December 8, 2024
Congratulations to the MPA debate team on a fantastic performance at the Classic State Debate Festival. Fifty-two students represented the school and debated about the benefits and drawbacks of NATO’s commitment to membership for Ukraine. Their countless hours of research, thinking, and practice contributed to numerous successes across the three divisions of competition—novice, junior varsity, and varsity and to a second-place finish in the team sweepstakes competition.
The tournament is called the Classic Debate Championships in novice and junior varsity. In the novice division, the team of Harper Short and Spencer Hamilton advanced to the quarterfinal round. In the junior varsity division, the teams of Truman Wilgocki and Soren Winikoff and Oslo Norcross and Hannabella Li advanced to the octafinal round, while the teams of Kelvyn Boddipalli and Sidd Sastry, Myah Hoeschen and Nicole Kim, and Yusuf Ali and Rosie Bergh advanced to quarterfinals. The team of Josh Murr and Lucy Mayer won the entire division with a commanding performance in the final round.
The varsity division is called the Minnesota State High School League Classic Debate State Festival, as the MSHSL sponsors the awards for this event. Before we get to the team results, we want to applaud four debaters who were recognized with all-state debate honors for their excellence over the entire season: Paul Fertig, Zainab Lodhi, Annika Binstadt, and Zoya Nayak. Additionally, the varsity team won the Challenge Cup for the second year in a row, which is an award for the best season-long performance for a varsity squad. In the tournament itself, MPA shined. The team of Amal Sastry and Liam Kimmerle advanced to the quarterfinal round, and the team of Annika Binstadt and Zoya Nayak made it to the semifinal round. Finally, the team of Paul Fertig and Zainab Lodhi made it to the final round where they finished second to an excellent team from Eastview High School.
A special thank you to all the alums who judged and coached for the team this season. In particular, alums Meg Wilkening ’18 and Ellie Quam ’17 deserve special recognition. MPA teachers strive to encourage students to be thoughtful, intellectually curious, generous with their talents, and hardworking. Meg and Ellie embody all these qualities and more. We are lucky to benefit from their continued presence in our community. Another special thank you to Katie Murr, head coach and Upper School social studies teacher, for her dedication, expertise, and enthusiasm—it’s contagious. Go Panthers!
