In a highly competitive National Speech and Debate Association’s Heart of America District Tournament, Park Hill South qualified five students who will compete in the NSDA National Tournament this summer.
With the speech and debate meet taking place at William Chrisman from March 9-11, there were 23 schools who were there. With that many schools in attendance, there was more than 300 total students and right under 400 entries in 11 events.
Left to right: Sylvia Nguyen, Sophia Nguyen, Avery Swanson, Timmy Tasler and Benjamin Shepherd hold up their awards for Park Hill South in the National Speech and Debate Association’s Heart of America District Tournament at William Chrisman from March 11.
“At this tournament, students competed in debate, public address and theatrical performance events,” Park Hill South speech and debate coach Hannah Townsend said. “We qualified 5 students to the NSDA National Tournament to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, this summer from June 11th to June 16th.”
Sylvia Nguyen, Sophia Nguyen, Avery Swanson, Timmy Tasler and Benjamin Shepherd are the Panthers who made it beyond districts. The Nguyen sisters qualified in Public Forum Debate – after competing in six rounds – where teams are eliminated from the bracket after receiving two losses, and the last four teams standing advanced to the national tournament.
“At this tournament, the two sisters debated the merits of the resolution, ‘Resolved: The Republic of India should sign the Artemis Accords,’ which centers around the concept of space exploration. The Artemis Accords describe a shared vision for principles, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to create a safe and transparent environment which facilitates exploration, science, and commercial activities for all of humanity to enjoy,” Townsend said.
The sisters presented about how NASA plans to send the first woman – and first person of color – to the moon. They were expected to debate the negative and positive impacts of India signing this agreement but will have a new topic to research in the NSDA National Tournament.
“This will be Sophia’s third time competing at nationals in her four-year career. It’s also Sophia’s second time competing at nationals in her three-year career,” Townsend said.
The talented Panther duo of Tasler and Sheperd qualified in Policy Debate after competing in six rounds in a double-elimination bracket. They have found success all year-long with the topic, “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.”
“This is a first-time qualification for both competitors. However, they are no stranger to success; both of these students qualified to MSHSAA State just last weekend in the same event,” Townsend said.
Swanson was the only individual to qualify alone, doing so in Humorous Interpretation, as she’s a sophomore and first-year competitor. She earned second place in the event at William Chrisman High School.
“It’s almost unheard of for a first-year student to qualify to State and Nationals in Humorous Interpretation, it’s an incredibly competitive event. Swanson is attending MSA during the week of the NSDA National Tournament, so she will give her qualification to a student from another school who placed below her,” Townsend said.
Park Hill South has a young team, with eight of its 14 entries being first-year or novice students. Of those novices, more than 75% moved past elimination rounds. There is one more chance for students to qualify to the NSDA National Tournament at another tournament on March 28.
“Ultimately, that makes me very proud and excited for the future of our team. The fact that our freshmen and sophomores could hang with fourth year competitors is incredibly impressive to me,” Townsend said.