Pace Debate Team Leads Country in National Tournament Bids

From Patch Reports

Pace Academy's debate team ended the fall semester with 10 qualifying bids to the high school national championship, more than any other school in the country.

During the semester, juniors Jordan Epstein and Victor Skenderi earned five bids, senior Lauren Sukin and junior Brian Klarman earned four, and juniors Jack Bowen and Paula Cheng earned one, the school said in a news release. The team is coached by Shuntá Jordan and Jordana Sternberg.

To qualify for competition at the Tournament of Champions in May, a pair of debaters must twice earn a "bid" by reaching certain advanced elimination rounds (like playoffs) at designated national tournaments.

In October, Pace sophomores Erik Howard and Anshuman Parikh reached the finals of the Sophomore Hoe Down, an invitation-only tournament in Dallas, Texas, for 32 pairs of sophomores from around the nation.

Pace’s ninth-grade debaters achieved a strong semester as well. Clyde Shepherd and Tanner Lewis reached the finals of the national season opener at Wake Forest, competing in the junior varsity division against mostly older students, and won the novice division at the University of Michigan's national tournament, where Shepherd was the top individual speaker of more than 150 students in the division.

Ninth-graders Jeri Brand, Larine Hamied, Peter Hurley, Arielle Levin, Erin Rawls, and Hajo Smulders have also won multiple awards competing above their age levels in junior varsity competition.