Seven teams from Poly’s debate program competed at the Cal Parli Invitational debate tournament, hosted by the University of California, Berkeley on Oct. 5 and 6 this year. Freshmen Ella Dan and Ariana Hosseini were semifinalists, while another team, freshmen Jerry Shi and Finn Thompson, finished in second place. Poly’s top speaker, freshman Ashlyn Motley, was awarded 12th place speaker.

World Schools and Parliamentary Debate Coach Michael Murray said, “The tournament itself was fantastic. The students were helping not just their teammates but the other [Poly] teams. There was a lot of team camaraderie.”

The students were supported by recent Poly graduates who were involved in the Upper School debate program and attend schools in the area. One of the graduates, Milla Chavez ‘24, assisted Poly students throughout the tournament.

“It gave me a reality check on how close college is,” freshman Ella Dan shared, “but they were all super nice and all made it seem like a fun experience, so it made me excited for college too.”

At the tournament, the Poly team also competed against nationally ranked teams. Dan noted, “Compared to other tournaments I had been to, the level of competition was really high.”

Two weeks later, Poly competed at The Bargain Belt Invitational. The parliamentary team of sophomores Yash Tandon and Jack Leighter broke into octofinals and the policy team of sophomore Kara Kang and freshman Ryan Kim broke into finals.