- Accomplishments
- Sage Ridge Spotlight
- Speech & Debate
- Student Life
Greetings, Debate Fans!
Your Sage Ridge Scorpion debaters were on fire on Saturday, Sept. 7 at the season-opening tournament at McQueen High School. Fourteen students put forth their best efforts in Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum, and Big Questions debate, and we came away with 33 round wins on the day – WOW! Overall, we took one 3rd place, two 2nd places, and one 1st place finish. To the deets:
In their first high school tournament, 9th graders Milin Sekhon ‘28 and Justin Sloyan ‘28 went 3-1 in prelims, made it to the final round, and only lost by one ballot on a 2-1 split decision. Judges praised them for “bringing more to the table” with their arguments, and for having “more relevant evidence” than their opponents. Nice job!
Senior Public Forum
It was amazing to watch underclassmen Jensen Wu ‘27 and Owen Heaphy ‘27 mow through opponents the entire day only to be beaten by a team of seniors in the semifinal round. One judge wrote about this duo: “strong on all accounts… an excellent job taking your opponents’ points and arguing how they actually supported your side.” There was a lot of buzz about these two in the judge’s lounge as their dynamic speaking styles left an impression on everyone who watched them. Great work!
Novice Big Questions (BQ)
Continuing a streak of success that he started last year, “Big” Wes Kennedy ‘27 went 3-1 in finals, and lost in semifinals on a 2-1 split ballot. A judge noted that Wes has a “great speaking style” and gushed, “you are wonderful at summarizing!” This is Wes’s second time breaking into finals, and that qualifies him for the Senior division, where he will continue to do damage in BQ next month. Outstanding!
Saatvik Gaur ‘26 decided to give BQ debate a try and surprised himself and the Sagebrush league by going a perfect 4-0 in prelims, 2-1 in semifinals, and only dropping his final round to a much more experienced BQ debater. Judges remarked that he was “easy to follow,” “kept the debate very focused,” and “had a bigger picture argument and better sources.” Taking second place on the first try is impressive. Amazing job!
Senior Big Questions
Raghav “Pitbull” Bhalla ‘26 and Mallory “My Apologies” Cotton ‘27 made the surprise move to team up for this first tournament of BQ debate, and this was bad news for the Sagebrush BQ population. They went 3-1 on the day, and in the final round won on a 2-1 decision. Judges remarked: “great speaking overall” and used “effective analogies” to illustrate their case. Separate or together, these two will continue to make waves in BQ debate. Wow!
Special Thanks To:
Steve & Michelle Cotton, who generously donated yearly subscriptions to The Washington Post and The Atlantic Magazine, which we desperately needed for our case research. Steve also covered all our snacks for this tournament and part of October’s tournament, as well. Your gifts make a huge difference!
Our parent judges Holly Jennings, Simmi Sekhon, Deepak Kamath, and Katie O’Donnell. You helped the debate community and made Sage Ridge look great. Thanks to all of you and please spread the word about how great judging is. You are much appreciated!
Next Up: Saturday, October 19 at Carson High School.
Yours in the Cause!
Coaches Adler & Sloyan
