The debate squad has been racking up impressive wins across recent tournaments, culminating in success at two consecutive major meets. The first big victory came at the Blue Valley North tournament, which drew top schools from the Kansas City area and where Manhattan placed third in sweepstakes. Coach and sponsor William Soper reported on the results of that earlier meet, confirming the sensational run of the team of seniors Wyatt Adams and Ayla Price, who finished the weekend completely undefeated with an 8-0 record, Soper said.
They swept all five preliminary debates, which earned them the coveted top seed heading into elimination rounds. Their dominance continued in the knockout stages, with them eventually winning the final round to clinch the championship. Reflecting on the challenge of that tournament, Adams noted they were “particularly stretched on researching one of the cases which we had to negate, Geoengineering of the Arctic,” Adams said.
The finals debate itself was difficult because they affirmed the resolution and the negative side “ran an entirely new argument which made responding difficult,” Adams said.
The second Open team, junior Camryn Barnes and Natalia Buffington, also performed exceptionally well at Blue Valley North, securing the third seed before falling in the semifinals. Adams noted that it was a “wonderful experience to shatter the expectations of bigger teams with far more coaches and resources,” Adams said, speaking to the team’s performance against the competitive KC hub schools.
Despite the tight loss in the semis, Soper summarized the overall performance: “Both of these teams have had consistent success this season and they have big ambitions for the state tournament in January,” Soper said.
Now, fast forward to this past weekend’s tournament at Seaman High School, where the team continued its streak and secured the overall victory, placing first in sweepstakes. In the Open division, Wyatt Adams and Ayla Price placed first, Emron Streetman and Savannah Harvey placed fourth, and juniors Natalia Buffington and Indie Voos placed fifth. In the Novice division, Ometh Sethula and Jonathan Jordan placed second. Junior Natalia Buffington confirmed the team’s ongoing success: “It went really well, especially as a team,” Buffington said, “My partner and I got fifth and Manhattan got first in sweepstakes.”
She gave some insight into her preparation for the high stakes topic — expanding exploration and development into the arctic — noting that her primary work involved “reading all the information and preparing my partner,” Buffington said.
Despite intense competition, her favorite moment underscored the team’s strong foundation: “My favorite moment from the weekend was seeing the novices I mentor have fun and do well,” Buffington said.
Adams reiterates about team community, saying his favorite moment was “getting to spend time with my friends. Overnight tournaments are always a special vibe,” Adams said.
He noted that while public speaking and quick critical thinking are given from debate, “most of all, relationship building…There is nothing more valuable than the community on the team here at Manhattan,” Adams said.
Buffington already has goals for the future, hoping that at more tournaments she can “bring some novices into a harder division like I did this last weekend,” Buffington said.
