This is a season to remember for the Debate Team as they had a student place at State for the first time in school history.
Senior Thomas Kilcullen led the team with the help of many others throughout the season and into a sixth place finish at the IHSA State Competition.
“[Kilcullen] won a medal at almost, if not every, tournament he was in. He also competed in tournaments that we had never competed in before,” said coach Dustin Zubert.
Kilcullen went the farthest in the State Competition and pleased his coach for his hard work.
“[Kilcullen] went last for finals, which is tough because a lot of what you want to say could have been said already and it could sound repetitive. He came up with new information, and he killed it,” Zubert said.
Kilcullen competed against students from top high schools all over the state.
“I competed in Congressional Debate at State where I took sixth, and then I also qualified for the All-State Team. There were 150 competitors from top, qualifying schools around the state. The next day I competed in semi-finals, taking first place in my round and advancing to finals. The final round consisted of the top 16 debaters in the state out of which I placed sixth,” Kilcullen said.
The State Competition was a stressful but rewarding time for everyone on the Debate Team. The competitions consisted of a lot of studying and researching along with long hours of preparation.
“At every debate tournament, you have different bills or issues to research. Then, the students research and prepare for speeches that they might give. They do not give a speech on every issue, but they need to plan on giving a speech on every issue,” Zubert said.
The success from this year will hopefully spark future students to gain interest in debate.
“For the first time in district history, the debate program has competed at the IHSA State Championships, and my sixth place finish was unprecedented and will hopefully inspire future generations to do better,” Kilcullen said.