🎉👏CLAPS! 👏🎉

Congratulations to the Edina Debate team!

State Section Qualifier (January 9t-10th, 2026)

• Edina concluded the qualifying process for the 2026 Minnesota State Debate Tournament. Edina is one of only two schools to qualify the maximum number of entries to the 2026 State Tournament.

• In December, at the Student Congress portion of the Tournament, Hannah Hein and Anwar Abdihashi qualified for the State Tournament as at large qualifiers. This will be Hannah’s second time debating at the State tournament.

• Edina’s two Public Forum teams, Chloe Meredith and Sonia Mo, and Jackson Gazzuolo and Max Daggett, both qualified as at large qualifiers.

• In Policy Debate, Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby qualified as Section Champions; Matilda Lindgren and Lynn-Clara Tun qualified as an at-large entry. This will be the second time debating at the State tournament for Ellie and Lynn-Clara.

• In Lincoln Douglas Debate, Valerie Schmitt qualified as Section Champion, and Aditi Jha qualified as an at-large entry. Valerie and Aditi will both be debating at their third State tournament, and Aditi is the defending champion and Valerie is the defending runner-up.

Blake (December 19th-22nd, 2025)

LD Round Robin (December 19th)

• Valerie Schmitt, winner of the Minneapolis Pod

• Valerie Schmitt, top speaker

Policy Debate:

• Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby, quarterfinalists; they also obtained another TOC bid

• Ellie Shipp, 20th speaker

LD Debate:

• Asher Kaufman, triple octofinalist

Congressional Debate:

• Hannah Hein, 10th

• Paartha Kumar, 12th

• Anwar Abdihashi, semifinalist

• Matthew Bartley, semifinalist

MSHSL Section Tournament (December 5-6th, 2025)

• Hannah Hein qualified to the State Tournament as an at-large qualifier

• Anwar Abdihashi qualified to the State Tournament as an at-large qualifier

Paradigm Tournament at Dowling High School (December 5th, 2025). 

• Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby advanced to the semifinals in Policy debate, securing a bid to the Tournament of Champions. They are now fully qualified for the 2026 TOC.

• Noah Reardon advanced to the quarterfinals in LD debate.

• Kate Hu finished 9th in Congressional debate.

• Paartha Kumar finished 12th in Congressional debate.

• Emma Bowen finished 14th in Congressional debate.

• Sylvia Oglesbay finished 1st in Extemp speaking

• Sylvia Oglesbay finished 3rd in Impromptu

• Annabel Raney was a semifinalist in Original Oratory

Novice/JV State Championships: (December 5-6th, 2025)

• Zitian Chen won the state championship in JV LD

• Evelyn Ge advanced to the semifinals in JV LD

• Kiran Thamman advanced to the quarterfinals in JV LD

• William Zuo advanced to the octofinals in JV LD

• Larissa Yang advanced to the octofinals in JV LD

• Andy Alloco and Nate Gotte are the state runner’s up in JV public forum

• Walker Fiddelke and Jonathan Wu advanced to the quarterfinals in JV public forum

• Krithi Thenappan and Lucy Horwitz advanced to the octofinals in JV public forum

• Julia Ma and Ava Mehta advanced to the double octofinals in JV public forum

• Pernilla Lofgren and Freya Western advanced to the octofinals in JV policy

• Ellie Gerlach advanced to the octofinals in novice LD

• Isa Zuo advanced to the double octofinals in novice LD

• Elise Norman and Ellen Yang advanced to the octofinals in novice public forum

• Marianna Atwood advanced to the quarterfinals in novice Congressional debate

• Gael Fox and Aria Xing advanced to the double octofinals in novice policy

• Zitian Chen was 5th speaker in JV LD

• Kiran Thamman was 10th speaker in JV LD

• Lucy Horwitz was 6th speaker in JV public forum

• Nate Gotte was 9th speaker in JV public forum

• Krithi Thamman was 10th speaker in JV public forum

NSDA Qualifiers in Congressional Debate (November 21-22)

