and sophomore Gabe Andrus, as well as sophomores Marina Peng and Logan Fang, tied for third.

Lincoln-Douglas: Freshman Aiden Gandhi took fifth.

Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking: Junior Zachary Klein took third.

Student Congress: Freshman Andrew Murphy took fifth.

Impromptu Speaking: Junior Micah Sheinberg took fourth.

Congratulations, debaters, on an impressive year!

Rowland Hall Debater Creates Elo Ranking System For High School Policy Debate

Over summer 2021, debater Zachary Klein created the first-ever high school policy debate Elo rating system, a highly complicated coding system designed to rank players of various games against one another. Named The Off-Time Roadmap, Zach’s system is widely followed by student debaters from all over the country. “It takes all the data from all the debates on the national circuit, compiles it, and makes the nationwide ranking,” Zach told fellow debater Ruchi Agarwal for a story for The Gazette, the Upper School student newspaper, earlier this year. Read the The Gazette story and check out Zach’s Elo system: