Debate season was kicked on in full swing at the Parkway West Invitational Oct. 14 and 15. The tournament attracted schools from around Eastern Missouri to compete. Ladue brought 50 student competitors, 30 of whom advanced out of preliminary rounds, and 3 of whom were tournament champions. The Parkway West Invitational set the tone for, what they hope to be, a successful debate year.

With 20 new novices, Ladue brought one of the biggest entries to the tournament. New faces in Speech and Debate are what keeps the passion to participate burning.

“The most exciting part of the Parkway West Invitational was seeing how many new competitors that Ladue brought to the tournament,” senior Noah DiAntonio said. “The fact that we had such a large entry, especially at the novice level, speaks volumes about how successful our team will be, not only this year, but also into the future.”

The love for debate continues on in college, and several Speech and Debate alumni came to visit and see the new team’s performance at Parkway West. The team welcomed them back with open arms and continue to be inspired by them.

“This weekend, the Ladue Talking Rams witnessed the return and second coming of Kyrollos Shenouda,” sophomore debater Hale Masaki said. “It was truly humbling to once again be in the presence of [someone] so adept at his craft, and I hope he can inspire the novices as much as he has inspired me.”

Not only were there many new members, but many of the new members were incredibly enthusiastic about the tournament. Many freshman, including Fayzan Ali, Kevin Tan, Cassie Beisheim, Lilly Tung, Angela Liu and many more were able to place in their event.

“It’s great to see such skill and enthusiasm from the new members and this translated to many of them qualifying in their events and debates,” junior Noor Rahman said. “Parkway West was a fabulous start to what will be a great year for the team!”

The team worked together, with novices being taught by varsity members, to achieve the final results. They used the preceding two weeks arranging practice speeches, debates and additional research. The work paid off, as the team performed exceptionally, earning second overall.

“I am so incredibly proud of our team,” social studies teacher and sponsor Molly Beck said. “Our novices completely blew me away. Their work ethic, passion for speech and debate and enthusiasm while competing has been so inspiring and energizing. The first tournament of the year always tells me a lot about the team for the year, and I feel really good about what this team will accomplish this year.”