Almost immediately after the conclusion of last year’s Class 6A State Debate Championships, Washburn Rural coach Tim Ellis got a text from the lone underclassman on the Junior Blues’ four-speaker team.
 
Campbell Hight’s message to her coach?
 
“I guess I have a goal for next year,” Hight texted. “Re-start the streak.”
 
After winning a four-speaker state championship in 2024 along with teammates Harris Chaudhry, Kavi Chidambaranathan and Aditi Nimishakavi, the Junior Blues were heavy favorites to repeat as champions last year with all four of those debaters returning in 2025. But having what Ellis called “just a bad weekend,” Rural couldn’t pull off the repeat, going 9-3 and finishing runner-up to Free State.
 
Not only did it end the reign for Rural’s foursome, it also ended a streak of eight straight seasons the Junior Blues program had captured the four-speaker state title in Class 6A.
 
And boy, did that light a fire for the program.
 
“They were very, very excited for the opportunity this weekend,” Ellis said of last weekend’s 6A state championships, which were held at Bailey Hall on the University of Kansas campus. “It was something the kids really, really worked for. Campbell in particular. For her it was very important to restart something new as a senior and take ownership off the type of success we had this weekend.”
 
With Hight teaming with Shri Chidambaranathan on Rural’s negative team and Tarrance Byrd and Sophie Heinen forming the affirmative team, the Junior Blues were a team on a mission to reclaim the Class 6A state four-speaker state title. And it showed.
 
Harkening Coach Bill Yoast’s line in the movie Remember the Titans, Rural “left no doubt” in returning to the top of Class 6A. The Junior Blues went a perfect 14-0 on the weekend to dominate the tournament with Manhattan finishing a distant runner-up with a 9-5 record.
 
“Nothing was more evident to our hunger than the emphatic sort of way we won the title this year,” Ellis said. “The kids knew going into round six that we had virtually had won. We were 10-0 and second place was 7-3. We would have had to lose our final four debates to not win the championship. 
 
“The kids debated as hard as they could those last four rounds even knowing that they really didn’t need to. The fact we ended up with a five-win lead over second place is pretty good evidence about the sort of fire the kids came into the weekend with. That is exactly what we wanted people to know, that we were there to play and the other schools were going to have to work hard if they wanted to beat us.”
 
Hight said Rural’s dominance was fueled by last year’s shortcomings.
 
“Debating for Washburn Rural is a huge honor but it is also a lot of pressure,” she said. “When I was on the first four-speaker entry as a sophomore we were in pursuit of our eighth straight state championship. I spent tons of extra hours in the debate room cutting cards and giving practice speeches because I felt the pressure to not be the one that ‘lost the streak.’ We did end up winning that year, which was very exciting. The next year, we had the exact same students on the entry so we felt very good going into the tournament and unfortunately we ended up in second, which is still very good but felt disappointing given the state championship streak.
 
“Throughout this season, even when we were preparing for tournaments that are very different stylistically than the state tournament, we had the end goal of winning a state championship. We were doing practice debates with the state tournament in mind a month earlier than we had in past years. By the time the actual tournament came around, our entire entry was very prepared. I’m extremely proud that I got to be part of the team that brought the state championship back to Washburn Rural.”
 

BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST WINS 11TH CONSECUTIVE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 

LAWRENCE — It was much of the same in the Class 5A 4-speaker state tournament and Blue Valley Southwest made sure it stayed that way. 

For the 11th year in a row, the Timberwolves left with the state championship as the team of Brayden Presley, Rohan Chalamalasetti, Sophia Taghizadeh and Suhas Kommineni downed Hutchinson in the state finals. Luke Cordes served as an alternate.

The Blue Valley Southwest quartet earned a 16-0 record on the day to earn another title. It is the second straight championship for Presley, Chalamalssetti and Taghizadeh as they were members of last year’s team that also finished 16-0 at state. 
 

MOTIVATED MCPHERSON BREAKS THROUGH FOR CLASS 4A FOUR-SPEAKER TITLE AFTER LAST YEAR’S RUNNER-UP FINISH 

McPherson added another piece of hardware to its impressive debate trophy case, and this one was particularly gratifying for the Bullpups. 

