Rowland Hall Debate is back on top.

“After finishing second last year, the team was hungry to reclaim the state title,” said Coach Mike Shackelford. “That's exactly what we did.”

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The road to state began in September and was filled with dozens of local and national tournaments. While debaters compete in small groups throughout most of the season, they have to come together as a full team to succeed at the region and state levels.

“Region and state represent the only time students compete as a unified program,” Mike explained. “Thirty students at region and 22 at state competed in eight different event styles, and all contributed to the overall school point total.”

This year’s performance included the highest point total in school history (second in Utah history) and a jaw-dropping 58 wins in 64 rounds—that’s a 91% win rate. Judges’ scoring comments were filled with praise for the students’ confident speaking styles, cross-examination questions, and energy.

It wasn’t an easy job—Rowland Hall Debate competes up a classification, facing 15 larger schools in 3A—but the team was prepared. “The field was as competitive as ever, but we rose to the occasion with a dominant performance,” said Mike.

That performance included the highest point total in school history (second in Utah history) and a jaw-dropping 58 wins in 64 rounds—that’s a 91% win rate. Judges’ scoring comments were filled with praise for the Rowland Hall students’ confident speaking styles, cross-examination questions, and energy. One judge even wrote to junior Emery Lieberman, “I have been competing and judging for a long time and that was one of the best speeches I have ever seen.”

“The judge’s feedback is validating,” said Emery. “As a team, we put a lot of time and effort into improving our skills and cases, and much of it goes unnoticed.”

This year, though, the team’s work was hard to miss. And with their fourth state title in five years, they further reinforced Rowland Hall’s place among the state’s top debate programs.

“We have the deepest, most talented, and hardest working team in Utah, and it was on full display,” said Mike.

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Below is a breakdown of Rowland Hall’s top performances by debate event at state.

Impromptu Speaking

In this event, students are given random topics and have 1–2 minutes to prepare before delivering a 5-minute speech.

• 1st: Chloe Llewellyn (10)

Student Congress

In this event, students participate in a simulation in which they debate different pieces of national legislation.

• 2nd: Reid Venkatesan (10)
• Finalists: Gregory House (10), Dean Borst (9), and Alex Previtali (9)

Extemporaneous Speaking

In this event, students are given a current event question and have 30 minutes to research, write, and deliver a 7-minute speech.

• 2nd: Baker Campsen (12)
• Finalist: Emery Lieberman (11) 

Lincoln-Douglas

In this event, students debate the pros and cons of a topic one-on-one. This year’s topic was the ethical dimensions of military intervention.

• 3rd: Gavin Schmidt (12)
• Quarterfinalists: Baker Campsen (12) and Ada Tyser (10)

Policy

In this event, teams advocate for or against a policy change resolution. This year’s topic was increasing development and exploration in the Arctic. Rowland Hall swept Policy, eliminating the need for a state semifinal or final. “They’re functionally co-champions,” said Mike of the debaters.

• 1st: Izzy Utgaard (11) and Scarlett Corey (9)
• 2nd: Enzo Rust (12) and Chloe Vezina (11)
• 3rd: Sofia Drakou (11) and Jena Shaaban (9)
• 4th: Evie Chen (10) and Lucas Choi (9)

Public Forum

In this event, teams deliver short speeches interspersed with 3-minute crossfire sections. This year’s topic was housing shortages.

• 1st: Harrison Lasater (12) and Sawyer Orgain (12)
• Semifinalists: Anya Ellahie (12) and Emery Lieberman (11), and Tyson Brown (11) and Meg Hoglund (12)
• Quarterfinalists: Arianna Ali (11) and Fatima Asad (10)

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Congratulations to our debaters, as well as to Mike and Assistant Coach Zach Thiede! And best of luck to everyone who will be moving on to compete at nationals and the Tournament of Champions this spring.