In order to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, debaters must earn bids at invitational tournaments by reaching the designated elimination round. The most competitive TOC qualifying tournaments award bids to all teams in the octafinals. Since the 1996-1997 season, the number of octafinals bid tournaments has remained between seven and ten: Greenhill, St. Mark’s, Glenbrooks, MBA, Emory, Harvard, and Berkeley have been mainstays while Wake Forest, Redlands, Stanford, Blake, and Michigan have spent at least one year on the list. Since that season, 37 schools have won at least one octafinals bid tournament with 20 schools winning more than one tournament and 16 schools winning at least one tournament in multiple seasons.

What school has won the most octafinals bid tournaments? How many teams have won multiple octafinals bid tournaments in the same season? Who holds the record for most octafinals bid wins in a career by a debater? The answers—as well as a complete listing of the winners and runners-up at every octafinals bid tournament held in the last 15 seasons—are below the fold.

Most Wins By A School

Westminster tops the list of schools with the most wins. Impressively, all 17 of the Wildcats’ wins have come since the 2001-2002 season.

1. Westminster — 17
2. Glenbrook North — 15
3. Colleyville Heritage — 9
4. Greenhill — 7
5. Head Royce — 7
6. Georgetown Day — 6
7. Kinkaid — 5
8. Lexington — 5
9. Glenbrook South — 5
10. St. Mark’s — 5

Most Years With A Win By A School

Glenbrook North has won at least one octafinals bid tournament in eight of the last 15 seasons, two more than any other school.

1. Glenbrook North — 8
2. Westminster — 6
3. Greenhill — 6
4. Colleyville Heritage — 4
5. Georgetown Day — 4
6. Kinkaid — 4
7. Lexington — 4
8. Head Royce — 3
9. Glenbrook South — 3
10. Bronx Science — 3
11. Pace Academy — 3

Most Wins By A Team In The Same Season

Only one team has won four octafinals bid tournaments in the same season:

• Westminster — Anshu Sathian & Stephen Weil (2006-2007)

The following eight teams have won three octafinals bid tournaments in the same season:

• Glenbrook North — Jordan Hurder & Andrew Silverman (1997-1998)
• St. Mark’s — Josh Branson & Michael Martin (2001-2002)
• Colleyville Heritage — Jonathan Lewis & Jason Murray (2003-2004)
• Westminster — Anusha Deshpande & Stephen Weil (2004-2005)
• Colleyville Heritage — Evan DeFilippis & James Hamraie (2007-2008)
• Westminster — Rajesh Jegadeesh & Anshu Sathian (2008-2009)
• Glenbrook South — Richard Day & Will Thibeau (2009-2010)
• Westminster — Ellis Allen & Daniel Taylor (2010-2011)

The following 18 teams have won two octafinals bid tournaments in the same season:

• Caddo Magnet — Kamal Ghali & Andy Ryan (1996-1997)
• Iowa City West — Will Toomey & Emily Wynes (1996-1997)
• Georgetown Day — Alex Berger & Matt Ornstein (1997-1998)
• Head Royce — Jake Foster & Sebastian Kaplan-Sears (1997-1998)
• Glenbrook North — Shawn Powers & Dan Shalmon (1998-1999)
• Head Royce — Jake Foster & Tina Valkanoff (1998-1999)
• Lexington — Yoni Cohen & Josh Lynn (1998-1999)
• Montgomery Bell Academy — Raja Gaddipati & Robbie Quinn (1998-1999)
• Glenbrook North — Michael Lewis & Dan Shalmon (1999-2000)
• El Cerrito — Rebecca Heller & Dan McKenzie (1999-2000)
• Greenhill — Raquel Bracken & Jordan Pietzsch (2000-2001)
• St. Thomas Academy — Darrin Gamradt & Scott Phillips (2000-2001)
• Colleyville Heritage — Aimi Hamraie & Justin Murray (2002-2003)
• Glenbrook North — Michael Rosecrans & Jake Ziering (2003-2004)
• Kinkaid — Nick Miller & David Roosth (2004-2005)
• Georgetown Day — Zack Beauchamp & James Brockway (2005-2006)
• Westminster — Josh McLaurin & Stephen Weil (2005-2006)
• St. Mark’s — Rishee Batra & Alex Miles (2010-2011)

Most Final Round Appearances By A Team In The Same Season

Eight teams have appeared in at least four final rounds of octafinals bid tournaments in a single season:

1. Westminster — Anshu Sathian & Stephen Weil, 6 (4-2) — 2006-2007
2. Greenhill — Josh Goldberg & Rashad Hussain, 5 (1-4) — 1996-1997
3. Bronx Science — Regan Bozman & Andrew Markoff, 4 (1-3) — 2008-2009
4. Colleyville Heritage — Jonathan Lewis & Jason Murray, 4 (3-1) — 2003-2004
5. Georgetown Day — Alex Berger & Matt Ornstein, 4 (2-2) — 1997-1998
6. Glenbrook North — Michael Lewis & Dan Shalmon, 4 (3-1) — 1999-2000
7. St. Mark’s — Rishee Batra & Alex Miles, 4 (2-2) — 2010-2011
8. Westminster — Ellis Allen & Daniel Taylor, 4 (3-1) — 2010-2011

Wins By A Team In Multiple Seasons

Only three teams have won octafinals bid tournaments in two different seasons:

• Colleyville Heritage — Andrew Murray & Alex Nasr (2007-2008, 2008-2009)
• Head Royce — Jake Foster & Sebastian Kaplan-Sears (1996-1997, 1997-1998)
• Westminster — Ellis Allen & Daniel Taylor (2009-2010, 2010-2011)

Most Wins By A Debater

Westminster’s Stephen Weil won an incredible ten octafinals bid tournaments in his career: Glenbrooks, MBA, and Harvard as a sophomore, Greenhill, Glenbrooks, and Emory as a junior, and Greenhill, St. Mark’s, Emory, and Harvard as a senior. He was also in the finals of two more octafinals bid tournaments during his senior year, Glenbrooks and MBA.

1. Stephen Weil — Westminster (10)
2. Anshu Sathian — Westminster (7)
3. Jake Foster — Head Royce (5)
4. Dan Shalmon — Glenbrook North (5)

Weil’s record at octafinals bid tournaments is as follows:

1. Emory — did not clear*, Win, Win
2. Glenbrooks — Win, Win, Runner-Up
3. Greenhill — Semifinals, Win, Win
4. Harvard — Win, Octafinals, Win
5. MBA — Win, Semifinals, Runner-Up
6. St. Mark’s — Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Win

(* The 2005 Emory tournament cleared to semifinals after four preliminary rounds because of an ice storm.)

Only two other students have won an octafinals bid tournament in three consecutive seasons:

• Matthew Andrews — Greenhill (2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007)
• Jake Foster — Head Royce (1996-1997, 1997-1998, 1998-1999)
• Stephen Weil — Westminster (2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007)

TOC Champions at Octafinals Bid Tournaments

Only three teams have won the TOC after not winning an octafinals bid tournament during the course of the regular season:

• Glenbrook South — Todd Fine & Adam Goldstein (1997-1998)
• Greenhill — Asher Haig & Jordan Pietzsch (1999-2000)
• College Prep — Eli Anders & Michael Burshteyn (2002-2003)

In the latter two cases, one member of the TOC champion team had lost in the final round of an octafinals bid tournament while debating with a different partner.

Seven TOC runners-up have not won an octafinals bid tournament during the regular season:

• Woodward Academy — Avery Dale & Peter Miller (2000-2001)
• Greenhill — Maggie Ahn & Saad Hussein (2002-2003)
• Chattahoochee — Garrett Abelkop & John Warden (2004-2005)
• Glenbrook South — Abe Corrigan & Mima Lazarevic (2005-2006)
• Bellarmine — Will Rafey & Sagar Vijay (2008-2009)
• St. Mark’s — Rishee Batra & Alex Miles (2009-2010)
• Lexington — Tyler Engler & Arjun Vellayappan (2010-2011)

Five of these teams did not reach the final round of an octafinals bid tournament during the season in which they were runner-up at the TOC: Greenhill in 2003, Glenbrook South in 2006, Bellarmine in 2009, St. Mark’s in 2010, and Lexington in 2011.

Complete Year-by-Year Listing

The following is a complete list of the champions and runners-up at every octafinals bid tournament since the 1996-1997 season. There are two tournaments missing from these results: the 1997 Stanford tournament and the 2003 California-Berkeley tournament. If anyone can help fill in those missing results, please contact the author.

1996-1997:

1. Berkeley — Head Royce Foster/Kaplan-Sears d. Centennial Eastwood/Scoville
2. Emory — Caddo Magnet Ghali/Ryan d. Greenhill Goldberg/Hussein
3. Glenbrooks — Caddo Magnet Ghali/Ryan d. Greenhill Goldberg/Hussein
4. Greenhill — Iowa City West Toomey/Wynes d. Lexington Enrich/Golay
5. Harvard — Newburgh Free Academy Bonura/Gribbin d. Greenhill Goldberg/Hussein
6. MBA — Greenhill Goldberg/Hussein d. Iowa City West Toomey/Wynes
7. Redlands — Bronx Science Frost/Malle d. Glenbrook South Goldstein/Helfand
8. St. Mark’s — Iowa City West Toomey/Wynes d. Caddo Magnet Ghali/Ryan
9. Stanford — results missing
10. Wake Forest — Brookfield Central Friess/McKenna d. St. Mark’s Cotton/Hodges

1997-1998:

1. Berkeley — Head Royce Mangold/Valkanoff d. El Cerrito Lai/McIntyre
2. Emory — Greenhill Bradt/Talmadge d. East Grand Rapids Lundeen/Van Dam
3. Glenbrooks — Head Royce Foster/Kaplan-Sears d. Georgetown Day Berger/Ornstein
4. Greenhill — Georgetown Day Berger/Ornstein d. Montgomery Bell Gaddipati/Humbracht
5. Harvard — Georgetown Day Berger/Ornstein d. Tampa Prep Rains (maverick)
6. MBA — Glenbrook North Hurder/Silverman d. Woodward Brown/Zampol
7. Redlands — Glenbrook North Hurder/Silverman d. Damien Broadwater/Sohrn
8. St. Mark’s — Glenbrook North Hurder/Silverman d. Georgetown Day Berger/Ornstein
9. Stanford — Head Royce Foster/Kaplan-Sears and Tampa Prep Gorda/Rains
10. Wake Forest — Dreher A’Hern/Wachter d. Chattahoochee Schindler/Zweigel

1998-1999:

1. Berkeley — Head Royce Foster/Valkanoff d. Bellarmine Simmons/Singh
2. Emory — Glenbrook South Bashkin/Fine d. Montgomery Bell Gaddipati/Quinn
3. Glenbrooks — Montgomery Bell Gaddipati/Quinn d. East Lansing Matheson/Siegman
4. Greenhill — Glenbrook North Powers/Shalmon d. Lexington Cohen/Lynn
5. Harvard — Lexington Cohen/Lynn d. Greenhill Eickmeyer/Talmadge
6. MBA — Head Royce Foster/Valkanoff d. Glenbrook North Powers/Shalmon
7. Redlands — Glenbrook North Powers/Shalmon d. Head Royce Foster/Valkanoff
8. St. Mark’s — Lexington Cohen/Lynn d. Caddo Magnet Hornbuckle/Savoie
9. Stanford — Brophy Prep Makridis/Susak d. Pace Academy Gordon/Rosefeld
10. Wake Forest — Montgomery Bell Gaddipati/Quinn d. Edgemont Blank/Garg

1999-2000:

1. Berkeley — Glenbrook North Lewis/Shalmon d. College Prep Beckley/Tarloff
2. Emory — Glenbrook North Klinger/Mazur d. College Prep Beckley/Tarloff
3. Glenbrooks — El Cerrito Heller/McKenzie d. Pace Academy Harbour/Thorpe
4. Greenhill — Pace Academy Harbour/Thorpe d. Lexington Enrich/Sturtevant
5. Harvard — Lexington Enrich/Sturtevant d. Greenhill Frankel/Haig
6. MBA — Centerville Liang/Liu d. Glenbrook North Lewis/Shalmon
7. Redlands — Glenbrook North Lewis/Shalmon d. College Prep Beckley/Tarloff
8. St. Mark’s — Glenbrook North Lewis/Shalmon d. Pace Academy Harbour/Thorpe
9. Stanford — El Cerrito Heller/McKenzie d. Georgetown Day Gilburne/Hornback
10. Wake Forest — Brother Rice Grimm/Van Horn d. Pine Crest Blaut/Gaetz

2000-2001:

1. Berkeley — Bellarmine Reddy/Warneck d. New Trier Oddo/Tansey
2. Emory — Greenhill Bracken/Pietzsch d. Woodward Academy Dale/Miller
3. Glenbrooks — Greenhill Bracken/Pietzsch d. Caddo Magnet Asher/Ghali
4. Greenhill — St. Thomas Academy Gamradt/Phillips d. Dallas Jesuit Ackels/Bireley
5. Harvard — Glenbrook North Klinger/Nathan d. Pace Academy Hancock/Thomas
6. MBA — Edgemont Ballen/Wiener d. Glenbrook North Greenstein/Nathan
7. Redlands — College Prep Kenney/Tarloff d. Valley Johnson/Kumar
8. St. Mark’s — St. Thomas Academy Gamradt/Phillips d. Greenhill Bracken/Pietzsch
9. Stanford — Nevada Union Haley-Hill/Meagher d. Head Royce Schuler/Tribble

2001-2002:

1. Berkeley — Glenbrook South Hartmann/Shankar d. Leland Chien/Singh
2. Emory — Woodward Academy Cohen/Dale d. Pace Academy Allen/Smith
3. Glenbrooks — St. Mark’s Branson/Martin d. Marquette Aggarwal/Bhatnagar
4. Greenhill — St. Mark’s Branson/Martin d. Westminster Ahmed/Chaudoin
5. Harvard — Marquette Aggarwal/Bhatnagar d. Pace Academy Allen/Smith
6. MBA — St. Mark’s Branson/Martin d. College Prep Burshteyn/Donoho
7. St. Mark’s — Pace Academy Allen/Smith d. Greenhill Pace/Sentilles

2002-2003:

1. Berkeley — results missing
2. Emory — Woodward Academy Cohen/Tanis d. College Prep Burshteyn/Richards
3. Glenbrooks — Colleyville Heritage Hamraie/Murray d. Westminster Lakhani/Ramji
4. Greenhill — Georgetown Day Gentile/Luxembourg d. Valley Clark/Cowart
5. Harvard — duPont Manual Miller/Mirachandani d. Woodward Academy Cohen/Tanis
6. MBA — Colleyville Heritage Hamraie/Murray d. Westminster Lakhani/Ramji
7. St. Mark’s — Caddo Magnet Larey/Zweig d. Colleyville Heritage Hamraie/Murray

2003-2004:

1. Berkeley — Glenbrook North Rosecrans/Ziering d. College Prep Anders/Burshteyn
2. Emory — C.R. Washington Bader/Vernon d. Glenbrook North Nadell/Stern
3. Glenbrooks — College Prep Anders/Burshteyn d. Greenhill Haig/Stohlbach
4. Greenhill — Colleyville Heritage Lewis/Murray d. Glenbrook North Rosecrans/Ziering
5. Harvard — Colleyville Heritage Lewis/Murray d. Miami Palmetto Bucciero/Landau
6. MBA — Glenbrook North Rosecrans/Ziering d. Colleyville Heritage Lewis/Murray
7. St. Mark’s — Colleyville Heritage Lewis/Murray d. College Prep Anders/Burshteyn

2004-2005:

1. Berkeley — Highland Park Andrews/Iola and Clear Lake Schwab/Scruggs
2. Emory — Kinkaid Miller/Roosth d. Highland Park Andrews/Iola
3. Glenbrooks — Westminster Desphande/Weil d. Chattahoochee Abelkop/Warden
4. Greenhill — Lexington Jenson/Zimmerman d. Clear Lake Schwab/Scruggs
5. Harvard — Westminster Deshpande/Weil d. Lexington Jenson/Zimmerman
6. MBA — Westminster Deshpande/Weil d. Chattahoochee Abelkop/Warden
7. St. Mark’s — Kinkaid Miller/Roosth d. Caddo Magnet Martin/Jones

2005-2006:

1. Berkeley — Kinkaid Hantel/Tilney d. College Prep Koo/Yuan
2. Emory — Westminster Sathian/Weil d. Woodward Bhatia/Bose-Kolanu
3. Glenbrooks — Westminster McLaurin/Weil d. Centerville Jacobs/Wright
4. Greenhill — Westminster McLaurin/Weil d. Bishop Guertin Ewing/Presenti
5. Harvard — Georgetown Day Beauchamp/Brockway d. Greenhill Andrews/Polley
6. MBA — Greenhill Andrews/Polley d. Woodward Bhatia/Bose-Kolanu
7. St. Mark’s — Georgetown Day Beauchamp/Brockway d. Lexington Caporal/Green

2006-2007:

1. Berkeley — Glenbrook North Fisher/Spies d. Caddo Magnet Giglio/Grossi
2. Emory — Westminster Sathian/Weil d. Greenhill Andrews/Huang
3. Glenbrooks — Greenhill Andrews/Huang d. Westminster Sathian/Weil
4. Greenhill — Westminster Sathian/Weil d. Woodward Academy Bose-Kolanu/Rosenbleeth
5. Harvard — Westminster Sathian/Weil d. Greenhill Andrews/Huang
6. MBA — Centerville Cronin/Jacobs d. Westminster Sathian/Weil
7. St. Mark’s — Westminster Sathian/Weil d. Groves Kirsh/Warsh

2007-2008:

1. Berkeley — Colleyville Heritage Defilipis/Hamraie and Colleyville Heritage Murray/Nasr
2. Emory — Cathedral Prep Carlotti/Hayes d. St. Mark’s Blumenthal/Katz
3. Glenbrooks — Chattahoochee Foretich/Lacy d. Kinkaid Beiermeister/Sharp
4. Greenhill — Colleyville Heritage Defilipis/Hamraie d. St. Mark’s Blumenthal/Katz
5. Harvard — Greenhill Rogan/Rogan d. Chattahoochee Foretich/Lacy
6. MBA — Colleyville Heritage Defilipis/Hamraie d. Stratford Academy Cole/Karlson
7. St. Mark’s — Pace Academy Armstrong/Lee d. Westminster Allan/Sathian

2008-2009:

