The debate team placed third at Spring Hill High School on Saturday, Nov. 9, competing against 92 teams and 16 schools. As a team senior Drew Novak and sophomore Karla Kim placed second in open division, while sophomores Justin Curto and Nick Booth who took seventh. In the novice division freshman Braeden Riffel and senior Eric Horton took third.

Novak and Kim ended the tournament with five wins.

“This is the first time that I actually worked with Karla. I felt that this being my first time out this year and her second time [to a debate meet] that it went really well I think we made a good team,” Novak said. “Going 5-0 is truly an accomplishment.”

Freshman Emma Wilhoit describes the debate team’s presence at her first meet.

“I think a lot of times when Mill Valley goes to a debate [meet] their reputation kind of precedes them as being a good debate team,” Wilhoit said. “I think we’re a team of very strong debaters who are very intelligent.”

To qualify for state the teams must compete in four meets that season and win 50 percent of their rounds. So far several debaters have also qualified for the state meet in January including seniors Joe Gunter, Jason Biesma, Daniel Ward and Alyssa Hobson qualified.

Debate teacher Jeanette Hardesty discribes her excitement for the qualifiers.

“I am very proud of the senior teams and I wish them the best, hopefully there will be more teams to qualify [as the season continues],” Hardesty said.

Also competing were:

Novak and Kim (5-0)

Ward and Hobson (4-1)

Curto and Booth (4-1)

Freshman Joel Sudderling and junior Brooke Drescher (4-1)

Biesma and sophomore Rohit Biswas (3-2)

Sophomore Brenan Riffel and freshman Sue Kim (3-2)

Riffel and Horton (3-2)

Freshmen Kristen Schau and Spencer Smith (3-2)

Sophomores T-Ying Lin and Nadia Suhail (2-3)

Freshman Marian Cruz and Wilhoit (2-3)