After three days of competition across three speech and debate categories, two South Lake High School students have been named among the winners in The Great Debate: The National Speech and Debate Championship.
Rudi Darden and Kayden Greenstein competed among nearly 400 students from across the nation in the contest, which was hosted by the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI), a program of the Florida Education Foundation and Florida Department of Education.
Rudi placed fourth in the High School Division and Kayden placed fifth in the Congressional Debate – High School Division.
The Great Debate is a triathlon-style tournament that puts students’ civic knowledge and communication skills to the ultimate test as they vie for a chance to become national champions. While most conventional debate tournaments require students to compete in only one event, The Great Debate requires students to compete in all debate categories on each of the three days of the tournament.
“I was a part of my high school debate team, and the most important skill I learned was not public speaking. It was listening. It’s so important that we listen to advocates on both sides of an issue so that we can understand where they’re coming from,” said Kristen Soltis Anderson, national pollster, author and show host in her welcome remarks to the students. “By engaging in civics and debate, we’re researching, we’re formulating our opinions and – through civil discourse – we’re perpetually working to form a more perfect union. Congrats to all the participants in The Great Debate and a big thanks to all coaches, judges and parents who made this possible.”
The FCDI was established by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020 to encourage middle and high school students to engage in civic activities and elevate their civic knowledge. In the past two years, the FCDI has expanded competitive debate opportunities from 59 schools in 11 school districts to 243 schools in 54 school districts.
The event took place at the Caribe Royale Resort and Lake Buena Vista High School in Orlando, November 11-13. Students competed in the areas of Congressional Debate, Extemporaneous Debate and Impromptu Speaking.
The full list of winners is shown below.
Middle School Division
CHAMPION - Daniella Rothberg, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
2nd Place - Taylor Mack, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
3rd Place - Asher Licata, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
4th Place - Joshua Kahrim, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
5th Place - Addisyn Kostzer, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School West, Pembroke Pines
High School Division
CHAMPION - Sofia Mohring, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Lake Mary
2nd Place - Bradan Lott, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Lake Mary
3rd Place - Gaby Urdaneta, Lake Nona High School, Orlando
4th Place - Rudi Darden, South Lake High School, Groveland
5th Place - Nicholas Ostheimer, FAU High School, Boca Raton
6th Place - Jolie Lehrman, FAU High School, Boca Raton
7th Place - Arik Karim, A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, West Palm Beach
8th Place - Eva Barrett, Lake Brantley High School, Altamonte Springs
9th Place - Abiah George, Aberdeen Independent, Aberdeen, South Dakota
10th Place - Maya Venkatraman, Lake Nona High School, Orlando
Congressional Debate – Middle School Division
CHAMPION - Asher Licata, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
2nd Place - Michael Gomez, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
3rd Place - Joshua Kahrim, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
4th Place - Daniella Rothberg, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
5th Place - Mia Taylor, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
Congressional Debate – High School Division
CHAMPION - Rhea Thakker, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Lake Mary
2nd Place - Nicholas Ostheimer, FAU High School, Boca Raton
3rd Place - Camila Gimenez, Lake Nona High School, Orlando
4th Place - Sofia Mohring, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Lake Mary
5th Place - Kayden Greenstein, South Lake High School, Groveland
Extemporaneous Debate – Middle School Division
CHAMPION - Asher Licata, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
2nd Place - Daniella Rothberg, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
3rd Place - Joshua Kahrim, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
4th Place - Addisyn Kostzer, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School West, Pembroke Pines
5th Place - Taylor Mack, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
Extemporaneous Debate – High School Division
CHAMPION - Eva Barrett, Lake Brantley High School, Altamonte Springs
2nd Place - Gabriel Annis, Duncan U. Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach
3rd Place - Jolie Lehrman, FAU High School, Boca Raton
4th Place - Rhea Thakker, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Lake Mary
5th Place - Cristina Castresana, Pompano Beach High School, Pompano Beach
Impromptu Speaking – Middle School Division
CHAMPION - Daniella Rothberg, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
2nd Place - Taylor Mack, I-Prep Academy North, Miami
3rd Place - Asher Licata, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
4th Place - Brady Abrams, AD Henderson University School, Boca Raton
5th Place - Addisyn Kostzer, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School West, Pembroke Pines
Impromptu Speaking – High School Division
CHAMPION - Alan Munschy, Christopher Columbus High School, Miami
2nd Place - Gabriel Annis, Duncan U. Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach
3rd Place - Ashley Ding, Lake Nona High School, Orlando
4th Place - Sofia Mohring, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Lake Mary
5th Place - Abiah George, Aberdeen Independent, Aberdeen, South Dakota
Original source can be found here.
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