Three HHS Debaters Qualify for Nationals

As the debate season reaches its final stretch, three HHS students have locked in their spots for the national debate competition in Des Moines, Iowa on June 15 through 20. President Anna Rodgers accomplished this in the congress style, while sophomores Mckenna Wheeler and Esther Allen Pickett qualified at district finals in policy, a type of debate not taught at HHS. 

“The fact that we, for the first time in over 30 years, are going to nationals in a type of debate that I don’t know how to do [stood out to me],” Wheeler said.

The head coach credits the national qualifiers’ accomplishments to the outside work and creativity they put into this season. 

“Yes, [I am] absolutely [proud of my debaters] because they took it upon themselves to learn new styles and try it, even within the types of the debate we do know how to do. They took it upon themselves to learn a whole bunch of stuff that has evolved over time, things that I am not necessarily the best at, at least not yet,” Fajardo said.

Rogers was able to qualify for nationals in a competitive style, congress, by adapting and putting in the work it takes to win.

“Anna’s had a very specific way that she has delivered her speeches in the past, and so in order to get her to where she needed to be, she really had to change her style of writing speeches and how she performed,” Fajardo said.

This wasn’t the only transformation experienced by a national qualifying debater; Wheeler chose Allen Pickett to learn the policy style from her and was also crucial to the duo’s success.

“We’ve been successful because of Mckenna, I really can’t take much credit for it. She was the one who taught me and was patient with me when I couldn’t understand fairly simple things, or couldn’t find a card,” Allen Pickett said.

The teamwork and dedication wasn’t limited to debating intellectual property policies; they also grew closer through the challenges they faced together. The stress of preparing for nationals has been balanced by the strong friendships that developed along the way. This relationship added another motivation to their success.

“I definitely found a friend in Mckenna that I didn’t have before, and I made closer bonds, especially when I was going through a really hard time,” Allen Picket said. “I also enjoy the thrill of going on trips, like writing a case in five minutes. It’s so much fun.”   

Mastering a new form of debate while still succeeding at a high level brings extra challenges from navigating uncharted territory, for both students and the coach.

“The biggest obstacle was Esther, Kenna, and Chris all know a type of debate that I don’t know how to do, so when I’m trying to coach them, it’s not exactly easy to coach something you don’t know how to do,” Fajardo said. “I had to trust that they knew what they were doing. And obviously they did, because they were getting awards.”

Despite these obstacles, their preparation and commitment as individuals and as a team laid the foundation for their journey to nationals. Rodgers and Wheeler and Allen Pickett’s qualifications were about more than winning; it represented the challenges overcome by the three girls throughout the season.

“Winning our second finals round at the district tournament and that qualified us for nationals was my favorite memory from the season,” Wheeler said.