🎉👏CLAPS! 👏🎉

Congratulations to the Edina Debate team!

NSDA Qualifiers, January 24-25, 2025

• Edina competed in LD, PF and Policy Debate.  

• In LD debate, Valerie Schmitt qualified for Nationals.  Shanaya Jana finished as the third alternate. Aditi Jha finished as the sixth alternate, and Noah Reardon finished as the seventh alternate.  

• In Policy debate, Jo Adam and Kaushik Chava finished as the third alternate and Matilda Lindren and Meredith Aune finished as the fourth alternate.

• At the Emory tournament in Atlanta, Pranika Kumar finished 10th in Congressional debate.

2025 State Debate Tournament, January 17-18, 2025

Aditi Jha becomes Edina’s newest state champion, winning the title in Lincoln Douglas debate.

Valerie Schmitt finishes as the runner up, losing to her teammate on a 4-3 decision in Lincoln Douglas debate.

Pranika Kumar finished as a quarterfinalist in Congressional Debate.

Also competing at the tournament were Hannah Hein in Congressional Debate, Sadie Slobin, Claire Watz, Chloe Meredith and Madina Elmi in Public Forum Debate, and Kaushik Chava, Lynn-Clara Tun, Ellie Shipp and Ash Kansara in Policy Debate.

Section Debate Tournament: January 10-11th:

Edina qualified all eight of its entries to the MN State Debate tournament:

Pranika Kumar and Hannah Hein in Congressional Debate 

Valerie Schmitt and Aditi Jha in Lincoln Douglas Debate

Claire Watz/Sadie Slobin and Chloe Meredith/Madina Elmi in Public Forum Debate, 

Kaushik Chava/Lynn-Clara Tun and Ash Kansara/Ellie Ship in Policy Debate.  

We are one of only two schools to qualify all eight entries for the state tournament. We did more than just qualify.  Edina featured two section champions and two section runners' up. No other school had four champions/runners up. 

• In Congressional Debate, Pranika and Hannah both qualified at large.

• In Lincoln Douglas Debate, Valerie was the section champion and Aditi was the section runner up. Valerie also finished second overall in the entire tournament and Aditi finished third overall.

• In Public Forum Debate, Claire/Sadie were the section champion, and they also won the overall tournament. Chloe/Madina qualified at large.

• In Policy Debate, Kaushik/Lynn-Clara were the section runners’ up.  Ash/Ellie qualified at large.

Dowling, West Des Moines, IA (December 13-14th)

Congressional Debate:

• Hannah Hein – 1st place/tournament champion

• Paartha Kumar – 2nd place

• Anwar Abdihashi – 7th place

Extemporaneous Speaking:

• Mina Bhargava – 1st place/tournament champion

• Sylvia Oglesbay – 2nd place

• Chloe Meredith – 3rd place

• Madina Elmi – 5th place

Informative Speaking:

• Rishika Anasuri – 3rd place

Impromptu Speaking:

• Mina Bhargava – 1st place/tournament champion

• Rishika Anasuri – 3rd place

• Sylvia Oglesbay – 4th place

Overall Edina was 3rd in school sweepstakes

MSHSL State Qualifier for Congress: (December 6-7th)

Pranika Kumar and Hannah Hein both qualified for the 2025 State Tournament. 

MDTA Novice and JV Championships: (December 6-7th)

JV Congress:

• Matthew Bartley finalist, 12th place

• Paartha Kumar semifinalist

JV Policy:

• Matthew Weiby & Meredith Aune, quarterfinals

• Matthew Weiby, 7th speaker

Novice Policy:

• Francesca Arqueros Massa & Annabel Raney, octofinalists

• Tyler Thingelstad & Landon Riku, double octofinalists

JV Public Forum:

• Dhruv Ponugoti & Max Daggett, double octofinalists

Novice Public Forum:

• Ava Mehta & Nancy Vega, octofinalists

• Julia Ma & Nate Gotte, octofinalists

• Ahmed Ilyasov & Noah Benedetto, double octofinalists

• Niko Gotte & Owen Smith, double octofinalists

• Lucy Horowitz & Krithi Thenappan, double octofinalists

• Walker Fiddelke & Jonathan Wu, double octofinalists

• Holden Hample & Asher Jani, double octofinalists

• Nancy Vega, 10th speaker

JV LD:

