News Detail
Two Sophomores Scare the Pants Off Competition at Stanford
Connor Duncan '17 and Aris Saxena '17 have made another run at another large, national tournament. They made it through ten grueling rounds of Parliamentary debate before finally falling in the semifinals to a masterful team from Los Altos, the very team that would advance to finals to win the tournament.
Although it was a weekend with many other student activities and commitments, not to mention terrible weather, we still headed down to Stanford with a group of nearly thirty. "If I say roll 'em down, then get those windows down immediately," driver Dusty Allen said. Apparently he anticipated gusts of wind that would be so powerful, they might tip the bus over. Rolling down the windows is a technique this veteran driver has learned to reduce the resistance and keep the bus standing on all four wheels.
Sonoma Academy entered with six teams, and when the preliminary five rounds had ended, we still had four in the competition. Seniors Sierra Maciorowski and Logan Noel advanced all the way to octofinals, but it was Connor and Aris who had built up a head of steam that would carry them all the way to semis. They were in the final four teams out of 139 varsity Parli teams.
Late Monday afternoon found us still at the tournament. As the pressure built, Connor's shirt became un-tucked. His tie dangled from his neck like a loose strand of Christmas lights, long forgotten. In front of crowds of junior and senior debaters, Connor marched and paced and muttered as he planned his next case. With each round, while most began to flag, Aris only became more and more excited, his step progressing from a bounce to a spring. There was no disappointment when these two finally dropped in the semis. One could only marvel at how far they went, and how far they will go in the next two years of their debating careers.
Judging for the entire weekend were parents David Greenberg, Joe Maciorowski, and Carey O'Connell. They spent many, many long hours waiting between rounds. Sunday's debates finished after midnight. Also helping were faculty members Hillary Younglove and Sam Horton, who were at the hotel to help our tired competitors find their way to their rooms.
Finally, we want to especially thank bus driver Dusty Allen, who braved six hours of torrential rains on both Friday and Sunday to get our competitors to and from Stanford University.
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...the only private, independent, college preparatory high school in Sonoma County. On our beautiful campus nestled at the base of Taylor Mountain in Southeastern Santa Rosa, our students are able to explore their interests and passions in a rigorous and inspiring environment that develops a lifelong love of learning and prepares them for college and beyond.
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