This year, the competition to qualify for Middle School Nationals was fiercer than ever, with a record number of competitors. Beyond the numbers of competitors, the level of research and prep has astonished me. Some teams wrote entirely new affirmatives, with minimal assistance from coaches, while others put together nuanced, sophisticated off case positions and did specialized case research against their fellow competitors. 

This level of preparation and dedication continued through practices leading up to the competition, where we faced off against many of the best middle school teams in the country. 

The last to qualify, Hardy’s Emilio and Jack had a great first day, advancing to elimination rounds as the only undefeated team. Their innovative research on Christian Nationalism has kept teams on the back foot all season, and they’ve gotten better at explaining these complex concepts every tournament. 

They beat a very dedicated and creative team from Eliot Hine to advance to elimination rounds. Rohan and Bobby, only in their school’s second year of debate, have grown by leaps and bounds, and while they won’t be in elimination rounds this weekend, they’ve got a very bright future ahead of them. 

Stuart Hobson made up the rest of WUDL’s qualifiers, and some partnerships got out to an uneven start, losing to teams from Boston and Tulsa, respectively. 

James / Evelyn and Max / Marco won their next two rounds, setting up a win or go home match up within Stuart Hobson in the final round. Similarly, siblings Marshall (and Sadie) and Madison (and Anna) faced each other in the final preliminary round. If Anna and Madison won, they’d go undefeated and eliminate Sadie and Marshall, but the younger sibling won an upset, advancing both teams to elimination rounds. 

In Semi-Finals, Evelyn and James defeated Madison and Anna in a highly technical debate that just missed a bit of comparative claims, while Marshall and Sadie defeated Hardy on some sharp research on Christian Nationalism. 

In Finals, Stuart Hobson faced off against itself, with Evelyn and James, an extremely experienced pair used to national travel, facing off against an inexperienced duo, Marshall and Sadie, who’ve been to one regional (in Feb.). It seemed in the middle of the debate that Marshall and Sadie were going to pull off an upset, but James saw a way to pull out a victory and executed it. 

Congrats to the 2024 Middle School National Champs — James and Evelyn! 

This is Stuart Hobson’s fourth year in a row in the Semi-Finals or better of this tournament, and James is the second Neuroth to claim the title. 

Big shout outs to our friends in the Boston and Tulsa Debate Leagues for some great rounds and especially to Boston for providing the majority of the judging for the tournament, organizing trophies and space, etc. We really appreciate your logistical leadership. 

Next year’s tournament will be held earlier in the year to encourage more leagues to participate, so stay tuned for more updates!