Congratulations to the Apple Valley Debate Team on an impressive start to the 2009-2010 season!

First, the Eagles competed at the Valley Mid-America Cup held in West Des Moines, Iowa in late September. In this varsity-level national tournament, junior Sean Cheren made it to the double-octafinal (top 32), besting a field of over 100 students.

Then, the Eagles competed at their first in-state debate tournament at Lakeville South High School on October 3rd. Impressive finishes were made by juniors Sean Cheren and Jon Slater, as both placed in the top six of the tournament.

At Bloomington Jefferson on October 10th, the Eagles had one of their most outstanding finishes yet. Junior Jon Slater was named champion in varsity LD, sophomore John Granlund was named champion in JV LD, and freshmen Miriam Kelberg, Georgia Schmitt, and Miranda Lawell all received awards for top-five finishes. In addition, junior Rhett Gopaul and senior Cameron Michelsen were named runners-up in the varsity division of Public Forum debate.

On October 16-17th, the team competed at their first two-day tournament of the season at the University of Minnesota. Once again reaching elimination rounds, junior Jon Slater reached semifinals, placing in the top four in a very large varsity division. In novice, freshmen Max Courtright, Miriam Kelberg, and Nader Helmy all received speaking awards in the top seven for their performances.

Most recently at Hopkins High School on October 23rd – 24th, Apple Valley was named the team champions in LD debate! This impressive award was given based on results from the top three varsity and top three novice LD debaters. In novice, two debaters reach elimination rounds; sophomore John Granlund reached the quarterfinal round (top and junior Jon Slater reached the semifinal round (top 4). In novice LD debate, Apple Valley had six out of the eight quarterfinalists in the tournament; freshmen Rand Silvers, Max Courtright, Miranda Lawell, and Mallory Lammers were all named quarterfinalsts, while freshmen Miriam Kelberg and Georgia Schmitt were named semifinalists. Congratulations to the entire team on being named team champions of the Hopkins Royal Cup!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Results. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.