7 Newman Students Earn State Championships in Speech and Debate

Nineteen Greenies traveled to Lafayette to compete at the State Tournament for the Louisiana High School Speech League whose membership includes over 50 high schools from all over the state. At the state championship for speech and debate, there is no classification based on school size or school type. In each event, we crown a single state champion, and, overall, there is one school that gets to call itself the state championship team. We enjoyed the following results:

Kevin Qi – Congressional Debate

Jackson Haber – Impromptu Speaking

Lia Bu – Impromptu Speaking

Rajan Agrawal – Extemporaneous Speaking

Laura Arenas – Extemporaneous Speaking

Lia Bu – Extemporaneous Speaking

Kevin Qi – Extemporaneous Speaking

Royden Lynch – Extemporaneous Speaking

Laura Arenas – Original Oratory

 

Anyone who places in the top 8 in any event is a member of the All State Team. The following earned All State honors:

 

Max Kanner – Congressional Debate – 8th place

Griffin Descant – Extemporaneous Speaking – 7th place

Kevin Qi – Impromptu Speaking – 6th place

Avni Shridhar – Extemporaneous Speaking – 5th place

Emmy Pilant – Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate – 5th place

Serena Klebba – Extemporaneous Speaking – 4th place

 

Anyone who places in the top 3 in any event also brings home a plaque in recognition of that achievement. The following brought home plaques:

Sydney Gold – Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate

Kevin Qi and Griffin Descant – Varsity Policy Debate

 

Sydney Gold – Impromptu Speaking

Sydney Gold – Extemporaneous Speaking

Rajan Agrawal and Royden Lynch – Varsity Policy Debate

 

Lia Bu – Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate

Andrew Herman and Nithya Ramcharan – Novice Policy Debate

Ana Finger and Serena Klebba – Novice Policy Debate

Avni Shridhar – Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate

Max Kanner – Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate

(Because both entrants in the final round of Novice Policy and Varsity LD were both from Newman, no final round was held, and they were declared co-champions.)

As a team, we placed 2nd. This is the third consecutive year that we have been the State Runner-up, and we are the only school in Louisiana to place in the top 3 overall for each of the last five years.

The tournament was the final competition of the Louisiana circuit for our five seniors. The descriptions below only scratch the surface of what they mean to this program.

Laura Arenas – She is one of our captains. Her spirit and energy are contagious. She motivates others to do their best by quietly and professionally improving her craft with every practice and every competition. If someone has a disappointing result, they can count on Laura to see to it that they will soon have a smile on their face and are ready to re-focus. She has reached the elimination rounds at the State Tournament every year of her career, and she will represent Newman and Louisiana at Nationals for the third consecutive year.

Avni Shridhar – She has been a highly successful debater and speaker throughout high school. She has earned All State honors every year. Her goal was to finish her senior year by competing at her very best and doing what she set out to do when she was a freshman. Just in the month of March, Avni claimed the City Championship, the Louisiana District Championship, and the State Championship in Lincoln Douglas Debate. She will be attending Nationals for the first time.

Max Kanner – He is one of our captains. He is the workhorse of the Lincoln Douglas program. He pushes and challenges his teammates to prepare meticulously for tournaments. He produces the most amount of research, develops the most nuanced strategies, and sets an unparalleled standard for honesty and integrity. He shared the same three championships as Avni and earned All State honors for the fourth consecutive year. He is also the caretaker of the team. If a student is having a difficult time, he will reach out. If necessary, he will contact a coach to get involved. If a teammate is not competing with the highest ethical standards, he will not hesitate to remind them there is a right way to do things. Winning is nice. Winning honorably is better. He will be attending Nationals this summer for the third time.

Royden Lynch – He is one of the most giving and selfless debaters we have ever coached. While being focused on his preparation for tournaments, he will stop everything to help a younger member of the team. The novice policy debaters routinely turn to him so they can learn and improve, and he always gives them the time and support they need. Our novices had a strong finish to the year, and Royden is a key to that success. As a debater, Royden has been immensely successful. He reached the final round of policy debate at the state tournament in three of his four years. As a team, he and Rajan are widely considered one of the best in the US, being one of about 70 debate teams in the country to qualify for the National Tournament of Champions. Royden will return to Nationals for the third consecutive summer.

Rajan Agrawal – He is the captain of the team. His drive, his work ethic, and his integrity are models for all others. Although he spends plenty of time pushing his teammates to work at a high level, he leads mostly just by intense preparation for tournaments. He constantly seeks to improve his speaking, his strategic vision, and his execution. He is a true student of the activity. With Royden as his partner, they have been the most successful policy debate team at Newman in over 15 years. Rajan has the unique honor of placing either 1st or 2nd in policy debate at the state tournament in all four years of his debating career. He, too, will be returning to Nationals for the third time.

Laura, Avni, Max, Royden, and Rajan represent the very best of what a speech and debate program is designed to produce – people of high character, deeply curious, intensely focused, prepared to lead. When it was announced that we were the 2018 State Runner-up, all five walked together and claimed the trophy that they have earned on behalf of their teammates.