Debate & Forensics 2023-24 Season Writeup
During the 2023-2024 school year, Whitman College Debate and Forensics competed in 15 tournaments, including Washington’s State tournament, Pi Kappa Delta, their comprehensive nationals, and NPDA and NPTE, their Parliamentary Debate-specific nationals. This season, the program received over 110 awards including; a state championship, multiple top 5 finishes across all nationals, two national championship speaker awards, and 3 prestigious honorary awards from national organizations.
Notable Awards
- Kaela Babasin and Linda Grace Hardy: 3rd Place Podcasting at Pi Kappa Delta
- Kasey Moulton: 4th Place Podcasting and 3rd Place Oral History Pi Kappa Delta, 5th Place Speaker at NPDA, Semifinalist at NPDA (w/ Jas Liu), 2nd place at NPTE, Pi Kappa Delta All-American, NPDA All-American
- Jas Liu: 5th Place Speaker at NPTE, Semifinalist at NPDA (w/ Kasey Moulton), 2nd place at NPTE, 1st Place Speaker at NPDA
- Isabel Mathy: 5th Place at NPTE (w/ Alexa Grechishkin), 3rd Place Speaker Award, Semifinalist at NPDA (w/ Alexa Grechishkin), 1st Place Speaker at NPTE
- Alexa Grechishkin: 5th Place Student Scholarship, 4th Place Extemp Commentary, and 3rd Place Impromptu Speaking at Pi Kappa Delta, 5th Place at NPTE (w/ Isabel Mathy), Semifinalist at NPDA (w/ Isabel Mathy), 2nd Place Speaker at NPDA, 2nd Place Speaker at NPTE
- Sueli Gwiazdowski: 1st Place After Dinner Speaking at Washington’s state tournament, 2nd Place Congress and 2nd Place Interviewing at Pi Kappa Delta
- Sophia Pilling: Pi Kappa Delta Rising Star
Whitman College Debate and Forensic's recent achievements include several historic milestones. A LiMo’s 2nd place finish at the NPTE marks the school’s first appearance in an NPTE final round in 10 years. Additionally, the top 3 speaker awards earned by Mathy, Grechishkin, and Liu represent the first time in NPDA history that all three top speakers have come from the same institution.