1. Berkeley — Notre Dame Duran/Powell d. Damien Ehrlich-Quinn/Hernandez
2. Emory — Westminster Jegadeesh/Sathian d. St. Mark’s Gulakov/Miles
3. Glenbrooks — Westminster Jegadeesh/Sathian d. St. Mark’s Gulakov/Miles
4. Greenhill — Kinkaid Kirshon/Smyser d. Bronx Science Bozman/Markoff
5. Harvard — Bronx Science Bozman/Markoff d. Colleyville Heritage Murray/Nasr
6. MBA — Colleyville Heritage Murray/Nasr d. Bronx Science Bozman/Markoff
7. St. Mark’s — Westminster Jegadeesh/Sathian d. Bronx Science Bozman/Markoff

2009-2010:

1. Berkeley — Kinkaid Bontha/Kirshon d. Glenbrook North Makuch/Pappas
2. Blake — Bronx Science Elias/Markoff d. Rowland Hall Arsht/Feola
3. Emory — Glenbrook South Day/Thibeau d. Westminster Allen/Taylor
4. Glenbrooks — Westlake Baker/Mullins d. Damien Ehrlich-Quinn/Gannon
5. Greenhill — Westminster Allen/Taylor d. Whitney Young Gonzalez/Hirn
6. Harvard — Glenbrook South Day/Thibeau d. Bronx Science Elias/Markoff
7. MBA — Glenbrook South Day/Thibeau d. New Trier Carpenter/Slomski-Pritz
8. St. Mark’s — Glenbrook North Makuch/Pappas d. Woodward Academy Pesce/Plithides

2010-2011:

1. Berkeley — Georgetown Day Krakoff/Levy d. College Prep Pai/Yamamura
2. Blake — Lexington Caporal/Suo d. Beacon Davis/Feliciano
3. Emory — Mountain Brook McCarty/Quinn d. Beacon Davis/Feliciano
4. Glenbrooks — St. Mark’s Batra/Miles d. Gulliver Prep Adler/Toledo
5. Greenhill — Westminster Allen/Taylor d. St. Mark’s Batra/Miles
6. Harvard — Westminster Allen/Taylor d. St. Mark’s Batra/Miles
7. MBA — St. Mark’s Batra/Miles d. Greenhill Patel/Patterson
8. Michigan — Glenbrook North Pappas/Parker d. Westminster Allen/Taylor
9. St. Mark’s — Westminster Allen/Taylor d. Gulliver Prep Adler/Toledo

The data in this article was gathered entirely by hand from a variety of sources. As always, corrections are appreciated — please email the author.

Can’t get enough TOC history? “More TOC Trivia: Non-Seniors in the Elimination Rounds Since 1995” prompted several questions that merited a follow-up. How many non-seniors have reached the final round of the TOC? The semifinals? How have they done as seniors? Who has won the most elimination rounds at the TOC? The answers (again, since 1995) are below the fold.

Non-Senior Final Round Appearances

Since 1995, nine of the 17 final rounds of the TOC have featured four seniors. Only one TOC—2010—did not include at least one senior (2003 came close with three juniors and one senior). The breakdown of final rounds is as follows:

1995: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
1996: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
1997: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
1998: Senior-Junior over Senior-Junior
1999: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
2000: Senior-Junior over Senior-Senior
2001: Senior-Senior over Senior-Junior
2002: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
2003: Junior-Junior over Senior-Junior
2004: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
2005: Senior-Sophomore over Senior-Senior
2006: Senior-Junior over Senior-Senior
2007: Senior-Senior over Senior-Sophomore
2008: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
2009: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior
2010: Junior-Junior over Junior-Sophomore
2011: Senior-Senior over Senior-Senior

Non-Senior TOC Champions

Seven students have won the TOC championship as a junior including two junior-junior teams: College Prep’s Eli Anders and Michael Burshteyn in 2003 and Westminster’s Ellis Allen and Daniel Taylor in 2010. The complete list is as follows:

1. 1998: Todd Fine — Glenbrook South (debating with senior Adam Goldstein), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
2. 2000: Jordan Pietzsch — Greenhill (debating with senior Asher Haig), reached the octafinals as a senior
3. 2003: Eli Anders — College Prep (debating with junior Michael Burshteyn), reached the finals as a senior
4. 2003: Michael Burshteyn — College Prep (debating with junior Eli Anders), reached the finals as a senior
5. 2006: Matthew Andrews — Greenhill (debating with senior Stephen Polley), reached the semifinals as a senior
6. 2010: Ellis Allen — Westminster (debating with junior Daniel Taylor), won the championship as a senior
7. 2010: Daniel Taylor — Westminster (debating with junior Ellis Allen), won the championship as a senior

Of these seven, only Westminster AT managed to repeat as champions during their senior season.

Only one debater has won the TOC as a sophomore:

1. 2005: Stephen Weil — Westminster (debating with senior Anusha Deshpande), reached the quarterfinals as a junior and the finals as a senior

Non-Senior Runners-Up

Four additional juniors have reached the final round. Interestingly, none of the four were able to make it past the quarterfinals as seniors:

1. 1998: Caitlin Talmadge — Greenhill (debating with senior Andrew Bradt), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
2. 2001: Avery Dale — Woodward Academy (debating with senior Peter Miller), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
3. 2003: Maggie Ahn — Greenhill (debating with senior Saad Hussein), did not clear at the TOC as a senior
4. 2010: Alex Miles — St. Mark’s (debating with sophomore Rishee Batra), reached the quarterfinals as a senior

Two sophomores have also been finalists at the TOC:

1. 2007: Anshu Sathian — Westminster (debating with senior Stephen Weil), did not clear as a junior and won the championship as a senior
2. 2010: Rishee Batra — St. Mark’s (debating with junior Alex Miles), reached the quarterfinals as a junior

Non-Senior Semifinalists

Since 1995, 18 juniors have reached the semifinals at the TOC (in addition to the seven champions and four runners-up). The complete list is as follows:

1. 1995: Jeff McNabb — Katy Taylor (debating with senior Justin Green), reached the finals as a senior
2. 1997: Adam Goldstein — Glenbrook South (debating with senior Brad Helfand), won the championship as a senior
3. 1999: Michael Beckley — College Prep (debating with senior Jonathan Neril), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
4. 2000: Peter Miller — Woodward Academy (debating with sophomore Avery Dale), reached the finals as a senior
5. 2000: Sameer Asher — Caddo Magnet (debating with junior Nermin Ghali), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
6. 2000: Nermin Ghali — Caddo Magnet (debating with junior Sameer Asher), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
7. 2001: Josh Branson — St. Mark’s (debating with junior Michael Martin), reached the finals as a senior
8. 2001: Michael Martin — St. Mark’s (debating with junior Josh Branson), reached the finals as a senior
9. 2002: Andrea Reed — Highland Park (debating with junior Brett Wallace), did not clear as a senior
10. 2002: Brett Wallace — Highland Park (debating with junior Andrea Read), did not debate at TOC as a senior
11. 2003: Jake Ziering — Glenbrook North (debating with senior Matt Finegold), won the championship as a senior
12. 2004: John Warden — Chattahoochee (debating with senior Julie Hoehn), reached the finals as a senior
13. 2005: Aliya Bhatia — Woodward Academy (debating with senior Seth Gannon), did not clear as a senior
14. 2006: Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North (debating with senior Greg Friend), won the championship as a senior
15. 2007: Bryant Huang — Greenhill (debating with senior Matthew Andrews), reached the octafinals as a senior
16. 2009: Reid Ehrlich-Quinn — Damien (debating with senior Sean Hernandez), did not clear as a senior
17. 2009: Layne Kirshon — Kinkaid (debating with senior Craig Smyser), reached the semifinals as a senior
18. 2010: Nikhil Bontha — Kinkaid (debating with senior Layne Kirshon), reached the quarterfinals as a senior
19. 2010: Anna Dimitrijevic — Carrollton (debating with senior Helen Gomez), reached the octafinals as a senior

Two additional students reached the semifinals as sophomores:

1. 2000: Avery Dale — Woodward Academy (debating with junior Peter Miller), reached the finals as a junior and the quarterfinals as a senior
2. 2005: Matthew Andrews — Highland Park (debating with senior Sam Iola), won the championship as a junior and reached the semifinals as a senior

Most Elim Wins At The TOC

The following students have won the most elimination rounds at the TOC since 1995:

1. Ellis Allen — Westminster (8)
2. Matthew Andrews — Highland Park/Greenhill (8)
3. Daniel Taylor — Westminster (8)
4. Stephen Weil — Westminster (8)
5. Eli Anders — College Prep (7)
6. Michael Burshteyn — College Prep (7)
7. Anshu Sathian — Westminster (7)
8. Avery Dale — Woodward (6)
9. Anusha Deshpande — Westminster (6)
10. Todd Fine — Woodward/Glenbrook South (6)
11. Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North (6)
12. Adam Goldstein — Glenbrook South (6)
13. Jake Ziering — Glenbrook North (6)

As always, corrections are welcome — please contact the author.

How often do non-seniors clear at the Tournament of Champions? How many students have cleared multiple times at the TOC? How rare is it for a sophomore to clear? How many intact partnerships have cleared at multiple TOCs? The answers (since 1995, when the available historical record begins) are below the fold.

Elim Appearances By Non-Seniors

Ten non-seniors appeared in the elimination rounds of this year’s TOC, the most since 2004.

Since 1995, the record for most non-seniors in the elims was set in 2003 when 15 sophomores and juniors made the cut including five teams of two non-seniors. The lowest total was in 2008 when only six non-seniors reached the elims.

