With 15 Explorers competing - many for the first time - across five different events, two underclassmen walked away with first place finishes. Freshman Alan Munschy was the lone undefeated debater in Lincoln-Douglas while fellow freshman Nicholas Gonzalez finished 2^nd. Sophomore Adrian Alfonso, from the Debate I class, finished 3^rd. Rounding out Columbus’ dominance of the Lincoln-Douglas division were junior Emmanuel Cartelle and sophomore Lucas Hurley finishing 5^th and 6^th, respectively. The LD debaters took on the topic: Should US universities continue to use standardized tests for college admissions?

 

In Extemporaneous Speaking, sophomore Eddy Lamazares returned to competition and finished in first place overall. Eddy faced some tough competition from Miami Springs and Miami Beach High School, but managed to secure the win after giving some great speeches on the current democratic primary race and disaster relief to the Bahamas.

 

In Public Forum Debate, the students tackled the issue of whether or not Europe should join China's Belt and Road Initiative. Columbus had four teams vying for position in the highly-contested field. Three teams ended up finishing in the top seven.

 

In Student Congress Debate, freshman Adrian Griner finished 6^th overall in a crowded field. In this session, the representatives tackled the Climate Change Crisis and Sleep Deprivation in America.

 

The varsity team will compete nationally next weekend at the Holy Cross Invitational in New Orleans.