- Daniel Taylor and Ellis Allen
- Westminster
- Accomplishment: Daniel and Ellis won the national debate championship for the second year in a row, finishing on top at the Tournament of Champions Policy Debate at the University of Kentucky earlier this month.
- The story: With the victory, Westminster set a record as the only school to win the event three years in a row. The prestigious tournament attracts the top 72 teams in the nation, which a compete hroughout the year for a position at the culminating event. One of three Westminster teams that qualified for the tournament, Daniel and Ellis advanced past the preliminary rounds into the elims among teams with a record of at least 5-2, according to the school. The seniors defeated Greenhill of Texas in the octsfinals; College Prep from California in the quarterfinals; and Glenbrook South in the semifinals. After several hundred hours of research into topics that might arise in the finals, they overcame a powerhouse team from Lexington, Mass. The two will continue their debate careers in college; Daniel at Harvard and Ellis at Michigan. Ellis and Daniel are the fifth team that coach Jenny Heidt has brought to victory at the TOC (four atWestminster, '05, '09, '10, ’11, and one at Pace Academy in '02). This makes Heidt the second winningest TOC coach; the other coach (now retired) amassed six wins over 30 years.
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