Sophomores In Elims

No sophomores cleared at this year’s TOC but Stratford Academy’s freshman-sophomore team of Andrew Jones and Hemanth Sanjeev came extremely close, losing their break round in round seven. Since 1995, 16 sophomores have cleared at the TOC. They are as follows:

1. Farrell Malone — Caddo Magnet (1995)
2. Todd Fine — Woodward Academy (1997)
3. Rebecca Mangold — Head Royce (1998)
4. Amie Broder — Stuyvesant (1998)
5. Michael Linford — Colleyville Heritage (1999)
6. Avery Dale — Woodward Academy (2000)
7. Dan Luxembourg — Georgetown Day (2001)
8. Michael Burshteyn — College Prep (2002)
9. Eli Anders — College Prep (2002)
10. Paul Fielding — College Prep (2002)
11. Thi Lam — Grady (2003)
12. Anusha Deshpande — Westminster (2003)
13. Stephen Weil — Westminster (2005)
14. Matthew Andrews — Highland Park (2005)
15. Anshu Sathian — Westminster (2007)
16. Rishee Batra — St. Mark’s (2010)

College Prep’s Eli Anders and Paul Fielding are the only sophomore-sophomore team to clear at the TOC since 1995. That year, College Prep cleared an incredible three sophomores at the TOC.

Three Elim Appearances

Of the 16 debaters that have cleared at the TOC as sophomores, only seven have managed to clear again their junior and senior seasons. In alphabetical order, these three-time elimination round qualifiers are:

1. Eli Anders — College Prep (2002, 2003, 2004)
2. Matthew Andrews — Highland Park & Greenhill (2005, 2006, 2007)
3. Michael Burshteyn — College Prep (2002, 2003, 2004)
4. Avery Dale — Woodward Academy (2000, 2001, 2002)
5. Anusha Deshpande — Westminster (2003, 2004, 2005)
6. Todd Fine — Woodward Academy & Glenbrook South (1997, 1998, 1999)
7. Stephen Weil — Westminster (2005, 2006, 2007)

Three students came closest: Dan Luxembourg of Georgetown Day School cleared as a sophomore in 2001 and as a senior in 2003 but did not clear in his junior season. The same is true of Westminster’s Anshu Sathian who cleared in 2007 as a sophomore and 2009 as a senior but not in 2008 as a junior. Caddo Magnet’s Farrell Malone cleared as a sophomore and junior (in 1995 and 1996, respectively) but did not clear as a senior, losing round seven to finish 4-3.

Rishee Batra of St. Mark’s has a chance to become the eighth member of this list next year: he has cleared at the TOC during his sophomore and junior seasons.

Two Elim Appearances

While reaching the elimination rounds three times is nearly impossible, it is difficult enough just to do so twice. Since 1995, this feat has been accomplished by 94 students (plus the seven who have cleared three times) for an average of about six students per graduating class. The members of this elite club are as follows:

1. Ellis Allen — Westminster (2010, 2011)
2. Jennifer Armstrong — Pace Academy (2009, 2010)
3. Sameer Asher — Caddo Magnet (2000, 2001)
4. Nicholas Bammer-Whitaker — Westminster (2003, 2004)
5. Rishee Batra — St. Mark’s (2010, 2011)
6. Nathan Baum — Greenhill (2004, 2005)
7. Michael Beckley — College Prep (1999, 2000)
8. Jordan Blumenthal — St. Mark’s (2007, 2008)
9. Nikhil Bontha — Kinkaid (2010, 2011)
10. Raquel Bracken — Greenhill (2000, 2001)
11. Josh Branson — St. Mark’s (2001, 2002)
12. Chase Burton — Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s (2007, 2008)
13. Katryna Cadle — Bishop Guertin (2008, 2009)
14. Stephen Chaudoin — Westminster (2001, 2002)
15. Genna Cohen — Woodward Academy (2002, 2003)
16. Richard Day — Glenbrook South (2009, 2010)
17. Anna Dimitrijevic — Carrollton Sacred Heart (2010, 2011)
18. Tyler Engler — Lexington (2010, 2011)
19. Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North (2006, 2007)
20. Jake Foster — Head Royce (1998, 1999)
21. Josh Garen — Blake (2003, 2004)
22. Kamal Ghali — Caddo Magnet (1996, 1997)
23. Nermin Ghali — Caddo Magnet (2000, 2001)
24. Josh Goldberg — Greenhill (1996, 1997)
25. Adam Goldstein — Glenbrook South (1997, 1998)
26. Michael Greenstein — Glenbrook North (2000, 2001)
27. Asher Haig — Greenhill (1999, 2000)
28. Rachel Haig — Greenhill (2003, 2004)
29. Michael Harbour — Pace Academy (1999, 2000)
30. Lindsay Harrison — Greenhill (1995, 1996)
31. James Hartmann — Glenbrook South (2001, 2002)
32. Loe Hornbuckle — Caddo Magnet (1999, 2000)
33. Michael Horowitz — Lexington (1995, 1996)
34. Bryant Huang — Greenhill (2007, 2008)
35. Adam Hurder — Glenbrook North (1995, 1996)
36. Rashad Hussein — Greenhill (1996, 1997)
37. Saad Hussein — Greenhill (2002, 2003)
38. Ovais Inamullah — Chattahoochee (2006, 2007)
39. Sam Iola — Highland Park (2004, 2005)
40. Eli Jacobs — Centerville (2006, 2007)
41. Spencer Johnson — Valley (2001, 2002)
42. Layne Kirshon — Kinkaid (2009, 2010)
43. Vikas Kumar — Valley (2001, 2002)
44. Arif Lakhani — Westminster (2002, 2003)
45. Alex Lamballe — Montgomery Bell Academy (2004, 2005)
46. Mima Lazarevic — Glenbrook South (2005, 2006)
47. Peyton Lee — Pace Academy (2009, 2010)
48. Geoff Lundeen — East Grand Rapids (1997, 1998)
49. Dan Luxembourg — Georgetown Day (2001, 2003)
50. Flynn Makuch — Glenbrook North (2009, 2010)
51. Farrell Malone — Caddo Magnet (1995, 1996)
52. Andrew Markoff — Bronx Science (2009, 2010)
53. Michael Martin — St. Mark’s (2001, 2002)
54. Jeff McNabb — Katy Taylor (1995, 1996)
55. Rudy Mehrbani — Elk Grove (1997, 1998)
56. Alex Miles — St. Mark’s (2010, 2011)
57. Peter Miller — Woodward Academy (2000, 2001)
58. Andrew Murray — Colleyville Heritage (2008, 2009)
59. Jason Murray — Colleyville Heritage (2003, 2004)
60. Alex Nasr — Colleyville Heritage (2008, 2009)
61. Alex Pappas — Glenbrook North (2010, 2011)
62. Matthew Pesce — Woodward Academy (2009, 2010)
63. Jordan Pietzsch — Greenhill (2000, 2001)
64. Chris Power — Bishop Guertin (2008, 2009)
65. Emma Power — Glenbrook South (2000, 2001)
66. Aleem Ramji — Westminster (2002, 2003)
67. Tripp Rebrovick — Montgomery Bell Academy (2004, 2005)
68. Alex Roetter — Lexington (1995, 1996)
69. Michael Rosecrans — Glenbrook North (2003, 2004)
70. Andy Ryan — Caddo Magnet (1996, 1997)
71. Anshu Sathian — Westminster (2007, 2009)
72. Adam Savoie — Caddo Magnet (1999, 2000)
73. Chipp Schwab — Clear Lake (2004, 2005)
74. Andrew Shah — Woodward Academy (2002, 2003)
75. Dan Shalmon — Glenbrook North (1999, 2000)
76. Ravi Shankar — Glenbrook South (2002, 2003)
77. Andrew Silverman — Glenbrook North (1997, 1998)
78. Samuel Singer — Glenbrook North (2001, 2002)
79. Ira Slomski-Pritz — New Trier (2009, 2010)
80. Ryan Sparacino — T.A. Edison (1995, 1996)
81. Adam Stern — Glenbrook North (2003, 2004)
82. Jessica Stolbach — Greenhill (2004, 2005)
83. Caitlin Talmadge — Greenhill (1998, 1999)
84. Elliott Tarloff — College Prep (2000, 2001)
85. Daniel Taylor — Westminster (2010, 2011)
86. Will Thibeau — Glenbrook South (2009, 2010)
87. Ben Thorpe — Pace Academy (1999, 2000)
88. Tina Valkanoff — Head Royce (1998, 1999)
89. Jeff Van Dam — East Grand Rapids (1997, 1998)
90. Arjun Vellayappan — Lexington (2010, 2011)
91. John Warden — Chattahoochee (2004, 2005)
92. Jonathan Warsh — Groves (2006, 2007)
93. Lucy Zhu — Glenbrook North (2007, 2008)
94. Jake Ziering — Glenbrook North (2003, 2004)

Nine students in the class of 2012 have a chance to join this group: Evan McCarty from Mountain Brook, Fabiola Urdaneta from Carrollton, Jacob Hurwitz and Marc Jacome from Glenbrook South, Rahim Shakoor and Jason Sigalos from Woodward, Donald Grasse and Margaret Strong from Homewood-Flossmoor, and Mihir Vedantam from Pembroke Hill.

