Halstead juniors Parker Metoyer and Onnyka Nedich once wondered if a debate partnership might have an adverse affect on their longtime friendship.
 
The results of the Class 3-2-1A 2-Speaker State Debate Championships suggest otherwise.
 
Leading a deep and talented Dragon team, Metoyer and Nedich became Halstead’s first state debate champions in 23 years on Saturday, declared champions in a walkover after they and teammates Aiyonna Tincher and Kaylee Shields defeated a pair of Wichita Collegiate duos in the semifinals.
 
Halstead coach Andrew Bauer chose Metoyer and Nedich as the winners of the final round – an available option in semifinals and finals if brackets cannot be broken to avoid two teams from the same school meeting. Tincher, a sophomore, and Shields, a freshman, were awarded the runner-up trophy.
 
A third Halstead duo, Mackenzie Learn and Adeline Hall, reached the quarterfinals before they were eliminated.
 
“Parker and Onnyka are leaders on our team,” Bauer said of his third-year debaters. “This season they took so much pride in their abilities to do the fundamentals and make decisions as easy as possible for their judges.”
 
Nedich, a member of Halstead’s reigning Class 3A state basketball championship team, and Metoyer, the president of the school chapter of Future Business Leaders of America, posted an 8-1 record in the tournament with the lone loss coming to last year’s state champions, Elizabeth and Max Timsah, in the preliminary rounds.
 
Shields and Tincher, novices in their first year of debate, finished 6-3 after going 4-2 in the prelims. Arguing the negative, they defeated Collegiate’s Shivani Hebsur and Sadhakshi Sivaraman 3-0 in the semifinals.
 
Metoyer and Nedich made it an all-Halstead final with a 2-1 decision over Collegiate’s Charlie Gentile and Hayan Raffi.
 
“They’ve been best friends since they were in fourth grade and at one point they were afraid they would wind up hating each other,” Bauer said of Metoyer and Nedich. “Instead, they wound up complementing each other’s abilities in ways that no one else could.”
 
Metoyer and Nedich were Central Kansas League debate champions in the fall. As freshmen, they were part of a regional champion four-speaker debate team that finished fourth at state. They are also an integral part of the Dragons’ speech team – Nedich took third in program of oral interpretation at the state championships last year, while Metoyer was a state semifinalist in extemporaneous speaking and impromptu speaking.

 

BRADLEY, OTTO WIN BUHLER’S FIRST DEBATE TITLE IN 14 YEARS
 
Strength of schedule throughout a season isn’t an element in determining state high school debate champions.
 
But it’ll be hard to convince Buhler’s Rex Bradley and Micah Otto that frequently testing themselves didn’t pay dividends last weekend in the Class 4A competition at Coffeyville.
 
Bradley, a junior, and Otto, a sophomore, gave Buhler its first state debate title since 2012, edging McPherson seniors Hendrix Nelson and Breckyn Bauer 2-1 in the championship round. Arguing the negative, the decision capped an 8-2 tournament record for the Crusaders, who won the program’s seventh state title and fourth in the two-speaker format.
 
“Both Rex and Micah have put in countless hours week-to-week at practice throughout the season,” said Buhler coach Dakota Yates, who directed his second state champions after leading Nickerson to the Class 3-2-1A four-speaker title in 2023. “Their preparation and work ethic was truly a cut above.
 
“Additionally, they embraced challenges and sought out the most difficult competition we could find in order to hone their skills even further.”
 
Bradley, a third-year debater, and Otto, in her second year, knocked off a pair of experienced Bullpups in the final. Nelson was a reigning 4A state champion, winning the two-speaker title last year with Bo Barkley. Bauer reached the quarterfinals a year ago with Ayden Loy.
 
In their first year debating together, Bradley and Otto became Buhler’s first state champions since Kanan Boor and Collen Steffen took the 4A title 14 years ago.
 
“We traveled extensively out of our local circuit to attend tournaments in the KC area against dominant 6A/5A programs, and even traveled to prestigious out-of-state tournaments such as the Heart of Texas and Glenbrooks invitationals,” Yates said.
 

ANDOVER’S MALLETT, MANSOOR CAP THIRD STATE RUN WITH 5A TITLE
 
Sticking together for a full KSHSAA debate season paid off for Andover seniors Preston Mallett and Sean Mansoor.
 
