Free State's four-speaker debate team posing the team's 6A state championship trophy.
IN 1ST YEAR LEADING THE PROGRAM, FORMER FIREBIRD DEBATER COACHES FREE STATE TO 4-SPEAKER STATE TITLE
Parker Hopkins, a 2013 graduate of Free State High School, took over as the Firebirds’ debate coach heading into this year knowing all about the team’s recent history of success prior to his homecoming.
In addition to his experience competing in high school debate, Hopkins also was fully aware of the difficulty presented to a group of upperclassmen attempting to keep moving forward after a change in coaches midway through their high school careers.
That’s why Hopkins was astonished by what his four-speaker team accomplished at this year’s KSHSAA state debate championships amid a coaching change.
The Firebirds went 10-2 to win the state title, ending Washburn Rural’s eight-year reign atop the 6A four-speaker division. The Junior Blues took state runner-up, edging third-place Blue Valley.
Free State seniors Gilly Falin and Cooper Elo debated as the affirmative team while senior Cooper Hefty and Nathan Peltier held down their role as the negative team, with senior Anwen Williams and junior Breahna Randall serving as the alternates.
Heading into the final round, the top three squads remained deadlocked in a 8-2 stalemate. At that point, tiebreaker points favored the reigning champs. Luckily, Free State would have one pair going up against Washburn Rural while the other faced Blue Valley. The Firebirds closed out their state performance with victories over both.
“We needed to win both debates to secure our state title,” Hopkins said. “The team’s ability to remain composed under pressure truly showcased their maturity and skill.”
Hopkins said this group carried momentum into state after earning an undefeated record at regionals. But this group knew better than most how difficult it would be to hold off the top teams at state.
Free State had finished in the top three at state four times in the previous seven years, including each of the last three years. After finishing as the 6A state runner-up in back-to-back years, the Firebirds finished third in 2024 behind Washburn Rural and Blue Valley West.
Although those finishes took place prior to Hopkins arrival this year, that history under former coach Kelly Thompson added to how much Hopkins was thrilled by this result.
“This was truly exceptional to witness,” Hopkins said. “Not only because it’s so rare to see a group that wins the state title, but also because of what has transpired before this tournament, during this season and in years past.”
Because of that prior success, Hopkins said his competitors would likely view their seasons heading into state as having fallen short of their goals for the year.
“To see them put all of that behind them, work hard for this tournament, and then compete well in spite of what they perceive to be the shortcomings of their season, is remarkable,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said he was impressed with the way this group of upperclassmen came together to work toward the goal of state title in the face of a coaching change late into their high school debate careers.
“It’s hard when you’re a junior and you find out your coach is leaving,” Hopkins said. “A lot of students struggle to adapt to a new coach, and some choose not to try at all. That is perfectly understandable, and no one can fault anyone, let alone a high school student, for feeling that way.”
Hopkins found himself in a similar situation during his high school debate career. Heading into his junior year, Hopkins learned that Free State’s debate coach for his first two years of high school, Jo Ball, had decided to take a position at Olathe South in 2013. Not long after, Ball’s replacement ended up stepping down because of a medical issue.
Jason Moore ended up becoming the team’s coach, although he only had forensics team experience at the time. Luckily, Michael Shelton joined as an assistant at that time.
Shelton remained with the program in the years since, serving as the assistant director under Hopkins, more than a decade after they first met.
“He has been a defining feature of the success of the Free State team since that time, and this absolutely would not have been possible without him,” Hopkins said of Shelton.
Hopkins described it as an unforgettable moment seeing this team’s resilience and teamwork this season pay off “in the most rewarding way.” With this accomplishment happening at his alma mater, it meant that much more to him.
“As a Free State alum, this win holds a special place in my heart,” Hopkins said. “I know firsthand the dedication and commitment it takes to compete at this level. Seeing our students carry on the tradition and raise the bar even higher fills me with immense pride.”
Blue Valley North's two-speaker debate team posing the team's 6A state championship trophy.
WITH UNLIKELY PAIRING OF A TRANSFER STUDENT & A SOPHOMORE, BLUE VALLEY NORTH ENDS UP REPEATING AS 5A STATE CHAMPS FOR 2-SPEAKER
With Claire Ain and Edward Mu graduating last May, Blue Valley North coach Brian Box did not have much reason to expect his program would be able repeat as 5A state champions in the two-speaker field.
That possibility probably felt even more like a longshot when Box ultimately found his team relying on a strange pairing heading into this year’s state competition.