Two Elim Appearances by Teams

While 102 individuals have cleared at two or more TOCs since 1995, only 19 partnerships have accomplished the feat. In alphabetical order, they are as follows:

1. Bishop Guertin — Katryna Cadle & Chris Power (2008, 2009)
2. Caddo Magnet — Sameer Asher & Nermin Ghali (2000, 2001)
3. Caddo Magnet — Loe Hornbuckle & Adam Savoie (1999, 2000)
4. College Prep — Eli Anders & Michael Burshteyn (2003, 2004)
5. Colleyville Heritage — Andrew Murray & Alex Nasr (2008, 2009)
6. East Grand Rapids — Geoff Lundeen & Jeff Van Dam (1997, 1998)
7. Glenbrook South — Richard Day & Will Thibeau (2009, 2010)
8. Greenhill — Josh Goldberg & Rashad Hussein (1996, 1997)
9. Lexington — Tyler Engler & Arjun Vellayappan (2010, 2011)
10. Montgomery Bell Academy — Alex Lamballe & Tripp Rebrovick (2004, 2005)
11. Pace Academy — Jennifer Armstrong & Peyton Lee (2008, 2009)
12. Pace Academy — Michael Harbour & Ben Thorpe (1999, 2000)
13. St. Mark’s — Rishee Batra & Alex Miles (2010, 2011)
14. St. Mark’s — Josh Branson & Michael Martin (2001, 2002)
15. Valley — Spencer Johnson & Vikas Kumar (2001, 2002)
16. Westminster — Ellis Allen & Daniel Taylor (2010, 2011)
17. Westminster — Nicholas Bammer-Whitaker & Anusha Deshpande (2003, 2004)
18. Westminster — Arif Lakhani & Aleem Ramji (2002, 2003)
19. Woodward Academy — Avery Dale & Peter Miller (2000, 2001)

Three teams in the class of 2012 could join this group at next year’s TOC: Glenbrook South’s Hurwitz and Jacome, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Grasse and Strong, and Woodward Academy’s Shakoor and Sigalos.

The historical information contained in this article was compiled by hand with the help of several sources including the National Forensic League online points database and Facebook. If you notice an error, please let the author know.

The 40th Tournament of Champions was held this past weekend at the University of Kentucky. Capping off a historic run, the Westminster Schools claimed its third consecutive championship by defeating Lexington High School’s Tyler Engler and Arjun Vellayappan in the final round. Interested in digging a little deeper into the results from this year’s TOC? Some historical perspective and trivia is below the fold.

Back-to-Back(-to-Back) Championships

The Westminster Schools’ Ellis Allen and Daniel Taylor became the second partnership in TOC history to win back-to-back championships. In 1975 and 1976, Cardinal Spellman High School’s John Bredehoft (this year’s Breakfast of Champions keynote speaker) and Leo Gagion became the first to accomplish this feat.

Only one other individual has won two TOCs: Lake Braddock High School’s Mike Green won the championship in 1984 with Shaun Martin and repeated as champion in 1985 with Joe Pettit.

Others have been close:

The Bronx High School of Science’s Andrew Berman won the TOC in 1979 as a junior while debating with Herschel Goldfield and finished as runner-up in 1980 alongside partner Stuart Weich.

Lexington High School’s Steve Lehotsky won the TOC in 1994 as a junior with Li-Cheng Wang and finished in second place in 1995 with Matt Nichols.

Westminster’s Stephen Weil won the TOC as a sophomore in 2005 with Anusha Deshpande and lost in finals two years later as a senior in 2007 with Anshu Sathian. Anshu won the TOC in 2009 with Rajesh Jegadeesh.

The closest a partnership has come to a repeat prior to this season was College Prep’s Eli Anders and Michael Burshteyn: they won the TOC as juniors in 2003 and lost in the finals in 2004.

With the win, Westminster became the first school in TOC history to win back-to-back-to-back championships. They had already joined a short list of back-to-back champions that includes Cardinal Spellman (‘75-76), Oak Park-River Forest (‘82-83), and Lake Braddock (‘84-85).

Three Time Qualifiers

Four students in the class of 2011 debated at three TOCs: Pablo Gannon from Damien High School, Lee Quinn from Mountain Brook High School, and Ellis Allen and Daniel Taylor from the Westminster Schools.

Pablo Gannon — Damien
2009 — 4-3 (with Eric Berggren)
2010 — 3-4 (with Reid Ehrlich-Quinn)
2011 — 6-1 (with Nadeem Farooqi) + semifinals
Total: 13-8, 2-1, 15-9

Lee Quinn — Mountain Brook
2009 — 2-5 (with Gabrielle Tandet)
2010 — 3-4 (with Kevin Jiang)
2011 — 5-2 (with Evan McCarty) + octafinals
Total: 10-11, 0-1, 10-12

Ellis Allen & Daniel Taylor — Westminster
2009 — 4-3
2010 — 7-0 (champion)
2011 — 6-1 (champion)
Total: 17-4, 8-0, 25-4

16 Seed Upsets

Kinkaid’s victory in the octafinals over Beacon was the third such upset since 1995 and the second by a 17th seed run-off round winner. In 1995, 16th seeded Glenbrook North upset the top seed from T.A. Edison. In 2003, 17th seeded Westminster defeated 16th seeded Grady in the run-off round and then upset top seeded Georgetown Day in the octafinals.

First From Their State

Two states made their first appearance in the elimination rounds at the TOC since 1995: Alabama and Missouri. Mountain Brook’s Evan McCarty and Lee Quinn were the first team from the Yellowhammer State to reach the elims while Pembroke Hill’s Thomas Hodgman and Mihir Vedantam became the first Show Me State duo to accomplish the feat. Both teams were defeated in the octafinals.

First From Their School

Four schools cleared at the TOC for the first time: Beacon, Homewood-Flossmoor, Mountain Brook, and Pembroke Hill. Three schools also ended elim droughts: College Prep reached the elimination rounds for the first time since 2005, Dallas Jesuit reached the elims for the first time since 2001, and Georgetown Day reached the elims for the first time since 2006.

School Streaks

Glenbrook North extended their streak of elimination round appearances to six while Glenbrook South, Kinkaid, Westminster, and Woodward extended their streaks to three. Carrollton, Lexington, and St. Mark’s rounded out the list of schools with back-to-back appearances in the elimination rounds.

School Elimination Round Appearances

Glenbrook North and Greenhill have reached the elimination rounds in 16 of the last 17 seasons with Greenhill edging GBN in total teams in the elims, 23-22. Lexington qualified its 16th team to the elims while Glenbrook North and Westminster qualified their thirteenth, Woodward its twelfth, and College Prep its tenth.

Glenbrook North reached the semifinals for the eighth time since 1995, one more than any other school. Greenhill is second with seven followed by Lexington and Westminster with six.

Win Leaderboard

With two more elimination round wins, Glenbrook North has edged in front of Greenhill for the top spot since 1995 with 28. Greenhill remains second with 26 but Westminster is close behind with 25. Rounding out the top five are Lexington with 17 and College Prep with 14.

State Leaderboard

Texas qualified four teams for the elimination rounds for the tenth time since 1995, by far the most of any other state. Texas and Illinois both extended their streak of consecutive tournaments with at least one team in the elimination rounds; at least two teams from Texas have reached the elims every year since 1995. Other active state streaks include Georgia (thirteen years in a row including twelve years in a row with at least two teams in the elims), New York (four years in a row), Florida (two years in a row), and Massachusetts (two years in a row). Texas has cleared 60 teams since 1995; Illinois is second with 48 followed by Georgia with 41 and California with 28.

Coaching Leaderboard

Jenny Heidt coached her fifth TOC champion, second most in tournament history behind only Ted Belch. Heidt coached the 2002 champion from Pace Academy and the 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011 champions from Westminster. Belch racked up six championships: 1974 and 1978 for Walter Panas, 1981 for Glenbrook South, and 1996, 2001, and 2004 for Glenbrook North.

The results from every Tournament of Champions since 1995 (XXIV through XXXIX) are now accessible via The 3NR Results Archive. Packets remain missing for 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2008; if anyone has access to these packets (or to results from prior to 1995), please email the author.

1995 — Immigration
1996 — China
1997 — Juvenile Crime
1998 — Renewable Energy
1999 — Russia

2000 — Education
2001 — Privacy
2002 — WMD
2003 — Mental Health Care
2004 — Ocean Policy

2005 — UN Peacekeeping
2006 — Civil Liberties
2007 — National Service
2008 — Sub-Saharan Africa
2009 — Alternative Energy

2010 — Social Services

Some statistics have already been provided from the last 15 runs for the roses. More TOC-related content will be shared over the course of the next week.

This year marks the 40th running of the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky. In the run-up to the tournament, we will be sharing several notes about its history here on The 3NR. First up: the top speaker award.

Since 1993, the top speaker award in policy debate at the Tournament of Champions has been named the “Mark Shelton Top Speaker Award” in honor of one of the most accomplished high school debaters in Kentucky’s history. Who was Mark Shelton? And why is the top speaker award named in his honor? Below the fold is an article from the April 1995 issue of Rostrum—”A Tribute To Champions“—that details his story as well as a complete listing of the past top speakers of the TOC.

“A Tribute To Champions” by Michael W. Shelton

The first place speaker in policy debate at the Tournament of Champions, hosted by the University of Kentucky receives the “Mark Shelton Top Speaker Award”. Although 1994 marked the second year during which this award was presented, many people still have little knowledge as to the background of the presentation.

Mark Shelton is best remembered as an outstanding high school debater at LaRue County High School, in Hodgenville, Kentucky, throughout his interscholastic career. A brief review of Mark’s career as a high school debater tells us much about why he is remembered as a champion.

