On February 7, Green Level’s debate team traveled to Thales Academy and delivered an impressive performance at the Coolidge tournament, bringing home a wide range of awards across both varsity and junior varsity divisions. From first-place finishes to multiple best speaker honors, the team proved that preparation and dedication are paying off.
According to debate captain and varsity doubles winner sophomore Shrey Shah, the energy at the tournament was clear from the start.
“I think, especially after our first tournament, there was a sort of an air of excitement and nervousness going on,” Shah says. “You could see that everyone was really engaged, really prepared, really putting their all out there… I just really liked the energy everyone was bringing. There was like an air of passion.”
That passion translated directly into results. In varsity, Shrey Shah and Beau Combopiano placed 1st, with Shah also earning 3rd best speaker and Ahana Agarwal taking 1st best speaker. In junior varsity, Anika Bodke and Vaishvi Gandhi placed 4th, Ananya Pushthay and Sahasra Nukala placed 3rd, and Nethra Komuravelli and Emma Holdstock earned 2nd place. Jackson Faron placed 1st in his division, while Ishika Ravat earned 3rd best speaker, Nethra Komuravelli earned 2nd best speaker, and Jackson Faron was named 1st best speaker.
Shah believes the team’s success came from a renewed sense of motivation after their first tournament of the season.
“After the first tournament, everyone had a lot of emotions,” he says. “Some people were really happy and motivated. Other people were really sad and wanted to try harder. But the gist of it is that everyone was raring to go.”
He emphasized the level of preparation that went into this competition, noting that many team members spent hours practicing and refining their cases. In his own varsity doubles division, preparation and strategy played a key role.
“Formulating unique arguments sort of puts you one foot ahead,” Shah explained. “And then the second step is just having good lay skills, speaking that appeals to the average person. That level of communicability is significantly more valued.”
Beyond individual awards, Shah says he is most proud of the growth he has seen within the program.
“My freshman year, we were not performing at this level,” he says. “We didn’t even have a team that was just motivated. So to see everyone view this as a major extracurricular, a major part of their life just makes me feel really good.”
He added that increased involvement has made a difference. “As a team, we got more people involved and more people invested in speech and debate as a whole. People care more about it, so they put in more effort. And that sort of shows out there.”
Looking ahead, Shah believes this tournament sets a strong tone for the rest of the season, especially as more students move up to varsity.
“The main thing is just not to get disheartened by loss,” he says. “Most of these people are going to go into varsity for the first time, and it’s going to be very difficult… But the whole point is just to keep going.”
With a growing team, increased dedication, and a standout performance at Coolidge, Green Level debate has made it clear that it is ready to compete, and win, at the highest level.