But Box knew he had a strong competitor with sophomore Maira Parsons, who had already qualified for state speech and drama last May. Although she performed in humorous interpretation, her quest to reach the state for debate was far from a laughable idea. Parsons just needed a partner.
Luckily, an experienced debate partner had just transferred to her school.
As a member of the Blue Valley West debate team last year, Iman Suleman helped lead the Jaguars to a 6A state runner-up finish for four-speaker debate. She also qualified for the Tournament of Champions debate event in Kentucky.
But after transferring to Blue Valley North for her senior year, Suleman would end up needing to sit out of debate competition until November. Just as she was getting comfortable in her new surroundings, Suleman ended up getting paired with sophomore Maira Parsons for the two-month sprint to state.
One of their first outings together was at the KCKCC Invitational, which serves as one of the most competitive regular season tournaments in the state.
Even though they were still building their rapport at that time, the duo earned a second-place finish.
“This strong start set them up for solid performances for the rest of the season, highlighted by qualifying for the National Speech and Debate Association National Championship this summer,” Box said.
Suleman and Parsons quickly built up their resumes together, but all that momentum nearly got derailed at the start of the state tournament.
“They lost their first debate and then lost round three to a Shawnee Mission East team that we were not expecting to debate until later in the tournament,” Box said.
With the team needing to win at least four of their six preliminary debates to reach the elimination rounds, Suleman and Parsons had very little margin for error.
Despite that situation, Box said both of his competitors were able to stay calm and confident as they won three straight debates to advance.
“We weren’t worried about seeding and were confident that if we could get into the bracket, we could beat anyone,” Box said.
Suleman and Parsons were able to prove that with their performance the rest of the way, adding another five wins to their streak to complete the state title run.
The duo’s toughest test came in the semifinals when they entered a rematch with that same Shawnee Mission East duo, Sophia Leonard and Lucy Pace.
“Obviously, that was a must-win debate, but there is an added emotional boost to beating a team that you lost to earlier in the tournament,” Box said.
Suleman and Parsons shrugged off the previous result against the Lancers as the Mustangs punched their ticket to the finals. After Leonard and Pace secured the 2-1 win in that preliminary battle, Suleman and Parsons earned the decisive 3-0 victory in the semifinals.
They completed the state title run by defeating the Lancers’ other team, Jackson Terrors and Ishaan Home, with a 2-1 decision.
Suleman and Parsons became the third Mustangs duo to win the two-speaker state title and the seventh overall. Each of those two-speaker wins have taken place since 2020 and under Box’s leadership.
“It’s always special to win a state title,” Box said. “Going back-to-back was awesome. I feel fortunate to coach students who have bought in and contributed to the culture of hard work that makes it possible to have a different duo win this year.”
Blue Valley Southwest's four-speaker debate team posing the team's 5A state championship trophy.
BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST RELOADS, PUSHES 4-SPEAKER TITLE RUN TO 10
Blue Valley Southwest saw all four members of last year’s four-speaker state title team graduate last May.
Not a problem for the Timberwolves as their new crew still brought home the state title once again, pushing the program’s streak to 10 straight four-speaker state titles. The team has also won a state title, either four-speaker or two-speaker, in 11 straight years and have won 16 overall state titles since 2016.
Blue Valley Southwest coach Ryan McFarland said one word comes up a lot around this time of year: legacy.
“It feels good to see students realize that they’re going to leave a lasting mark on the program,” McFarland said.
Senior Jessica Dickey and a trio of juniors in Brayden Presley, Rohan Chalamalasetti and Sophia Taghizadeh helmed a completely different squad from last year, but all four understood they had a chance to become a part of that legacy this season.
They accomplished just that by going 16-0 at the state tournament. KC Sumner finished as the state runner-up at 12-4 while De Soto took third at 11-5.
“I think this is a pretty special group,” McFarland said. “All four of them only have three years of debate experience, but they’re all incredibly talented, work hard, and have fun at the same time. Their role models and leaders on our team.
“They really care about the legacy of the program and put a lot of pressure on themselves to keep winning.”
Both tandems had held top 10 rankings in the state throughout this season. At Washburn Rural’s tournament early in the year, the Timberwolves ended up matching up against each other in the quarterfinals. Presley and Chalamalasetti would get the nod to advance and ultimately finish as finalists. At the KCKCC policy debate tournament, Presley, Dickey and Chalamasetti would finish as the top three individual speakers in one of the state’s most competitive regular season tournaments.
Presley and Chalamalasetti won the Debate Coaches Invitational, an invite-only tournament for the top 24 varsity teams in the state. They became the first Timberwolves duo to accomplish this feat.