Mark’s debate career was actually launched while he was in junior high school at Fairdale in Louisville, Kentucky. He started debating actively in the seventh grade. During that first year of junior debate, Mark began to establish himself as a champion. He and his partner compiled a perfect record to capture the title of “J.V. Champions” in the Louisville Forensic League. They also won the regional J.V. tournament among other honors.

In his eighth grade year, Mark made the transition to varsity debate. Mark and his partner won awards at over a dozen invitational tournaments during that year. In addition to competing at the National Catholic Forensic League Tournament in Detroit Michigan that year, Mark distinguished himself as the only junior high student to compete at the Tournament of Champions.

As a freshman, Mark continued to excel. After traveling on a difficult circuit in the southeast, which included tournaments like Emory University and Montgomery Bell Academy, Mark earned a number of distinctions in Kentucky. He again qualified for the NCFL Tournament, the Tournament of Champions, and he also made his first appearance in the final round of the state tournament in Kentucky. Additionally, Mark compiled an impressive 5-1 record, cleared, and earned a speaker award at the Tournament of Champions.

During his sophomore year, Mark competed in the elimination round debates at such national tournaments as Emory and Northwestern University. He also routinely earned speaker awards at these tournament. Mark once again qualified for both the NCFL Tournament and the Tournament of Champions. He also participated in the final debate at the state tournament, once again. Additionally, Mark won his NFL district tournament and competed in his first nationals at Northwestern, in Evanston Illinois.

Mark’s junior year of high school competition was by far the finest for any Kentucky debater. Mark and his partner won the CFL district tournament, the state championship, and the NFL district tournament. In addition to being undefeated at these three tournaments, Mark was also the top individual speaker at each.

In order to pursue a variety of other interest, Mark elected not to participate in debate during his senior year of high school. However, after five years of junior and senior high school competition, Mark had distinguished himself as a true champion. Mark had qualified for the CFL national tournament four times, NFL nationals twice, and the Tournament of Champions four times. He was in the final round of the state tournament three consecutive years, where he was also the top individual speaker each year. Additionally, he had won dozens of speaker awards and team honors at tournaments throughout Kentucky and the nation.

Although Mark did not debate at Northwestern University while he was in college, he did become one of the most popular judges on the highly competitive Chicago-area circuit. Mark continued to judge and coach high school debate throughout his college career and beyond.

A few years ago, Mark’s health become significantly impaired. That impairment did not stop him from maintaining his interest in high school debate. Indeed, only a matter of months before his death, Mark judged at the Glenbrook Nationals. Only a champion who truly loved debate would remain actively involved during such a trying time.

Mark passed away on January 6 of 1992, two days shy of his 30th birthday. Mark had earned the title “champion” for many reasons. He was clearly a champion based upon the results of his debate career. He was also a champion for continuing to pursue his interest in debate even as his health deteriorated. He was most certainly a champion because he provided guidance, assistance, and strength of will for his family, his friends, and many in the debate community.

A champion of Mark’s caliber can be remembered and memorialized in many ways. Designating the top speaker award at the Tournament of Champions, in his memory, is one of the best ways to remember Mark, to honor others like him, and to celebrate the values that he represented. There is certainly no better place to honor the person who most people will remember as the greatest of Kentucky debaters. The Tournament of Champions is the best occasion for quality competition that Kentucky has to offer. Additionally, the debaters who participate in the Tournament of Champions are people not unlike Mark. They have all earned the title “champion” at one tournament or another, and they all thrive on high school debate competition.

The debaters that participate in the Tournament of Champions represent many of the values that Mark held as so important. They all display commitment. They are not only committed to debate, but they are committed to championship debate. That type of commitment is characterized by an intensive “work ethic”, a love of new ideas and knowledge, and a thirst for the refreshing in interchange of intellectual expression that occurs in the best of debates.

Mark Shelton was obviously a true champion. Those who compete for the “Mark Shelton Top Speaker Award” are also champions. And, we can all be champions if we embrace and pursue the kind of values that Mark represented so well.

(At the time of publication, Michael W. Shelton was a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky.)

Mark Shelton Top Speaker Award Winners

The top speaker at the TOC was officially designated the Mark Shelton Top Speaker Award beginning with the 22nd edition of the tournament in 1993. The complete list of top speakers is as follows:

1972: Jeff Clark & Mark Foley — Marquette University High School (Milwaukee, WI)
1973: Mary Thompson — Hillsboro High School (Nashville, TN)
1974: Dave Ottoson — Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School (Fairfax, VA)
1975: John Bredehoft — Cardinal Spellman High School (New York, NY)
1976: Jeff Lorenzen — Soquel High School (Soquel, CA)
1977: Patrick Finegan — Lakeland High School (Shrub Oak, NY)
1978: Sandra Seville-Jones — Soquel High School (Soquel, CA)
1979: Herschel Goldfield — The Bronx High School of Science (New York, NY)
1980: Kevin O’Shea — The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy (Detroit, MI)
1981: Lenny Gail — Maine Township High School East (Park Ridge, IL)
1982: Erik Jaffe — The Bronx High School of Science (New York, NY)
1983: Lyn Robbins — Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, TN)
1984: Stuart Rabin — The Bronx High School of Science (New York, NY)
1985: Mike Green — Lake Braddock Secondary School (Burke, VA)
1986: Jonathan Bines — Lexington High School (Lexington, MA)
1987: Michael Tomz — Winston Churchill High School (San Antonio, TX)
1988: Noah Millman — The Bronx High School of Science (New York, NY)
1989: Omar Guevara — Detroit Catholic Central High School (Novi, MI)
1990: Jon Brody — The Kinkaid School (Houston, TX)
1991: Stephen Andrews — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Alexandria, VA)
1992: Sinan Aral — Pace Academy (Atlanta, GA)
1993: Joshua Heling — Brookfield Central High School (Brookfield, WI)
1994: Dan Fitzmier — Martin Luther King, Jr., Magnet High School (Nashville, TN)
1995: Steve Lehotsky — Lexington High School (Lexington, MA)
1996: Dustin Marshall — Greenhill School (Addison, TX)
1997: David Harkin — Grapevine High School (Grapevine, TX)
1998: Geoff Lundeen — East Grand Rapids High School (East Grand Rapids, MI)
1999: Jake Foster — Head-Royce School (Oakland, CA)
2000: Ben Thorpe — Pace Academy (Atlanta, GA)
2001: Scott Phillips — Saint Thomas Academy (Mendota Heights, MN)
2002: Reuben Schy — Glenbrook North High School (Northbrook, IL)
2003: Justin Murray — Colleyville Heritage High School (Colleyville, TX)
2004: Jason Murray — Colleyville Heritage High School (Colleyville, TX)
2005: Tripp Rebrovick — Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, TN)
2006: Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North High School (Northbrook, IL)
2007: Stephen Weil — The Westminster Schools (Atlanta, GA)
2008: William Karlson — Stratford Academy (Macon, GA)
2009: Ross Gordon — New Trier Township High School (Winnetka, IL)
2010: Anna Dimitrijevic — Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart (Miami, FL)

Only twelve states have won a top speaker award: New York and Texas top the list with six and are followed by Georgia, Illinois, and Tennessee with four each, California, Michigan, and Virginia with three each, Massachussetts and Wisconsin with two each, and one apiece for Florida and Minnesota.

Bronx Science tops the short list of schools that have won multiple top speaker awards, having claimed the honor in ‘79, ‘82, ‘84, and ‘88. The only other schools to have won the award twice are Colleyville, GBN, Lexington, MBA, Pace, and Soquel.

Only three juniors have won the top speaker award: John Bredehoft in 1975, Matt Fisher in 2006, and Anna Dimitrijevic in 2010.

The National Debate Coaches Association National Championships has quickly grown to become one of the most prestigious high school debate tournaments in the United States. Since relaunching in 2006, the NDCA National Championships have brought together the vast majority of the nation’s best policy debate teams for an intense postseason tournament. This year’s champion was Nadeem Farooqi and Pablo Gannon from Damien High School in La Verne, California. The win marks Damien’s second in the past three years and gives them the honor of being the first team ever to win the NDCA National Championships twice.

The results from each of the six NDCA National Championships tournaments are presented along with some statistics below the fold.

Results

Results are available for all six tournaments. The only thing missing from the historical record is the packet (cumulative results sheet) from the first tournament in 2006. If anyone has a copy that they could scan, please let the author know.

• 2006 — Civil Liberties
• 2007 — National Service
• 2008 — Sub-Saharan Africa
• 2009 — Alternative Energy
• 2010 — Social Services
• 2011 — Military Presence

Past Champions

Five schools have won the NDCA National Championships. By winning the 2011 title, Damien became the first school to win the tournament twice.

2006 — Georgetown Day School (Edmund Zagorin & Shezaad Zainulbhi, Zack Beauchamp & James Brockway – close-out)
2007 — Westminster Schools (Anshu Sathian & Stephen Weil)
2008 — St. Mark’s School of Texas (Jordan Blumenthal & Alex Katz)
2009 — Damien High School (Reid Ehrlich-Quinn & Sean Hernandez)
2010 — The Bronx High School of Science (Zack Elias & Andrew Markoff)
2011 — Damien High School (Nadeem Farooqi & Pablo Gannon)

Interestingly, the first two champions were also recipients of the Baker Award. Since then, no team has been able to win both the Baker and the NDCA National Championships.

Past Top Speakers

No school has earned two top speaker awards. On three occasions, the top speaker also claimed the championship: Zack Beauchamp of Georgetown Day in 2006, Stephen Weil of Westminster in 2007, and Pablo Gannon of Damien in 2011.