After finishing runner-up last year, McPherson captured the Class 4A four-speaker championship on Saturday in Coffeyville. It was McPherson’s 10th state debate title overall and fifth over the last five years. 

“This year was especially meaningful for a few reasons,” McPherson coach Aaron Schopper said. “First, bouncing back from a second-place finish at last year's state tournament proved to the young ladies on the team that they are capable of achieving their goals through hard work. 

“Second, that the team is comprised of all juniors and one sophomore means they have built momentum moving into next season.”

Juniors Avery Unruh and Brenna Sullivan were team captains. Unruh and sophomore Stephanie Fonseca formed the affirmative side, while Sullivan and junior Anne-Marie Holmes were on the negative. Sophomore Landon Davis and junior McKenna Paul were alternates. 

“For one of the young ladies, her dream was to win a state title,” Schopper said. “She had come close so many times. For her to finally finish with a win, for her, showed that she wasn't cursed and that hard work really can be the difference maker.”

McPherson posted a 10-4 record, finishing with 34 ballots and 157 speaker points. Paola was runner-up and Tonganoxie took third place.

“All the schools had incredible teams,” Schopper said. “Paola had strong arguments and passionate students. Tonganoxie was fighting hard for their coach in his final year, and every other school had hard-working students who wanted it badly. 

“We are fortunate that this year went in our favor, but we can't say enough the impact that all these coaches have been having on these students. This year's state tournament was a reminder of what an incredible coaching community speech and debate has across the state.”

Schopper said several factors contributed to McPherson’s success. 

“The biggest one was the drive to prove themselves,” Schopper said. “It helped motivate them when the work felt endless and the days were frustrating. A primer on the season at the McPherson County Debate Camp, with coaches from the area, helped students get a head start on the season. Students from the 3-2-1-A two-speaker and four-speaker state champions also attended this camp. 

“But, honestly, the student community helped a ton. For the kids to be able to reach out to kids from other schools and connect, share information and the love of the game, really made all the difference.”

Assistant coaches for McPherson are Henry Weiner, Bryan Little and Jeffrey Houston. 
 

STERLING CRUISES TO SECOND STRAIGHT CLASS 3-2-1A FOUR-SPEAKER TITLE 

After securing its first state debate championship since 2015 with a four-speaker title last year, Sterling had a blast defending the crown last weekend in Coffeyville. 

The Black Bears posted a 14-0 record to repeat as Class 3-2-1A four-speaker champs and secure the school’s 10th overall state debate title. 

“We got on a roll Friday and Saturday,” Sterling coach David Wilson said. “We were pushed in each round, which helped us achieve. We had such a good time together.”

Wilson said the experience of seniors Lydia Webb and Jamis Hale gave the Black Bears an edge. 

“Debate is really just gamified reading, writing and thinking from both sides, so seniors have a big advantage,” he said. “Lydia is one of our school's all-time greats and got called ‘future madam chairperson’ on one ballot. Jamis hasn't even begun to approach his intellectual headroom. Makes it fun for a coach.”

Juniors KayleAnn Higgins and Danika Zimmerman also delivered strong performances for the Black Bears. 

“KayleAnn is chronically underrated by her own design until she just beats you over and over, and Danika was deeper in our playbook than anyone I've ever seen,” Wilson said. 

Silver Lake took second with an 11-3 record while Wichita Collegiate was third, finishing 10-4. 

“I felt like we would be in the picture going in, but knew the other teams were really good too,” Wilson said. “Turns out we had what it took to thrive under the pressure.”

Easton Zimmerman and Cadie Padgett served as alternates/researchers for the Black Bears. Greg McGlynn is Sterling’s assistant coach. 

“Once a school has even a few years of success in debate, like we've had in Sterling since the 90s, it's easy for people to observe how much it does to prepare kids for life,” Wilson said. “We love debate here and get a lot of support and encouragement from our board, admin and teachers.”