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Niles West Student Named Top Debator in Berkeley Tournament

Niles West student James McLellan was voted the number one speaker in the Junior Varsity division out of 240 debaters.

The Niles West Debate Team competed at the 40th annual California Invitational held at the University of California, from Feb. 16 to Feb. 18. Niles West sent 14 debaters to the tournament.

Niles West student James McLellan was voted the number one speaker in the Junior Varsity division out of 240 debaters.

Niles West sent one team to compete in the Junior Varsity division, which included 120 teams. James McLellan and Soretti Donka went 5-and-1 in the preliminary rounds and advanced as the third seed to the Double Octafinals, ultimately reaching the Semifinals. McLellan was named top speaker and Donkha placed fifth.

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Niles West sent six teams to compete in the Varsity division; which comprised 234 teams from across the country. Theo Noparstak, Jonass Placitis, Breana Brill and Emma Lazar advanced to round 64.

Noparstak and Placitis were the 27th seed with a 5-and-1 record as they advanced to the Double Octafinal round, losing to a 2-to-1 decision. Brill and Lazar were 4-and-2 in the preliminary rounds and entered the Triple Octafinals as the 48th seed, losing on a 3-0 decision. Also competing were Kris Trivedi, Janat Ahmed, Lia Isono, Nathan Anderson, Alwin Alex, Tahir Meeks, Miranda Kang and Vinay Patel.

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Niles West Debate Team is heading by Coach Eric Oddo. He is assisted by Matt Fahrenbacher, Melanie Johnson, Kevin Bancroft and Val McIntosh.

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