St. Luke’s Debate Ends First Semester on a High Note

St. Luke's Debate culminated the first semester on a high note, with solid performances at the Lexington Winter Invitational in Lexington, Mass. The team brought 12 debaters, including three first-time competitors, to compete in Policy Debate and Public Forum Debate. 

Samantha Gerber '25 and Dash Gilrain-Lennon '25 continued their dominant season with a 6-0 preliminary record, earning the No. 1 seed and the second and fifth top speakers in the tournament. This competition marked the ninth consecutive elimination round appearance for Gerber and Gilrain-Lennon as they advanced to the tournament quarterfinal for their sixth bid to the Tournament of Champions this season.

In Novice Public Forum debate, Peikang Hu '27 and Finn Grennan '27 and Adriana Picon '27 and Gigi McWhorter '25 both recorded multiple wins, as did Varsity Policy Debate team Chris Briggs '24 and Ty Saedal '24 and Varsity Public Forum team Malcolm Stewart '24 and Sally Picon '24. Maeve Welch '26 and Salman Memon '26 earned a 4-2 record in Varsity Public Forum, advancing to the elimination rounds before losing to Poly Prep Country Day on a 2-1 decision.

St. Luke's Debate looks forward to more exciting competitions in the spring, with teams heading to the Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University, the University of Pennsylvania's Liberty Bell Classic, the 50th Harvard National Forensics Tournament, the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky, and the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. 

St. Luke’s School Debate has welcomed several new debaters this season, and we are excited about our program's continued growth and competitive achievements. If you want to get involved with SLS Debate, please contact coach David Levin to learn more.