• Divya Thamman, 1st/state champion

• Sylvia Oglesbay, quarterfinalist

• Graham Kesterson, octofinalist

• Ethan Hogervorst, 2nd speaker

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 3rd speaker

• Divya Thamman, 5th speaker

Novice LD:

• Tiantian Chen, 1st/state champion

• Selena Al-Ramahi, semifinalist

• Angela Huang, quarterfinalist

• Evelyn Ge, octofinalist

• Kiran Thamman, octofinalist

• William Zuo, octofinalist

• Selena Al-Ramahi, 3rd speaker

• Angela Huang, 7th speaker

• Tiantian Chen, 8th speaker

• Evelyn Ge, 9th speaker

NSDA Qualifiers for Congress (November 22nd-23rd)

• Pranika Kumar qualified for nationals by finishing second in the Senate

• Angela Langsweirdt qualified for nationals by finishing sixth in the House

• Anwar Abdihashi is second alternate to go to nationals after finishing 9th in the House

Glenbrooks (November 23rd-25th)

• Rishika Anasuri advanced to the quarterfinals in informational speaking

• Claire Watz and Sadie Slobin finished 5-2 and missed qualifying for elimination rounds based on speaker points in varsity public forum

UMBrooks at the U of Minnesota (November 23rd)

• Freya Western and Isabel Pollock finished 4th in novice policy

• Landon Riku and Tyler Thingelstad finished 7th in novice policy

• Isabel Pollock was 4th speaker in novice policy

• Freya Western was 10th speaker in novice policy

Robbinsdale Birds of Prey Tournament: (November 23rd)

• Paartha Kumar finished 4th in Varsity Congress

• Matthew Bartley finished 8th in Varsity Congress

• Kate Hu finished 10th in Varsity Congress

Edina Tournament (Nov 16th, 2024)

JV Congress:

Jonathan Wang – next in

Liam Patini – next in

Varsity Congress:

Anwar Abdihashi – next in

Hannah Hein – next in

Novice Policy Friday:

Annabel & Francesca – 3rd place

Tyler – 4th place

Alix & Pernilla – 5th place

Annabel – 3rd speaker

Francesca – 5th speaker

Novice Policy Saturday:

Freya & Isabel – 7th place

Tyler & Landon – 8th place

Eli & Kai – 9th place

Francesca & Annabel – 10th place

Francesca – 6th speaker

Eli – 7th speaker

Isabel – 9th speaker

JV Policy Friday:
Matthew & Meredith – 1st place tournament champions!

Matthew – 1st place/top speaker

Meredith – 2nd place speaker

JV Policy Saturday:
Matthew & Meredith – 1st place tournament champions!

Meredith – 1st place/top speaker

Matthew– 2nd place speaker

Varsity Policy:

Lynn-Clara & Ellie – 5th place

Lynn-Clara – 6th speaker

Ellie – 9th speaker

Novice PF:

Nancy & Aca – 1st place tournament champions!

Andy & Nate – 4th place

Owen & Nico – 6th place

Ahmed & Noah – 7th place

Walker & Julia – 9th place

Nancy – 3rd speaker

Andy – 5th speaker

Owen – 9th speaker

Varsity PF:

Chloe & Meredith – 2nd place

Novice LD:

Selena – 1st place tournament champion!

Evelyn – 3rd place

Ilana – 10th place

Selena – 1st place/top speaker

Tiantian – 8th speaker

JV LD:

Alvin – 5th speaker

Varsity LD:

Noah – 1st place tournament champion!