Senate:

• Tournament Champion and National Qualifier, Pranika Kumar

• Finalist, Liam Patini

House:

• Fourth Place and National Qualifier, Hannah Hein

• Semifinalists: Anwar Abdihashi, Emma Bowen, Marianna Atwood, Kate Hu

Glenbrooks (November 21-23)

• Quarterfinals in extemp speaking: Sylvia Oglesbay

• Quarterfinals in informative speaking: Rishika Anasuri

• 5-2 in Policy Debate, missing on points: Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby

The Edina Classic (November 15th)

JV Congressional Debate:

• Ben Meehan, 6th Bronze Chamber

• Sylvi Pusey, 10th Gold Chamber

Varsity Congressional Debate:

• Anwar Abdihashi, 6th Silver Chamber

• Matthew Bartley, 12th Gold Chamber

• Paartha Kumar, 7th Gold Chamber

JV Public Forum Debate:

• Sonia Mo, 10th place

Varsity Public Forum:

• Chloe Meredith, 9th speaker

• Walker Fiddelke, 3rd speaker

• Walker Fiddelke & Jonathan Wu, 9th place

Novice Policy:

• Aria Zing, 5th speaker

Varsity Policy:

• Matthew Weiby, 4th speaker

• Ellie Shipp, 2nd speaker

• Ellie Shipp & Matthew Weiby, 1st place/tournament champion

JV LD:

• Larrisa Yang, 9th speaker

Varsity LD:

• Noah Reardon, 8th speaker

• Evelyn Ge, 4th speaker

• Zitian Chen, 2nd speaker

• Ethan Hogervorst, 10th place

• Zitian Chen, 4th place

• Noah Reardon & Divya Thamman, tied for first place and tournament co-champions.

Tamar Kaplan Invitational at St. Paul Central HS (Nov 7-8th)

JV Policy Friday:

• Pernilla Lofgren & Freya Western, 2nd place

• Pernilla Lofgren, 2nd speaker

• Freya Western, 6th speaker

JV Policy Saturday:

• Pernilla Lofgren & Freya Western, 7th place

Novice Policy Friday:

• Jemil Patel & Aria Xing, 8th place

Novice Policy Saturday:

• Gael Fox & Aria Xing, 11th place

Eden Prairie Invitational (Nov 8th)

Varsity Congress:

• Hannah Hein, 3rd place

• Anwar Abdihashi, 10th place

Varsity Public Forum:

• Chloe Meredith, 7th place

• Max Daggett, 5th place

JV Public Forum:

• Lucy Horwitz & Krithi Thenappan, 3rd place

• Lucy Horwitz, 1st speaker

• Krithi Thenappan, 2nd speaker

Novice Public Forum:

• Elise Norman & Ellen Yuan, 4th place

• Connor Bowen & Burhanuddin, 5th place

Varsity Lincoln Douglas:

• Sylvia Ogelsbay, 1st place

• Tiantian Chen, 4th place

• Valerie Schmitt, 5th place

• Noah Reardon, 7th place

• Asher Kaufman, 8th place

• Aditi Jha, 10th place

• Aditi Jha, 3rd speaker

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 4th speaker

• Tiantian Chen, 5th speaker

• Valerie Schmitt, 6th speaker

• Noah Reardon, 9th speaker

JV Lincoln Douglas:

• Eli James, 5th speaker

KCC College TOC Qualifier: Oct 31-Nov 2nd

• Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby, quarterfinalists

• Ellie Shipp, 8th speaker

• Matthew Weiby, 11th speaker

Apple Valley: Oct 31-Nov 2nd

• Hannah Hein, 5th place Congressional Debate – TOC Bid!

• Anwar Abdihashi, 6th place Congressional Debate – TOC Bid!

• Mihi Amara, semifinalist Congressional Debate – TOC Bid!

• Noah Reardon, octofinalist LD Debate – TOC Bid!