Presley and Chalamalasetti were state octofinalists in last year’s 6A two-speaker competition. This year, the duo pushed their accomplishments to near heights.
“Individually, I think Brayden and Rohan are one of the most well-researched teams in the country,” McFarland said. “They’ve proven that by their performances at the Glenbrooks (top 32) and Montgomery Bell Academy (top 16).”
With Dickey and Taghizadeh, Blue Valley Southwest had its perfect complement to complete this four-speaker team.
“Jess and Sophia work incredibly hard, always trying to innovate their arguments,” McFarland said. “They’re both incredible speakers that are very passionate about the arguments they make and have the technical skill to beat any team.”
McFarland said he thought all four competitors remained even-keeled throughout this year’s state tournament, which served them well in running the table to finish with a perfect record.
“I think our preparation before the tournament sets us apart and I think the debaters were all pretty confident because of our preparation,” McFarland said. “We had rounds that we thought would be really important for creating some separation in the standings, so the excitement was a little bit higher for those rounds, especially as the tournament went on. We knew the Sumner and De Soto rounds were going to be important.”
Seniors Vaden Kumar and Riley Ney won Newton’s first two-speaker title in 12 years.
NEWTON’S KUMAR, NEY CLAIM 5A TWO-SPEAKER CHAMPIONSHIP
Newton coach Rob Egan saw various traits in successful debaters during his time leading the program at Wichita Collegiate, his alma mater.
Now with the Railers, Egan has witnessed championship-level innate abilities in seniors Vaden Kumar and Riley Ney.
Kumar and Ney, part of Newton’s third-place four-speaker team in Class 5A a year ago, earned Newton’s first state debate title in over a decade, winning the 5A two-speaker championship Saturday in Garden City. The Railer duo defeated Andover’s Sean Mansoor and Preston Mallett 3-0 in the final round to conclude the two-day tournament at 8-1.
“What is most impressive to me about their work at state debate is their ability to adapt to judges,” said Egan, who coached Collegiate to two four-speaker and two two-speaker state titles in Class 3-2-1A, including last year, when the Spartans’ quartet of two-speaker entries reached the semifinals and were co-champions. “Every judge has a different paradigm, or lens, through which they view the debate.
“Riley and Vaden are both able to adjust their speed and other elements of their debate skills to match the judge’s understanding and win rounds.”
In doing so Friday and Saturday, Kumar and Ney collected Newton’s eighth state debate title, but only the second since 1949. Last month, they became the first Railers to ever qualify for the prestigious University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions after posting a top-10 finish last summer at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Each region brings with it different teams, programs, styles and judges,” Egan said. “It is challenging to grasp new norms and build success in one circuit, let alone multiple. Yet for Riley and Vaden, they experienced success whether in Topeka, Kansas City, Wichita, Garden City or even Des Moines.”
De Soto’s Amelia Caylor and Aurora Straight shared third in the competition with Seaman’s Beau Artzer and Nicole Miller.
Kumar and Ney became Newton’s first two-speaker champions since Jacob Bartel and Ginny Loeffler went 10-0 at state to win the 5A title in 2013 under coach David Williams, who retired last year.
“Riley and Vaden have no quit in them,” Egan said. “They work tirelessly to research and practice and prepare, and they don’t rest on their laurels either. They’re always thinking ahead to get ready for the next tournament. But for now, we take a breath and celebrate their state championship.”
Bishop Miege's four-speaker debate team posing the team's 4A state championship trophy.
MIEGE ENDS 3-YEAR STATE TITLE DROUGHT, EARNS PROGRAMS 11TH STATE TITLE BY WINNING 4-SPEAKER IN 4A
For Miege coach Melissa Reynolds, every state championship victory is special.
That remains true for Reynolds even as this year’s team added another one to her impressive haul which had already reached double digits.
Miege’s four-speaker team went 12-2 at this year’s state tournament to bring home the program’s first state title since 2021. Even with the three-year drought, Reynolds has coached 11 state title teams since 1998.
McPherson earned state runner-up with an 11-3 mark while Tonganoxie took third by going 10-4.
Even as she experienced state title No. 11, Reynolds said each state championship remains special to her.
“The first one in 1998 was awesome because it was the first,” Reynolds said. “However, this one is amazing because of the people involved. I was pretty confident in their ability to win.”
Seniors Oliver Busenhart, Franny Chaffee-McClure, Kristina Erskine and Joseph Schmidt formed the four-speaker team, while sophomores Evelyn Howard and Gabriel Brooks. Busenhart and Erskine were on the affirmative team while Chaffee-McClure and Schmidt were on the negative team.