Sumit – tied for 3rd place

Asher – tied for 3rd place

Valerie – 8th place

Asher – 5th speaker

Sumit – 6th speaker

Priyansh – 10th speaker

St. Paul Central (Nov 8-9th, 2024)

Novice Policy Friday:

8th speaker Alix

6th speaker Isabell

5th speaker Pernilla

6th place team Alix and Pernilla

5th place team Isabell

Novice Policy Saturday:

13th place team Freya and Isabelle

JV Policy Friday:

1st place team tournament champion Matthew & Meredith

1st speaker Matthew

2nd speaker Meredith

JV Policy Saturday:

5th place speaker Matthew

9th place team Matthew & Meredith

Varsity Policy:

9th place team Alvi & Matilda

Apple Valley (Nov 8-10th, 2024)

Varsity Congress:

Pranika 2nd

Devarsh 7th

Hannah semifinals

Anwar semifinals

Varsity Public Forum:

Claire & Sadie, octofinals

Sadie, 9th speaker

Eden Prairie: (November 9th, 2024)

Varsity Congress:

Angela 4th

Advait 10th

Varin 11th

Novice Public Forum:

Ava & Nancy 1st place tournament champions!

Jonathan & Julia 3rd

Walker 4th

Walker 3rd speaker

Ava 8th speaker

Nancy 9th speaker

JV Public Forum:

Noah, 10th speaker

Varsity Public Forum:

Max & Isaac, 4th

Rishika & Mina, 6th

Mina, 4th speaker

Novice LD:

Tiantian, 1st place tournament champion!

Angela, 2nd

Evelyn, 3rd

Selena, 4th

William, 5th

Ilana, 6th

Tiantian, 1st place top speaker!

Angela, 2nd speaker

Evelyn, 3rd speaker

Selena, 5th speaker

Clara, 8th speaker

JV LD:

Alvin, 7th speaker

Varsity LD:

Graham, 5th

Divya, 6th

Jack, 7th

Beatrix, 10th

Graham, 2nd speaker

Beatrix, 5th speaker

Ethan, 7th speaker

Divya, 9th speaker

Farmington Tournament: November 1-2, 2024

Friday Novice Policy:

•  Ben 3rd

Friday JV Policy:

• Meredith and Matthew W 3rd

Saturday Novice Policy:

• Freya and Landon, 2nd

• Freya top speaker

• Landon 5th speaker

Saturday JV Policy:

• Meredith and Matthew W 1st/champion

• Matthew W top speaker

• Meredith 3rd speaker

Varsity Policy:

• Jo Adam and Kaushik Chava, 1st/champion

• Kaushik Chava 4th speaker

• Jo Adam 9th speaker

Varsity Congress:

• Anwar 3rd

• Hannah 9th

Novice PF:

• Tiantian and Angela, 1st/champion

• Nancy and Ava, 2nd

• Julia and Jonathan Wu, 3rd

• Andy and Nate, 4th

• Walker, 6th

• Ahmed and Noah B, 9th

• Andy, top speaker

• Nancy, 2nd speaker

• Tiantian, 3rd speaker

• Ava, 7th speaker

• Angela, 9th speaker

Varsity PF:

• Max, 10th

• Chloe, 8th speaker

• Max, 9th speaker

Novice LD:

• Evelyn Ge, 1st/champion

• Selena, 4th

• Samvida, 6th

• Kiran, 10th

• Evelyn 3rd speaker

• Kiran 7th speaker

JV LD:

• Jack, 3rd

• Jack, 2nd speaker

Varsity LD:

• Aditi & Sylvia, 1st and 2nd/co-champions

• Asher, 5th

• Shanaya, 6th

• Valerie, 7th

• Sumit, 10th

• Sylvia, top speaker

• Valerie, 4th speaker

• Sumit, 8th speaker

• Asher, 9th speaker

• Divya, 10th speaker

The Edina team won 46 awards at the Farmington tournament altogether.

