A debater earned a first bid to the Tournament of Champions after placing second in the Silver and Black Invitational Dec. 4 through Dec. 8. Of the five sophomore debaters that entered the tournament, three reached the round of elimination.

En route to his second place finish, Connor Engel ’17 completed the preliminary rounds with five wins and two losses before eventually losing to Annie Gersh ’16 of Marlborough School in the finals. Though it was Engel’s third varsity tournament of the year, it was his first time earning a bid to the Tournament of Champions and his first time reaching the elimination rounds.

“It is kind of disappointing to get all the way up and finish second,” Engel said. “But I was debating kids who were generally older and more experienced than me, and honestly I just really feel motivated to do better.”

Engel also received eighth place in the speaker awards.

Jesse Nadel ’17 and Evan Engel ’17 finished the preliminary rounds with a record of 5-2 as well; both lost in the first round of elimination, known as the double-octafinals or the round of 32. Nadel lost to a debater from Miramonte School in California and Engel lost to a debater from Meadows School in Nevada.

Dario Madyoon ’17 and William Park ’17 also competed in preliminary rounds. Madyoon finished with four wins and three losses and Park won three debates and lost four.

The tournament was at Alta High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. All of the top eight finishers at the event, including Connor Engel, secured one of the two necessary bids to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, the national championship in Lexington, Kentucky at the end of the year.