2006 — Zack Beauchamp, Georgetown Day School
2007 — Stephen Weil, Westminster Schools
2008 — William Karlson, Stratford Academy
2009 — Katryna Cadle, Bishop Guertin High School
2010 — Layne Kirshon, The Kinkaid School
2011 — Pablo Gannon, Damien High School

Elimination Round Appearances

Over the last six years, 36 schools have reached the elimination rounds at least once. The teams with the most elimination round appearances are:

1. Glenbrook South, Westminster — 7
2. Glenbrook North, Woodward — 6
3. Damien, Greenhill, Lexington — 5
4. Carrollton Sacred Heart, Georgetown Day, St. Mark’s — 4
5. Bishop Guertin, College Prep, Edgemont — 3

In the same span, 26 schools have reached the quarterfinals. The schools that have had the most teams reach the quarterfinals are:

1. Glenbrook South — 5
2. Damien, St. Mark’s — 4
3. Bishop Guertin, Glenbrook North, Westminster, Woodward — 3

Teams from 14 schools have reached the semifinals, half of whom have advanced two teams that far. They are:

1. Damien, St. Mark’s, Westminster — 3
2. Bishop Guertin, Georgetown Day, Glenbrook South, Woodward — 2

In the six-year history of the tournament, nine schools have reached the final round with Damien, Georgetown Day, and Westminster the only schools to do so on two occasions.

1. Damien, Georgetown Day, Westminster — 2
2. Bishop Guertin, Bronx Science, Colleyville Heritage, Glenbrook North, Kinkaid, St. Mark’s — 1

The 1st and 2nd Year National National Championships in Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Debate will be hosted this coming weekend by Woodward Academy in College Park, GA. In an attempt to preserve the institutional memory of the tournament, we have been efforting to create a comprehensive history of the event beginning with a list of each year’s champions, runners-up, and top speakers. If anyone can help us fill in the gaps, please let me know. Results packets from the missing years would also be greatly appreciated; if coaches could take a few minutes to dig through their archives, I would love to be able to complete our archive.

Early this morning Matt Fisher and Stephanie Spies made history by becoming the first duo ever to win both the Tournament of Champions and the National Debate Tournament. Matt and Stephanie won the TOC in 2007 while at Glenbrook North High School and the NDT in 2011 while at Northwestern University. They also became just the sixth and seventh individuals ever to win both tournaments.

If that wasn’t enough, they also became the first duo ever to win both the National Forensic League National Tournament and the National Debate Tournament. Matt and Stephanie won NFL Nationals in 2007 and became just the fifth and sixth individuals ever to win both tournaments.

Most impressively, Matt and Stephanie became just the third and fourth individuals in debate history to win all three national championships — NFL Nationals, the TOC, and the NDT.

Who are the other two? Who has come closest? The answers are below the fold.

Champion at TOC, Champion at NDT

1. Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North (2007) & Northwestern University (2011)
2. Stephanie Spies — Glenbrook North (2007) & Northwestern University (2011)
3. Andy Ryan — Caddo Magnet (1997) & University of Iowa (2001)
4. Steven Sklaver — St. Mark’s (1989) & Dartmouth College (1993)
5. Shaun Martin — Lake Braddock (1984) & Dartmouth College (1988)
6. Mark Koulogeorge — Glenbrook South (1981) & Dartmouth College (1984)
7. John Bredehoft — Cardinal Spellman (1975, 1976) & Harvard University (1979)

Fisher and Spies also finished as runner-up at the NDT in 2010. Bredehoft also finished as runner-up at the NDT in 1980.

Runner-Up at TOC, Champion at NDT

1. Josh Branson — St. Mark’s (2002) & Northwestern University (2005)
2. Ara Lovitt — Harvard Westlake (1990) & Dartmouth College (1993)
3. Ahilan Arulananthain — Harvard Westlake (1990) & Georgetown University (1992)

Arulananthain also finished as runner-up at the NDT in 1993.

Champion at TOC, Runner-Up at NDT

1. Stephen Weil — Westminster Schools (2005) & Emory University (2011)
2. Stacey Nathan — Glenbrook North (2001) & University of California (2005)
3. Brian Smith — Pace Academy (2002) & Dartmouth College (2003)
4. Kamal Ghali — Caddo Magnet (1997) & Emory University (1999, 2001)
5. George Kouros — Niles West (1995) & Emory University (1998)
6. Eric Truett — Oak Park & River Forest (1990) & Georgetown University (1993)
7. Andrew Schrank — Albany (1986) & University of Michigan (1989)
8. Jeff Wagner — Glenbrook North (1980) & University of Redlands (1982)

Weil also finished as runner-up at the TOC in 2007.

Runner-Up at TOC, Runner-Up at NDT

1. Rebecca Tushnet — Georgetown Day (1991) & Harvard University (1992, 1993)
2. Colin Kahl — Richmond Kennedy (1989) & University of Michigan (1991)

Champion at NFL, Champion at NDT

1. Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North (2007) & Northwestern University (2011)
2. Stephanie Spies — Glenbrook North (2007) & Northwestern University (2011)
3. Alex Lamballe — Montgomery Bell (2005) & Wake Forest University (2008)
4. Josh Branson — St. Mark’s (2002) & Northwestern University (2005)
5. Steven Sklaver — St. Mark’s (1990) & Dartmouth College (1993)
6. Mark Koulogeorge — Glenbrook South (1981) & Dartmouth College (1984)

Champion at NFL, Champion at TOC, Champion at NDT

1. Matt Fisher — Glenbrook North (2007) & Northwestern University (2011)
2. Stephanie Spies — Glenbrook North (2007) & Northwestern University (2011)
3. Steven Sklaver — St. Mark’s (1989, 1990) & Dartmouth College (1993)
4. Mark Koulogeorge — Glenbrook South (1981) & Dartmouth College (1984)

Did I miss anyone? Additions/corrections are welcome.

Note: this article was corrected on 03-30-2011 to include John Bredehoft’s NDT championship in 1979.

This May will mark the 40th running of the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky. Founded in 1972, the TOC has long been considered America’s foremost debate competition. Ever wonder which schools have had the most success at the TOC? Curious as to which state has advanced the most teams to elimination rounds? Want to know which schools have put together the longest streaks of elimination round appearances?

While results dating back to the founding of the tournament remain elusive, I have recently been able to compile the elimination round results from the last fifteen runs for the roses. Below the fold is a comprehensive breakdown of the results from 1996 through 2010. Two notes before digging in:

1. For the purposes of this review, the run-off round counts as an appearance in the elimination rounds. A win in the run-off round, however, does not count as an elimination round win.

2. Preliminary round packets are not yet available for each of the years included in this review. When they do become available, it will be possible to include preliminary round results and elimination round seedings in a future study.

Without further ado, what follows is everything you ever wanted to know about the last fifteen TOCs (but were probably embarrassed to ask).

Elimination Round Teams By Type of High School

A total of 67 high schools have qualified at least one team to the elimination rounds.

1. Public (Non-Magnet) — 119 rounds, 34 schools
2. Private — 109 rounds, 16 schools
3. Public (Magnet) — 21 rounds, 6 schools

States With The Most Teams Appearing In Elimination Rounds

Schools from 24 states have qualified at least one team to the elimination rounds.

1. Texas — 53 from 14 schools
2. Illinois — 41 from 6 schools
3. Georgia — 38 from 6 schools
4. California — 20 from 7 schools
5. Louisiana — 15 from 2 schools
6. Massachusetts — 12 from 1 school
7. Iowa — 9 from 2 schools
8. Michigan — 8 from 3 schools
9. New York — 8 from 4 schools
10. Florida — 6 from 5 schools
11. District of Columbia — 5 from 1 school
12. Minnesota — 4 from 3 schools
13. Ohio — 4 from 1 school
14. Tennessee — 4 from 1 school
15. Utah — 4 from 2 schools
16. New Hampshire — 3 from 1 school
17. Arizona — 1 from 1 school
18. Kentucky — 1 from 1 school
19. Maryland — 1 from 1 school
20. Nevada — 1 from 1 school
21. Pennsylvania — 1 from 1 school
22. Virginia — 1 from 1 school
23. Washington — 1 from 1 school
24. Wisconsin — 1 from 1 school

The Dallas Metropolitan Area alone has qualified more teams to the elimination rounds—42—than any other state in the country. The Houston Metropolitan Area (8) and the San Antonio/Austin Metropolitan Area (3) also have qualified more teams to the elimination rounds than many states.

States With The Most Schools Appearing In Elimination Rounds

Eleven states have qualified teams from multiple schools to the elimination rounds.

1. Texas — 14
2. California — 7
3. Illinois — 6
4. Georgia — 6
5. Florida — 5
6. New York — 4
7. Michigan — 3
8. Minnesota — 3
9. Iowa — 2
10. Louisiana — 2
11. Utah — 2

States With The Most Years Appearing In Elimination Rounds

Two states—Illinois and Texas—have qualified at least one team to the elimination rounds in each of the last fifteen tournaments.

1. Illinois — 15
2. Texas — 15
3. Georgia — 13
4. California — 12
5. Massachusetts — 9
6. Louisiana — 8
7. New York — 8
8. Iowa — 7
9. Michigan — 6
10. Florida — 5

States With The Most Teams Appearing In Elimination Rounds In A Single Year

Georgia has qualified the most teams to elimination rounds in a single season (6, in 2002).