“I was so pleased to see their hard work pay off with a championship,” Reynolds said. “The four seniors are all tremendous leaders who have devoted countless hours to research and argument-building; it is a perfect example of very deserving people being rewarded for their efforts.”
This team clearly leaned on experienced upperclassmen, including Chaffee-McClure. This is Chaffee-McClure’s third year competing on Miege’s four-speaker team at state. The squad started with a third-place finish during her sophomore campaign before finishing runner-up last season.
But at regionals, Miege leaned on one of the team's sophomores to help keep the Stags on course for a strong run at state.
Schmidt ended up missing that competition after suffering a bout of pneumonia. In his place, Howard stepped up to partner with Chaffee-McClure. That tandem was able to match Busenhart and Erskine’s perfect 6-0 mark as the team secured 35 of 36 ballots.
The Stags hoped to have momentum at state after the strong regionals performance and with Schmidt returning to the line-up.
Instead, Miege found itself facing a tough test early that put the state title hopes in doubt.
In the opening round, Chaffee-McClure and Schmidt lost on a split decision against Tonganoxie’s affirmative team. Even with Busenhart and Erskine earning a 3-0 margin in their matchup, the Stags sat outside the top three teams to start the day.
“That made me catch my breath,” Reynolds said.
That early scare for Reynolds quickly got soothed away as Miege wasted little time pushing its way back to the top of the leaderboard, where it remained in a close battle with Tonganoxie for the rest of the competition.
Going into the final round at state, Miege sat tied with Tonganoxie at 10-2 and holding just a two-ballot advantage. The Stags took care of business as both their affirmative and negative teams won in the deciding round. They also got a little help from McPherson to seal up the state victory. The Bullpups pulled out a 2-0 sweep over Tonganoxie in that round, allowing them to push ahead for a state runner-up finish.
Although it ended up being a dramatic finish, Miege chose to avoid feeling the pressure of watching the scoreboard.
“I don’t tell my students what their record is during the competition,” Reynolds said. “We try to focus on each round as it comes and on doing our best job in that round. So the students just knew that they were doing well, nothing more. I chose to not look at the final rounds results before the awards assembly started, so the final outcome was a bit of a surprise for me also.”
Although three years between state titles is not very long at all, the team’s most recent gap in state championship wins did tie for the second-longest title drought for the Stags since the program won its first in 1998. Back then, Reynolds coached the program to three straight 5A state titles.
Then the team had a three-year drought before winning two of the next three years, followed by another three-year gap in state victoires. The Stags ended that stretch with a state title in 2010 before having its longest gap between state titles since coaching her first state championship squad a decade into her career at Miege.
Her team ended that extended stretch with a state trophy when the Stags swept both 4A state titles for debate in 2017. Miege’s two-speaker state title that year remains the program’s only state championship for that division.
Miege would won state again in 2019 and 2021.
Last spring, the National Speech and Debate Association bestowed Reynolds with her seventh Diamond Award, an honor reflecting a combination of excellence and longevity in these activities. With just a couple years until the NSDA’s 100-year anniversary, only 41 other coaches have received this honor.
McPherson’s Hendrix Nelson and Bo Barkley won the 4A two-speaker title.
NEW PARTNERSHIP PAYS OFF FOR MCPHERSON TWO-SPEAKER TEAM WITH 4A TITLE
McPherson junior Hendrix Nelson and sophomore Bo Barkley took their maiden voyage as a two-speaker team at the Class 4A state championships Friday and Saturday in Winfield.
They returned home with the Bullpups’ first two-speaker state title in nearly 30 years.
Nelson and Barkley edged Parsons seniors Madelyn Armitage and Makenzie Taliaferro in the final round on a 2-1 decision and finished first in the competition with a 7-2 record.
McPherson coach Aaron Schopper said the Nelson-Barkley team was a product of attrition. Their regular partners had to drop from the state competition due to earlier weather-related issues.
Nelson, a state quarterfinalist a year ago, and Barkley, a newcomer to that stage, proved to be a winning combination.
“I believe it was a mix of experience and energy,” Schopper said. “Bo’s communication style balanced out Hendrix’s overly technical style for a good match-up between the two. But in outrounds, the biggest bump they got was the whole team rallying behind them to help scout and develop strategies before every outround.”
The Parsons team knocked out McPherson’s other entry, junior Ayden Loy and sophomore Breckyn Bauer, in the quarterfinals. In the final against Armitage and Taliaferro, Nelson and Barkley won the coin toss and elected to debate the affirmative, arguing for comprehensive legislation to address the harms caused by deepfakes.
