Middle and Upper School Debate Teams Compete in January Tournaments

The Middle School debate team consisted of fifth graders Masha Z., Sophia J., Marlowe H., Agron K., Maxwell A. and Theodore B.; seventh graders Ryan L., Sophie P., Neil D-S., James C., Henry B. and George P.; and eighth graders Rohan M. and Johannah H. The top individual speaker from Hackley was Ryan L., who came in 5th place in the varsity division, alongside varsity speaker award winner Sophie P. (10th place), and novice speaker award winners Sophia J. (12th place) and Masha Z. (13th place). The team of Neil D-S., Sophie P. and James C. came in third place overall. This was a terrific result for our surging Middle School team — the final regular season tournament will take place on March 8!

In the Upper School, the teams of Theo Anderson ’27, Maxwell Michael ’27 and Gabriel Fossner ’27, and Rami Ibrahim ’27, Peter Park ’27 and Zaira Sammi ’28 went 3-1, and senior co-captain Nina Zeltser and sophomore Nico Kim earned 2nd place as one of two undefeated teams (4-0) for the day. Hackley’s performance earned top honors for the tournament award (highest overall school winning percentage), which was a nice bonus. The team’s next event is on Feb. 22 at the Saddle River Day School in New Jersey, and Hackley will host the championship on April 5.