1. 6 — Georgia (2002)
2. 5 — Illinois (2010, 2000), Texas (2004, 2001)
3. 4 — California (2009, 1998), Illinois (1997), Texas (2009, 2008, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1998, 1996), Georgia (2009, 2007, 2003)

Schools With The Most Teams Appearing In Elimination Rounds

Greenhill and Glenbrook North top the list of schools with the most appearances in elimination rounds.

1. Greenhill — 20
2. Glenbrook North — 20
3. Caddo Magnet — 13
4. Glenbrook South — 12
5. Westminster — 12
6. Woodward Academy — 11
7. Lexington — 11
8. College Prep — 9
9. Colleyville Heritage — 8
10. Valley — 8

Schools With The Most Years Appearing In Elimination Rounds

Greenhill and Glenbrook North have qualified at least one team to the elimination rounds in all but one season.

1. Greenhill — 14
2. Glenbrook North — 14
3. Glenbrook South — 12
4. Westminster — 9
5. Woodward Academy — 9
6. Lexington — 9
7. Caddo Magnet — 8
8. College Prep — 7
9. Pace Academy — 6
10. St. Mark’s — 6
11. Colleyville Heritage — 6
12. Valley — 6
13. Chattahoochee — 6

Schools With The Most Consecutive Years Appearing In Elimination Rounds

Greenhill’s streak of fourteen consecutive appearances in the elimination rounds was snapped in 2010 but remains the benchmark by which other streaks will be measured. In total, there have been fifteen streaks of at least three consecutive seasons appearing in the elimination rounds.

1. 14 — Greenhill (1996-2009)
2. 9 — Glenbrook North (1996-2004)
3. 7 — Caddo Magnet (1996-2002), College Prep (1999-2005), Glenbrook South (1997-2003), Westminster (2001-2007)
4. 5 — Chattahoochee (2004-2008), Glenbrook North (2006-2010), Valley (1999-2003)
5. 4 — Woodward Academy (2000-2003)
6. 3 — Bronx Science (2008-2010), Glenbrook South (2005-2007), Groves (2006-2008), Pace Academy (2007-2009), St. Mark’s (2006-2008)

Only two streaks — Glenbrook North (5) and Bronx Science (3) — are currently active.

Schools With The Most Teams In Elimination Rounds In A Single Year

Three schools have qualified three teams for the elimination rounds in a single season.

1. Caddo Magnet — 2005
2. Head Royce — 1998
3. Woodward Academy — 2002

Another eleven schools have qualified two teams to the elimination rounds in a single season.

1. Caddo Magnet — 2000, 1997, 1996
2. Chattahoochee — 2006
3. College Prep — 2004, 2002
4. Colleyville Heritage — 2008, 2003
5. Georgetown Day — 2006
6. Glenbrook North — 2010, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2001, 2000
7. Greenhill — 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996
8. Lexington — 2005, 1999, 1996
9. Montgomery Bell Academy — 2004
10. Westminster — 2003, 2002
11. Valley — 2003, 1996

Schools With The Most Teams In The Quarterfinals Or Better

Three teams have advanced nine teams to the quarterfinals or better.

1. Glenbrook North — 10
2. Greenhill — 9
3. Westminster — 9
4. Caddo Magnet — 7
5. Glenbrook South — 7
6. College Prep — 6
7. Woodward Academy — 5
8. Centerville — 4
9. Colleyville Heritage — 4
10. Lexington — 4
11. Pace Academy – 4
12. St. Mark’s — 4

Schools With The Most Consecutive Years Appearing In The Quarterfinals Or Better

Westminster advanced at least one team to the quarterfinals in six consecutive seasons between 2002 and 2007.

1. 6 — Westminster (2002-2007)
2. 5 — Caddo Magnet (1997-2001), Glenbrook North (2000-2004), Greenhill (1996-2000)
3. 3 — College Prep (1999-2001), Glenbrook South (1996-1999), Greenhill (2006-2008), Woodward Academy (2000-2002)

Schools With The Most Teams In The Semifinals Or Better

Greenhill and Glenbrook North have advanced seven teams to the semifinals or beyond.

1. Greenhill — 7
2. Glenbrook North — 7
3. Westminster — 5
4. College Prep — 4
5. Lexington — 4
6. St. Mark’s — 4
7. Glenbrook South — 3
8. Woodward Academy — 3

In total, 25 schools have advanced at least one team to the semifinals and fourteen schools have advanced at least two teams to the semifinals.

Schools With The Most Consecutive Years Appearing In The Semifinals

Glenbrook North advanced at least one team to the semifinals in four consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2004.

1. 4 — Glenbrook North (2001-2004)
2. 3 — Greenhill (2006-2008)
3. 2 — Chattahoochee (2004-2005), College Prep (2003-2004), Damien (2008-2009), Glenbrook South (1997-1998), Greenhill (1997-1998), Kinkaid (2009-2010), St. Mark’s (2001-2002), Westminster (2009-2010), Woodward Academy (2000-2001)

Schools have made back-to-back appearances in the semifinals only eleven times with Glenbrook North (4) and Greenhill (3) the only teams to reach the semifinals at three or more consecutive tournaments.

Schools With The Most Teams In The Final Round

Greenhill has advanced six teams to the final round.

1. Greenhill — 6
2. Glenbrook North — 4
3. Westminster — 4
4. College Prep — 2
5. Glenbrook South — 2
6. St. Mark’s — 2
7. Bellarmine — 1
8. Caddo Magnet — 1
9. Centerville — 1
10. Chattahoochee — 1
11. Colleyville Heritage — 1
12. Katy Taylor — 1
13. Lexington — 1
14. Montgomery Bell Academy — 1
15. Pace Academy — 1
16. Woodward Academy — 1

In total, 16 schools have advanced to the final round with only six schools doing so multiple times.

Schools With The Most Consecutive Years Appearing In The Final Round

Only three schools have made back-to-back appearances in the final round.

1. College Prep (2003-2004)
2. Greenhill (1997-1998)
3. Westminster (2009-2010)

Schools With The Most Championships

Glenbrook North has won four of the last fifteen championships. During that span, Westminster is the only team to win back-to-back titles (in 2009 and 2010).

1. Glenbrook North — 4 (2007, 2004, 2001, 1996)
2. Greenhill — 3 (2008, 2006, 2000)
3. Westminster — 3 (2010, 2009, 2005)
4. Caddo Magnet — 1 (1997)
5. College Prep — 1 (2003)
6. Glenbrook South — 1 (1998)
7. Montgomery Bell Academy — 1 (1999)
8. Pace Academy — 1 (2002)

Of the eight schools that have won a championship, five are private and three are public (one of which is a magnet school).

Schools With The Most Elimination Round Wins

Greenhill and Greenhill have both won 25 elimination rounds in the last fifteen seasons.

1. Greenhill — 25
2. Glenbrook North — 25
3. Westminster — 21
4. College Prep — 13
5. Glenbrook South — 13
6. Caddo Magnet — 11
7. St. Mark’s — 10
8. Lexington — 9
9. Woodward Academy — 9
10. Colleyville Heritage — 7
11. Pace Academy — 7
12. Centerville — 6
13. Chattahoochee — 6
14. Montgomery Bell Academy — 6
15. Kinkaid — 5

Greenhill vs. Glenbrook North

Greenhill and Glenbrook North have met five times in the elimination rounds since 1996; Glenbrook North holds the edge in those match-ups, 3-2.

1. 1997, Octafinals: Greenhill d. Glenbrook North
2. 2000, Octafinals: Glenbrook North d. Greenhill
3. 2003, Octafinals: Glenbrook North d. Greenhill
4. 2003, Semifinals: Greenhill d. Glenbrook North
5. 2007, Semifinals: Glenbrook North d. Greenhill

The data used in this review was compiled from many sources including e-Debate and CX-L postings by Dr. J.W. Patterson. Almost all of it is now (or will soon be) available in The 3NR Results Archive.

A large number of results packets have been added to The 3NR Results Archive over the past few days. We have about 50 packets in the queue to process and post and will continue adding them to the archive as they are finished. A big thank you to Tim Alderete for his contribution to this project: almost all of what is currently available from the 1990s is courtesy of Tim’s personal archive.

Many gems can be found in these results.

For example, the complete preliminary round results packet from the 1991 Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University—held 20 years ago next weekend—is available for perusal. You can’t tell from the packet, but a search of Emory’s own “Hall of Champions” page reveals that Upper Arlington’s Chris Barth and Abe Newman (coached by Marie Dzuris, now the coach of Centerville High School) defeated Omaha Westside’s Jason Patil and Paul Skiermont (coached by G. David Richardson) to claim the title. The top speaker was Greg Huber from St. Frances de Sales, an all-male Catholic high school in Toledo, Ohio. Huber went on to attend Emory University and is now an Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University. Interestingly, the top speaker at the Barkley Forum in 1991 received 116 high-low points—identical to the points received by the 2010 top speaker, Andrew Markoff of the Bronx High School of Science.

A lot more awaits those willing to dive into the archives. As always, please let me know if you have something to contribute.

To help preserve debate’s institutional memory, The 3NR has begun curating an archive of results from (mostly “national circuit”) high school policy debate tournaments. While we are still in the process of organizing and uploading all of the results that we have compiled over the years (including an extensive collection from Tim Alderete), we wanted to let our readers know about this new resource now. Our goal is to provide as many results packets and elimination round results as possible from previous seasons. With due credit to Phil Kerpen’s old High School Debate Archive site, the archive is extremely bare-bones and simple to navigate. If you have results packets to contribute, please email Bill Batterman.