Nelson, a third-year debater, entered state with a 15-6 record. Barkley was 15-2. They produced McPherson’s first two-speaker title since 1996 and gave Schopper his seventh state title in debate and forensics in four years. The Bullpups also took second over the weekend to Bishop Miege in the 4A four-speaker competition.
Miege’s Henry Holm and Katherine McGee finished third in the two-speaker championship.
Sterling’s team of Emma Lockhart, Lydia Webb, Jackson Mendoza, Mason Lockhart, Eli Jackson, KaiLynn Hartman and coach David Wilson won the school’s first state four-speaker title since 2015.
STERLING DELIVERS ON BOTH SIDES, WINS 3-2-1A FOUR-SPEAKER TITLE
Sterling debate coach David Wilson likens those on the negative side of his policy debate team to basketball defenders assigned to try to slow the opponent’s star players.
L-R Emma Lockhart, Lydia Webb, Jackson Mendoza, Mason Lockhart, Eli Jackson, KaiLynn Hartman, David Wilson
“They have to deal with the other team’s top scorers for two full days,” Wilson said. “They know the plan. They’re getting Steph Curry for two full days.”
Those assignments fell to Sterling senior Eli Jackson and junior Lydia Webb during the Class 3-2-1A four-speaker state championship Friday and Saturday at Winfield High School. And the Black Bear duo held up against a challenging field of debaters.
With seniors Mason Lockhart and Jackson Mendoza posting a 7-0 record on the affirmative side, Jackson and Webb went 5-2, giving Sterling a 12-2 mark to unseat Silver Lake as 3-2-1A champions. The Eagles, winners of last year’s state title with a 14-0 record, went 10-4 over the weekend to finish second, while Bishop Seabury (8-6) claimed third.
Jackson was the new face on Sterling’s four-speaker lineup from last year, when the Black Bears finished second with a 9-5 mark. Lockhart, Mendoza and Webb all returned, and the group entered state on the heels of winning a regional championship last month.
After winning its fifth consecutive Class 2A speech and drama title last spring in its first season under Wilson, Sterling landed its first debate championship since 2015.
“Zoe Harding was a major loss for us off last year’s team,” Wilson said of the 2024 graduate. “She was really strong. But we have good depth and we rotated Eli into that fourth spot on the negative side and he was ready. He thrives there.”
The Black Bears were strengthened by alternates Emma Lockhart, Mason’s younger sister, on the affirmative side and senior KaiLynn Hartman on the negative. But with Jackson and Webb dropping rounds only to Seabury and Lyons, Sterling had enough to win the championship.
“The kids who figure it out on the negative side are just warriors,” Wilson said.
Before the state tournament, Wilson believed any of the teams in the four-speaker field could win the title. Even though the Black Bears debated well throughout the competition, moments of doubt were hard to avoid.
“There were a couple pivotal points,” Wilson said. “Our plan was hopefully to go 5-1 against the teams in our regional and to go 5-3 against the other teams. As it turned out, we went 7-1.
“To finish on top in a really rigorous tournament schedule like that is just awesome.”
Sterling also got a fourth-place finish from Danika Bingle and Kayleann Higgins in the 3-2-1A two-speaker competition.
Wichita Collegiate’s Max and Elizabeth Timsah won the 3-2-1A two-speaker title in Winfield.
TIMSAHS KEEP WICHITA COLLEGIATE ATOP TWO-SPEAKER IN CLASS 3-2-1A
After winning the Class 3-2-1A two-speaker title in extraordinary fashion a year ago, Wichita Collegiate kept it all in the family this year.
Siblings Elizabeth and Max Timsah posted a 6-2 record and won the championship round on a 2-1 ballot to give the Spartans their third two-speaker state title in four years.
Elizabeth Timsah, a junior, was part of the unique finish at last year’s state championships, where Collegiate advanced all its entries into the semifinals. Paired with Ingrid Lampton, the duo was declared co-champions along with the Spartans’ three other entries when they chose an available option to debaters from the same school not to compete against each other. All were credited with walkover wins.
On Saturday in Winfield, Elizabeth and her brother Max, a sophomore, became first-year Collegiate head coach Drew Westfahl’s first state champions.
“They are incredibly passionate and hard-working,” Westfahl said. “Their cases were always developed independently, and their teamwork was very special. Their bond as siblings made for an energetic dynamic.”
Sedgwick junior Morgan Olinger and sophomore Aidan Roseberry finished second. Hoisington’s tandems of Melody Braddy and Baylie Fyler, and Brayden Stevenson and AJ Schartz shared third.