MHS Debate had a weekend of fierce competition at Lawrence High on Dec. 6., facing off against local teams and opponents from Overland Park. During the tournament, novice debaters honed their skills in advanced divisions, while seniors Ayla Price and Wyatt Adams conquered the competition in preliminary rounds before moving to quarterfinals.
“A lot of work goes into [debates],” Price said.
Communicating effectively, persuading judges and being ready for anything are key ingredients to success. Another key factor, surprisingly, is this year’s fierce competition and the arms race of improving arguments.
“Our opponents have gotten substantially better at answering [our arguments], which is making us sharper debaters,” Adams said.
The team’s future looks bright, too. Harper Ruder, a freshman, competed in the more advanced Open category of debate, falling just short of moving on to elimination rounds — a standout accomplishment for a new debater.
“…For a novice, (that is) insanely impressive, because novices usually don’t even touch Open until maybe even late sophomore year,” senior Cameron Williams, Ruder’s debate partner, said. “Harper is really, really smart and is really good on her feet, and she is able to think of really complex answers to arguments made by other teams extremely quickly.”
MHS debate coach William Soper is proud of how Ruder and other MHS novices challenged themselves and grew this season, which he says gives him confidence that the team is “on a positive growth trajectory” and will continue securing success for many seasons to come.
“The fact that we had success here and we’re still winning both against… schools from Lawrence and Overland Park…so late in the season… is a really great indicator that the team is in a good spot,” he said.
That’s especially important heading into the postseason, where MHS will go head to head with top debate teams like Lawrence Free State and Washburn Rural at Regional qualifiers and State tournaments. Despite the challenge, team members are excited, energized, and confident they’ll continue their winning streak.
This season, success has come from closely studying other teams’ strategies, disciplined preparation for tournaments well in advance, and student-led coordination and cooperation. Like any great team, MHS Debate’s secret to success is a supportive, tight-knit community.
“We’re all friends, we all talk to each other, we all…work together to figure out a lot of this,” Price said.
MHS debaters have also made friends from other schools.
Williams, for example, helped friends from another school prepare an argument against their opponents.
“My friends from Topeka West…ran a silly, affirmative plan, which was essentially just ‘we should find Santa,’” Williams said. “[They] were able to win on that, which…I thought was really funny and really awesome… It showed that…debate didn’t have to be…serious all the time.”
As the season comes to a close and seniors prepare to graduate, the team is on the lookout for new talent. As an outgoing senior, Price has some advice for students who might be interested in debate:
“I think…people don’t do debate…because they’re scared… of public speaking…to go into this class where we’re loud. We’re all talking all the time. We’re all doing so much stuff that they don’t understand,” she said. “ I joined my sophomore year, and I was terrified. I did not say a single word in that debate hour, ever. But now, like, I’ve gotten to know people. And it’s become really fun and it’s become a community…It really helps you…learn how to think on your feet and do research. If…even a small part of you thinks you should join Debate, then you should just try it out. It’s a lot of fun.”
Adams agreed.
“The most positive thing that I think anybody can gain from debate is being able to be part of that community and work together,” he said. “…because you have a partner in debate…there’s always somebody else. And I think that’s a great lesson about life.”