Runners-up to Newton’s Vaden Kumar and Riley Ney in the Class 5A 2-Speaker competition last year, Mallett and Mansoor left nothing to chance in their final state run, capping a 10-0 trek through the state tournament Saturday in Lawrence with a 3-0 decision over Lansing’s Bayne Yoakam and Bruce Blankartz.
 
After posting a 6-0 record in the preliminaries, Mallett and Mansoor won all the elimination rounds on 3-0 decisions to become Andover’s fourth two-speaker state champions and first since 2005.
 
A 3-0 loss to Kumar and Ney – who have since graduated – served as a motivator for the Andover duo, who preceded their two championship round appearances by reaching the octofinals in their first state appearance as sophomores.
 
“We came up short in the final round of last year’s final round and worked to take that next step,” Andover coach James Harris said. “Both debaters worked to improve their skills throughout the season including competing in tournaments out of state.
 
“By challenging ourselves, we learned how to compete and win over judges of every skill level.”
 
Both Trojans have participated in debate for four years. This season marked the first time they’ve competed together for the entirety of the year.
 
Mansoor helped Andover win its first state speech team title last year by winning Class 5A’s informative speaking category for the second time. He also placed fourth in impromptu and international extemporaneous speaking.
 

LIPSCOMB, PARTHASARATHY CAPTURE BLUE VALLEY NORTH'S THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE

LAWRENCE — Blue Valley North saved its sharpest arguments for last. 

For the third consecutive year, the Mustangs stood atop Kansas debate, capturing the Class 6A 2-speaker state championship behind seniors Nikos Lipscomb and Shruti Parthasarathy, who finally broke through on their third trip to the state tournament. 

Lipscomb and Parthasarathy clinched the title with a 2-1 decision over Shawnee Mission East’s Ishaan Homoe and Gray Snyder, winning on the affirmative in a tightly contested final round Saturday during the state tournament on the University of Kansas campus. 

“They were calm and confident in the pre-round prep, and I knew they would handle the pressure well,” Blue Valley North head coach Brian Box said. “We knew Shawnee Mission West was an excellent team, but we felt prepared for the debate.” 

The championship round centered on military infrastructure in the Arctic. Arguing the affirmative, Lipscomb and Parthasarathy advocated for increased U.S. investment in Arctic defense technology to improve monitoring of the region and deter adversaries. 

The victory capped a journey years in the making. Lipscomb and Parthasarathy have qualified for the state tournament together three times, appearing in the 4-speaker division in 2024 and finishing as octofinalists in the 2-speaker field a year ago. This season, everything aligned. 

“They have competed in all three of their state tournaments as partners and have debated together since ninth grade,” Box said. “Nikos and Shruti have had a phenomenal season.” 

That season included qualification to both of the activity’s most prestigious national events — the Tournament of Champions hosted by the University of Kentucky and the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament. 

Their title was part of a historic showing by Blue Valley North, which completed a rare three-peat, winning Class 6A state championships in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The feat has been achieved only once before at the 6A or 5A level, by Shawnee Mission East from 2014-16. 

This year’s performance, however, may stand alone. 

Blue Valley North entered the tournament with the top four seeds, and all four entries finished 6-0 in preliminary rounds. The Mustangs won their first 35 debates of the tournament, placed three teams in the semifinals, and produced what Box called the most dominant showing in the history of the Class 6A state tournament. 

“It was incredibly rewarding to see our success at this tournament,” Box said. “Having three teams in the semifinals is a testament to the commitment, talent and depth of this senior class. They have worked hard and worked together for four years and they deserved this result.” 

For Lipscomb and Parthasarathy, the path to a title was not without its challenges. Early in the season, they were eliminated by higher-seeded teammates in the quarterfinals of the season-opening tournament at Washburn Rural. Instead of derailing their year, the setback sharpened their focus. 

“The efficiency of their season is particularly impressive,” Box said. “Nearly every student debating at their level competes at eight regular-season tournaments. Balancing multiple other activities, Nikos and Shruti debated at only six regular-season invitationals and still had one of the most successful seasons of any team in the state.  

“I am particularly proud of winning a third straight title because of what it says about the consistency of our program and the way our students have created a culture of effort and excellence.”