District Debaters Earn Spots at National Competition

Memorial debaters Samuel Yang, Olivia Du, Kendrick Foster and Parth Misra are headed to the national debate tournament.

Eight debaters from two SBISD high schools will be competing in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) national tournament next month in Birmingham, Ala.

Spring Woods High School seniors Jeremiah Menslage, Joel Melendez and Cesar Bautista will compete in at the national tournament – Menslage in Senate, Melendez in Orignal Oratory and Bautista on the Space City World’s Debate Team. Spring Woods sophomore Hunter Brown will compete in Congressional Debate.

Spring Woods High School debater Cesar Bautista is going to Nationals.

From Memorial High School, sophomore Parth Misra and freshman Olivia Du will compete in Policy Debate, while juniors Samuel Yang and Kendrick Foster will compete in World’s Debate.

The national debaters placed recently at the NSDA Space City district tournament.

Menslage will compete Persuasive Speaking in the UIL State tournament this month after placing first at the UIL Regional. Also competing at the UIL tournament will be Misra and Du from Memorial, who qualified as a Policy Congressional team. MHS debate sponsor Cecil Trent said that Du was the first freshman he’s coached who has accomplished that feat.

Spring Woods High School debaters going to the Nationals are Jeremiah Menslage (left), Joel Melendez (top right) and Hunter Brown (lower right).

Menslage, Misra and Foster also competed recently in the Tournament of Champions, held at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.

Yang is a third-year debater who has also earned his third trip to the national tournament. He has earned a spot on the Space City World’s Debate team, a relatively new event in which the U.S. is beginning to participate on an international level, Trent said.

Menslage placed fifth in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking at the Texas Forensic Association’s state tournament – the largest state tournament in the country. He also received Most Outstanding Presiding Officer in Congressional Debate. Misra and Du also competed at the Texas Forensic Association event.

Trent coaches debate at Memorial High School. Victoria Beard coaches debate at Spring Woods High School.