Florida Blue Key Round Robin: October  31, 2024

Varsity Congress:

•  Pranika 7th

Florida Blue Key Tournament: November  1-3, 2024

Varsity Congress

• Pranika semifinals

Iowa Caucus Tournament (October 25-26th)

Varsity Policy

• Jo Adam and Kaushik Chava, octofinalists

U of MN Tournament: (October 25-26th)

Novice Policy, Friday

• Freya Western, 8th place

• Freya Western, 19th speaker

Novice Policy, Saturday

• Isabel Pollock, 20th speaker

East Ridge Tournament (October 26th)

Varsity Congress:

• Pranika Kumar, 8th place

• Hannah Hein, 1st place consolation chamber

• Paratha Kumar, 2nd place consolation chamber

• Anwar Abdihashi, 3rd place consolation chamber

JV Congress:

• Matthew Bartley, 3rd place

• Larrissa Yang, 2nd place consolation chamber

• Emma Bowen, 2nd place consolation chamber

• Kingsley Diong, 2nd place consolation chamber

Varsity PF:

• Chloe Meredith & Madina Elmi, 6th place

• Claire Watz, 5th speaker

Novice PF:

• Andy Allocco & Julia Ma, 1st place tournament champion!

• Nancy Vega & Ava Mehta, 5th place

• Andy Allocco, top speaker

Varsity LD:

• Asher Kaufman, 1st place tournament champion!

• Noah Reardon, 4th place

• Ethan Hogervorst, 5th place

• Valerie Schmitt, 7th place

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 8th place

• Isaac McCarty, 9th place

• Shanaya Jana, 10th place

• Noah Reardon, 3rd speaker

• Sumit Varadhan, 4th speaker

• Asher Kaufman, 6th speaker

• Ethan Hogervorst, 7th speaker

• Valerie Schmitt, 10th speaker

Novice LD:

• Kiran Thamman, 2nd place

• Tiantian Chen, 3rd place

• Evelyn Ge, 6th place

• Selena Al-Ramahi, 8th place

• Selena Al-Ramahi, 3rd speaker

• Kiran Thamman, 4th speaker

• Tiantian Chen, 5th speaker

• Samvida Ratala, 9th speaker

Lakeville Lucky Duck Invitational, October 12th, 2024: 

Varsity Congress:

• Anwar Abdihashi 7th

• Mihira Amara 8th

• Hannah Hein honorable mention

• Pranika Kumar honorable mention

Varsity Public Forum:

• Sadie Slobin , 7th speaker

Novice Public Forum:

• Nancy Vega & Ava Mehta, tournament champions

• Julia Ma & Andy Allocco, 2nd place

• Walker Fiddelke & Jonathan Wu, 8th place

• Nancy Vega, top speaker

• Julia Ma, 3rd speaker

• Walker Fiddelke, 4th speaker

• Ava Mehta, 8th speaker

• Jonathan Wu, 10th speaker

Varsity LD:

• Valerie Schmitt, 3rd

• Aditi Jha, 4th

• Valerie Schmitt, top speaker

• Aditi Jha, 3rd speaker

JV LD:

• Jack Holly, 9th

Novice LD:

• Zitian Chen, tournament champion

• Selena Al-Ramahi, 2nd place

• Evelyn Ge, 7th place

• Zitian Chen, 3rd speaker

• Selena Al-Ramahi, 4th speaker

• Evelyn Ge, 8th speaker

Novice Policy:

• Freya Wesern & Landon Riku, tournament champion

• Freya Western, 3rd speaker

• Annabel Raney, 5th speaker

• Francesca Arqueros Massa, 9th speaker

• Landon Riku, 10th speaker

Rosemount Irish Invitational, October 5th, 2024: 

Varsity Congress:

Mina Bhargava, 1st /overall champion

Hannah Hein, 7th

Anwar Abdihashi, honorable mention

Novice Public Forum:

Andy Allocco & Nate Gotte, 4th

Ava Mehta & Nancy Vega, 5th

Nico Gotte & Owen Smith, 7th

JV Public Forum:

Noah Menning & Eli Chen, 2nd

Quinn Tessmer-Tuck & Jackson Gazzuolo, 3rd

Noah Menning, 7th speaker

Quinn Tessmer-Tuck, 10th speaker

Varsity Public Forum:

Chloe Meredith & Madina Elmi, 6th

Chloe Meredith, 4th speaker

Novice LD:

Zitian Chen, 3rd

Kiran Thamman, 4th

Selena Al-Ramahi, 5th

William Zuo, 7th

Zitian Chen, 1st/top speaker

Kiran Thamman, 3rd speaker

Selena Al-Ramahi, 5th speaker

William Zuo, 7th speaker

JV LD:

Jack Holly, 6th

Divya Thamman, 7th

Alvin Yang, 10th

Jack Holly, 2nd speaker

Divya Thamman, 3rd speaker

Varsity LD:
Noah Reardon, 3rd

Asher Kaufman, 4th

Sylvia Oglesbay, 5th

Aditi Jha, 6th

Beatrix Montabon, 9th

Valerie Schmitt, 10th

Noah Reardon, 2nd speaker

Asher Kaufman, 5th speaker

Beatrix Montabon, 7th speaker

Sylvia Oglesbay, 8th speaker

Priyansh Gandhi, 9th speaker

Valerie Schmitt, 10th speaker

U of MN  (CX) October 4-5th, 2024:

Friday Novice Policy:
Francesca Arqueros Massa and Annabel Raney, 9th

Saturday Novice Policy:

Annabel Raney, 1st/tournament champion (debating alone!)

Freya Western & Isabel Pollock, 8th

Annabel Raney, 2nd speaker

Freya Western, 7th speaker

Seyeon Chun, 8th speaker

JV Policy Friday:

Meredith Aune & Matthew Weiby, 4th

Meredith Aune, 4th speaker

Matthew Weiby, 6th speaker

JV Policy Saturday:

Meredith Aune & Matthew Weiby, 1st/tournament champion

Matthew Weiby, 6th speaker

Meredith Aune, 9th speaker

Varsity Policy:

Jo Adam & Kaushik Chava, 2nd

Alvi Buzar Barua & Matilda Lindgren, 10th

Jo Adam, 2nd speaker

Kaushik Chava, 6th speaker

MDTA Jamboree (Wayzata HS), September 28th, 2024: 

Varsity Congress:

• Hannah Hein, 10th

• Anwar Abdihashi, honorable mention

JV Congress:

• Kingsley Diong, honorable mention

Varsity PF:

• Madina Elmi & Chloe Meredith, honorable mention

JV PF:

• Quinn Tessmer-Tuck & Max Daggett, 7th place

• Noah Menning & Eli Chen, honorable mention

• Max Daggett, 9th speaker

Novice PF:

• Andy Alloco & Nate Gotte, tournament champions!

• Ava Mehta, 6th place (debating as a maverick!)

• Holden Hample & Asher Jani, honorable mention

• Andy Alloco, top speaker

• Nate Gotte, 4th speaker

• Ava Mehta, 6th speaker

Varsity LD:

• Aditi Jha, 4th

• Shanaya Jana, 6th

• Beatrix Montabon, 10th

• Asher Kaufman, honorable mention

• Isaac McCarty, honorable mention

• Valerie Schmitt, top speaker

• Beatrix Montabon, 3rd speaker

• Aditi Jha, 5th speaker

• Asher Kaufman, 6th speaker

• Noah Reardon, 7th speaker

• Shanaya Jana, 10th speaker

JV LD:

• Jack Holly, 4th

• Jack Holly, 10th speaker

Novice LD:

• Selena Al-Ramahi, tournament champion!

• Zitian Chen, 3rd

• Angela Huang, 5th

• William Zuo, 7th

• Evelyn Ge, honorable mention

• Kiran Thamman, honorable mention

• Samvida Ratala, honorable mention

• Selena Al-Ramahi, 2nd speaker

• Zitian Chen, 4th speaker

• Angela Huang, 7th speaker

Novice Policy:

• Eli James & Kai Junge, 7th

• Landon Riku & Tyler Thingelstad, honorable mention

• Pernilla Lofgren & Freya Westen, honorable mention

• Sophia Helget, 10th speaker

Mid-America Cup:  September 28-29th, 2024

• Jo & Kaushik advanced to octofinals in Varsity Policy

Niles Township: September 6-8th, 2024

• Jo & Kaushik advanced to double-octos in Varsity Policy

U of KY Season Opener: September 7-8th, 2024

• Pranika Kumar won Varsity Congressional Debate

• Devarsh Borah advanced to the semifinals in Extemporaneous Speaking

• Noah Reardon advanced to the triple octofinals in Lincoln Douglas Debate