For the first time in school history, and the first time statewide since 2003, Wichita Collegiate’s two-speaker debate teams ended the state tournament as Co-Champions! The teams of Ayaan Parikh and Will Meyer, Sam Ngunjiri and Cassilda Njeri, Andrew Porter and Sam Brittain, and Ingrid Lampton and Elizabeth Timsah, all advanced to the quarterfinals for the 3rd year in a row. All four teams then WON their quarter final rounds. As a result, all four teams were named State Co-Champions! This was a surreal moment for debate coach Rob Egan to process and a memory he will savor for a long time to come.
Collegiate has a long history of success at the state debate tournament. Over the years we have had multiple state champions in both the four-speaker and two-speaker events. However, what the Spartans accomplished last month at the 3-1A tournament at Tonganoxie was beyond anything Egan could have predicted.
In debate, teams from the same school can decide not to compete against each other. Once it was clear that all four teams had won their quarterfinals matches, the Spartans chose that option. As a result, each two-person tandem was credited with “walkover wins,” and the quartet of Collegiate teams were declared co-champions.
“For me as a coach, it was hard to process in the moment,” Egan said. “I knew that our students were well prepared and capable of doing special things, but this was beyond my wildest dreams. It’s one of those moments when I wish time could freeze, just to relish in the magic a little longer. We are so proud of our co-champions, who continue to lift up our tradition of excellence in debate. They’ve certainly left their mark.”
Egan said he had not heard of a school having all of the two-speaker semifinal teams since Tonganoxie achieved that feat in 2003.
“It’s certainly special to be able to mark that occasion on the Wichita Collegiate squad,” he said.
Egan said having eight debaters share the honor was fitting for this particular group, which helped secure the sixth overall state debate title for the Collegiate program, all coming in a span of the last six years.
“They have helped each other, crafted arguments together, teamed up to research challenging questions, and celebrated each other’s successes at every turn,” Egan said. “Over the course of the weekend, each of our students battled in tough rounds, and particularly in quarterfinals, really blew me away.”
In addition to our four co-champion teams, our 4-Speaker team of Charlie Gentile, Hayan Raffi, Colton Jenkins, Cooper Miller and alternate Max Timsah took 3rd place in the 4-Speaker tournament, compiling an 8-6 record and battling a tough field to come out in 3rd place at the end of the weekend. It was a great weekend that ultimately added another chapter to the impressive history of the Wichita Collegiate debate program!