• Valerie Schmitt, triple octofinalist, LD debate

• Noah Reardon, 12th speaker

Florida Blue Key: Oct 31-Nov 2nd

• Pranika Kumar, 6th place Congressional Debate– TOC Bid!

Farmington: November 1st

• Ethan Hogervorst, 1st place, Varsity LD

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 2nd place, Varsity LD

• Tiantian Chen, 7th place, Varsity LD

• Graham Kesterson, 8th place, Varsity LD

• Ethan Hogervorst, 1st speaker, Varsity LD

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 2nd speaker, Varsity LD

• Jack Holly, 4th speaker, Varsity LD

• Aditi Jha, 9th speaker, Varsity LD

• Freya Western & Ash Kansara, 5th place, Varsity Policy

• Ash Kansara, 7th speaker, Varsity Policy

• Julia Ma & Walker Fiddelke, 9th place, Varsity PF

• Lucy Horwitz & Krithi Thenappan, 10th place, Varsity PF

• Krithi Thenappan, 8th speaker, Varsity PF

• Gael Fox & Spencer Lorberbaum, 9th place, Novice Policy

• Connor Bowen & Burhanuddin Tiewala, 10th place, Novice PF

• Aarav Patel, 1st speaker, Novice PF

• Aaryan Patel, 10th speaker, Novice PF      

Iowa Caucus Tournament October 24-26th (varsity policy):

• Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby, octofinalists

East Ridge Tournament: October 25th (varsity congress):

• Anwar Abdihashi, 4th place (TOC bid)

Washburn Tournament Oct 24-25th (policy):

• Tyler Thinglestad, 7th speaker JV Policy Saturday

• Landon Riku, 6th speaker JV Policy Saturday

• Gael Fox, 8th speaker Novice Policy Friday

• Gael Fox, 8th place Novice Policy Friday

• Gael Fox, 13th speaker Novice Policy Saturday

• Aria Xing, 12th speaker Novice Policy Saturday

• Aria Xing & Jemil Patel, 9th place Novice Policy Saturday

• Gael Fox, 8th place Novice Policy Saturday

Minnetonka Tournament, October 25th (PF and LD):

• Aaryan Patel, 9th speaker Novice PF

• Aaryan Patel and Aarav Patel, 4th place Novice PF

• Jonathan Fan, 8th speaker Novice LD

• Alexander Yang, 8th place Novice LD

• Jonathan Fan, 4th place Novice LD

• Jonathan Wu, 10th speaker Varsity PF

• Krithi Thenappan, 7th speaker Varsity PF

• Lucy Horwitz, 6th speaker Varsity PF

• Zitian Chen, 5th speaker Varsity PF

• Andy Allocco, 3rd speaker Varsity PF

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 2nd speaker Varsity PF

• Walker Fiddelke, 1st speaker Varsity PF

• Lucy Horwitz & Krithi Thenappan, 9th place Varsity PF

• Julia Ma & Ava Mehta, 6th place Varsity PF

• Andy Allocco, 5th place Varsity PF

• Walker Fiddelke & Jonathan Wu, 4th place Varsity PF

• Chloe Meredith & Nancy Vega, 3rd place Varsity PF

• Sylvia Oglesbay & Zitian Chen, 1st place Varsity PF

• Kiran Thamman, 10th speaker Varsity LD

• Valerie Schmitt, 6th speaker Varsity LD

• Aditi Jha, 4th speaker Varsity LD

• Divya Thamman, 3rd speaker Varsity LD

• Asher Kaufman, 2nd speaker Varsity LD

• Divya Thamman, 10th place Varsity LD

• Asher Kaufman, 9th place Varsity LD

• Ethan Hogervorst, 6th place Varsity LD

• Jack Holly, 5th place Varsity LD

• Valerie Schmitt, 4th place Varsity LD

• Aditi Jha, 1st place Varsity LD

Lakeville/Farmington (October 10-11th)

