WUDL Teams Shine @ Georgetown Day Invitational

Eric (Class of 2024), Danielle (Class of 2019), Mary, Dami (current debaters), Coach Price, Kailey (Class of 2022), and Justin (Class of 2021), -- Four generations of DuVal High School's award winning debate team back to support the current squad - JV finalists in their first regional

The GDS Grasshopper Invitational is the kick off of WUDL’s Travel Team schedule, usually featuring folks who were in the most advanced labs during our summer program, folks who debated regionally the year before, and a few folks who just wanted to see what the challenge would be like in the future. 

In 2023: 19 teams / 38 students

In 2024: 23 teams / 46 students

In 2025: 39 teams / 78 students

In 2026: 51 teams / 102 students

We are excited to welcome Alexandria City (5 teams), Columbia Heights (1 team, hasn’t traveled since pre-COVID), and John Francis (1 team) to their first regionals! Of the 102 students participating, 48% had never been to a regional competition before!

 We are incredibly proud of all of our participants, new and old, jumping in the deep end so early in the season. 

The kids worked phenomenally hard, diving deep into this year’s healthcare topic, making arguments, and having fun along the way. 
 
BASIS DC’s Margaret Applegate and Jack Schmidt finished as quarter-finalists, with Jack getting the 10th place individual speaker award. While they didn’t repeat their tournament winning ways from last year, the season is young and they started off strong. Falling in the bid round to a fellow Urban Debate team from Somerville (Boston UDL) is also exciting, glad to have some company! 

They had company in elimination rounds as Maddie and Marshall Thorpe embraced sibling power, and advanced to their first elimination rounds, finishing as Octo-Finalists. 

James / Bobby (Walls),  Edith / Alex (BASIS), Ella / Addie (DC International) all had 4-2 records, but didn’t advance due to the size and competitiveness of the tournament.

In JV, several WUDL teams advanced to elimination rounds:

DuVal’s Mary Alale and Dami Olanipeekun went undefeated in preliminary rounds, advancing to the finals before finally losing to Newark Science in the last round. This is their first regional, and first debate outside a Novice packet, we are incredibly proud! Dami and Mary were also the 4th and 5th overall speakers! 

Alexandria’s Rahman / Rahmani, and Averynya / Yassin, and Banneker’s Alexander / Marshall, also advanced to Quarterfinals, all in their first regional appearance. Sasha and Yara were also the 7th and 8th overall speakers, with Xavier finishing 10th. 

In Varsity: Walls (Gibson / Abiy,  Pinson/Awad, McWhirter / Webster, Ben-Shalom / Ferris-Artiga), DCI (Griffiths / Rodberg, McCurty / Pagan), Duke Ellington (Ondrejcak / Tesfaye), Banneker (Goldblatt / Young) all finished 3-3 record. Shout outs to freshmen Max, Yakin, Zeve, and Xander. 

In JV: Alexandria (Aram / Cook, Sola / Chowdhury, and Eltoum / Munipalla), Eliot Hine (Prieur / Thorn, Keith / Metzger), Oyster Adams (Dafflitto / Bicca Gomes Batista, Daniels / Shipler), BASIS DC (Lin / Adams), John Francis (Butler / Kuasbediani) also went 3-3, giving Alexandria, DuVal, and John Francis a winning record or better with every team they entered. 

The WUDL Travel Team will return to action at the Urban Debate Dragon over Veterans Day weekend, Nov. 5th – 7th at DC International School. 

 Shout outs to the wonderful coaching and judging squad that supported all of our teams this weekend: 
  • Aisha Bah (WUDL Alum, E. Roosevelt, now their coach)
  • Alyssa Santiago (Adopted alum)
  • Amanda Kenn (Georgetown Grad Student, former Forest Park Coach)
  • Brandon Manbahal (Volunteer, Congressional Staffer) 
  • Cesar Fortuna (Coach, Seneca Valley / Montgomery Village) 
  • Christine Miller (Coach, Oyster Adams) 
  • Clarke Dickens (Capital City Alum, Georgetown Grad Student, Coach, Anacostia High School) 
  • Conor Akiyama (Asst. Coach, Eliot Hine) 
  • Daniella Choi (Alumna, BASIS DC) 
  • Darin Eberhardt (Coach, Eastern HS)
  • Darryl Long (Coach, Banneker HS)
  • Diana Stevens (Adopted Alum, Coach, Washington Latin Cooper)
  • Eric Clarke (Columbia Heights Alum, Georgetown Graduate Student, Coach, School Without Walls)
  • Eric Esparza (DuVal Alum)
  • Forrest Gertin (Coach, Dr. Nathan Pitts Ashburton, Forest Park)
  • Haven Howard (Phelps ACE Alum)
  • Isabella Long (DUDL Alum, CHEC Coach)
  • Jose Cantu (HUDL Alum, WUDL AB Member)
  • Justin Sayoto (DuVal Alum)
  • Kailey Ramlal (DuVal Alum, DCI Coach)
  • Karl Pederson (Alexandria HS Coach)
  • Lisa Oyolu (HUDL Alum, PHD Researcher)
  • Matt Rose (WUDL AB Member)
  • Messai Yigletu (BASIS DC Coach)
  • Nala King (Former DCI Coach)
  • Noah Joshua (Largo HS Alum)
  • Ohm Gore (WUDL AB Member)
  • Dr. Omar Price (DuVal HS Coach)
  • Parker McCauley (Banneker Alum)
  • Stephan Agbor (College Park Academy Alum)

We sincerely appreciate your weekend time to support them! From covering a few rounds on Friday to cutting a few cards to judging deep elimination rounds, everyone played a huge role in a machine that produced some phenomenal results. This is what a village can do together. 

Finally, a big shout out to Dawn Pierce at Georgetown Day – GDS is a great neighboring program we enjoy competing against and working with every year. Thanks for running a great event, and glad we could help the tournament out this year. 

Students warm up at the library before the tournament
Banneker Alum Parker with Maddie and Marshall after their first elimination round. New Coach Darryl Long isn't pictured
Max (Walls) cross examines their opponent
Amira and Chloe show off part of their performance between rounds
Elle, Adam, Danielle, Eric, and Ashish chat between rounds on Sunday
Victoria and Amra (Duke) prepare mid-debate
Awards Ceremony @ GDS 2026
Rahgav (BASIS DC) speaks with DCI Coach Kailey judging
Walls debates AHS with DUDL alumna Isabella Long judging