Four members of Middleton High School’s Debate Club qualified for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, which takes place June 14-19, in Richmond, Va. The four finalists include two teams: junior Andy Wang and sophomore Eric Huang, and juniors Audrey Kim and Ananya Subramanian.
In addition, sophomores Lauren Engbloom and Grace Kim qualified as first alternates for the tournament. The debaters qualified for the national tournament after competing in the Southern Wisconsin District Tournament on Jan. 24.
The debaters carry on the Debate Club’s long tradition of excellence. The club has won the Wisconsin Debate Coaches Association (WDCA) State Championship four times in recent years.
Carly Bauer and Nicole Johnson are the club’s co-advisors.
“The entire team has become extremely connected and bonded to one another over the course of the season, which is a testament to how impactful this club truly is,” Bauer said.
“The fact that Middleton High School Debate took the top three spots at the NSDA National Qualifier Tournament for the Southern District of Wisconsin is remarkable in and of itself, but what makes the team's overall success this year even more impressive is the fact that they have mainly been coaching themselves this year,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she and Bauer are both new to debate, and they appreciated varsity debaters’ support of new club members this season.
“Seniors Brad Koeller, Crystal Huang and Noah Lucchesi have done an incredible job leading debate practices and coaching their teammates on the intricacies of this activity,” Johnson said. “They prepare materials to present and use for practices to help prepare the team, and Brad has been present at many of the tournaments throughout the season, acting as a coach to our novice and less experienced debaters.”
All of the tournament qualifiers shared their appreciation for their coaches and teammates as well as excitement for competing on a national stage.
“Thank you to our amazing coaches and teammates for a great season,” Huang said.
Photo: Eric Huang, Audrey Kim and Ananya Subramanian. Not Pictured: Andy Wang