Congress

• Pranika Kumar, 6th place varsity

• Hannah Hein, 11th, varsity

• Anwar Abdihashi, 12th, varsity

Public Forum

• Lucy Horwitz & Krithi Thenappan, 5th place JV

• Lucy Horwitz, 5th speaker JV

• Jonathan Wu & Walker Fiddelke, 10th place varsity

• Max Daggett, 9th speaker varsity

Policy

• Aria Xing & Jemil Patel, 2nd place novice Saturday

• Jemil Patel & Jee Kvalseth, 3rd  place novice Friday

• Jemil Patel, 2nd speaker novice Friday

• Aria Xing, 5th speaker novice Saturday

• Aria Xing, 6th speaker novice Friday

• Jee Kvalseth, 11th speaker novice Friday

• Freya Western, 2nd place JV Friday

• Freya Western, 2nd place JV Saturday

• Freya Western, 3rd speaker JV Saturday

Lincoln-Douglas

• Shanaya Jana, 7th place varsity

• Asher Kaufman, 5th place varsity

• Aditi Jha, 4th place varsity

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 3rd place varsity

• Zitian Chen, 2nd place varsity

• Valerie Schmitt, 1st place varsity

• Shanaya Jana, 11th speaker

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 7th speaker

• Asher Kaufman, 4th speaker

• Zitian Chen, 3rd speaker

• Aditi Jha, 2nd speaker

• Valerie Schmitt, top speaker

U of MN (October 3-4)

Novice Policy Debate:

• Aria Xing, Spencer Lorberbaum, 4th place

• Aria Xing, top speaker

• Spencer Lorberbaum, second speaker

• Jemil Patel, 12th place

JV Policy Debate:

• Tyler Thingelstad and Landon Riku, 4th place

• Landon Riku, 6th speaker

• Pernilla Lofgren, 7th speaker

• Tyler Thingelstad, 9th speaker

• Alix Ayers, 10th speaker

Varsity Policy Debate:

• Lynn-Clara Tun, 11th speaker 

Rosemount: (October 4th)

Varsity Congressional Debate:

• Anwar Abdihashi, 5th

• Hannah Hein, 11th

• Matthew Bartley, 15th

• Tiantian Chen, 16th

Novice PF:

• Marko Tomljanovic, 8th speaker

JV PF:

• Safaa Hassan & Lucy Horwitz, 5th place

• Lucy Horwitz, 6th speaker

• William Zuo, 11th speaker

Varsity PF:

• Andy Allocco & Nate Gotte, 10th place

Novice LD:

• Isabella Zuo, 1st place/tournament champion

• Isabella Zuo, 1st speaker

JV LD:

• Kiran Thamman, 4th

• Larissa Yang, 10th

• Kira Thamman, 5th speaker

• Larissa Yang, 10th speaker

Varsity LD:

• Noah Reardon, 1st place, tournament champion

• Shanaya Jana, 2nd place

• Valerie Schmitt, 4th place

• Aditi Jha, 5th place

• Sylvia Ogelsbay, 8th place

• Asher Kaufman, 9th place

• Valerie Schmitt, 2nd speaker

• Noah Reardon, 3rd speaker

• Aditi Jha, 5th speaker

• Sylvia Oglesbay, 8th speaker

• Shanaya Jana, 9th speaker

• Evelyn Ge, 12th speaker

Mid-America Cup (September 20-22)

Policy Debate:

• Ellie Shipp and Matthew Weiby, semifinalists, securing a bid to the Tournament of Champions

• Ellie, 6th speaker

• Matthew, 7th speaker 

MDTA Jamboree (September 20th)

Novice Policy Debate:

• Aria Xing, Gael Fox, Spencer Lorberbaum, 1st place/tournament champion

Varsity Policy Debate:

• Tyler Thingelstad and Landon Riku, 5th place

Varsity Congressional Debate:

• Hannah Hein, 3rd

• Matthew Bartley, 10th

JV PF:

• Austen Hoye and Jonathan Wu, 12th place

JV LD:

• Kiran Thamman, 4th

Varsity LD:

• Jack Holly, 8th

• Divya Thamman, 14th

• Ethan Hogervorst, 15th