Debate co-captains Cameron Cohen ’16 and Nick Steele ’16 finished in the top 30 of 88 competitors at the 2015 annual Tournament of Champions held at the University of Kentucky April 25-27. The national championship attracts top high school debaters and is considered one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country.

Cohen and Steele finished within the top 10 of juniors, with four wins and three losses each.

“We had a really great time competing against some of the top debaters in the country, so I’m thankful for the support of our teammates and coaches, and we’re all looking forward to next year,” Cohen said.

The debate team had success competing across the nation in late March and earlier this month, with novice debaters closing out the First and Second Year National Championships and varsity and junior varsity debaters competing at the National Debate Coach Association Championships.

Cohen, Steele and Connor Engel ’17 were named octofinalists in the National Debate Coach Association Championships, which took place from April 11 to 13 at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Kevin Wesel ’17 finished as a doublefinalist. Jesse Nadel ’17, Indu Pandey ’17, Evan Engel ’17 and William Park ’17 finished in the preliminary rounds.

First-year debaters closed out the First and Second Year National Championships at Woodward Academy held March 20 to 22. Wolverines traveled to Atlanta to compete against top schools in the Lincoln-Douglas division. Liz Yount ’17, Evan Engel, Vishan Chaudhary ’19 and Pandey closed out the tournament and were named co-champions. Nick Platt ’18 was a quarterfinalist.

Yount won first place speaker, Evan Engel won first place speaker and Pandey won fourth place speaker.