Milton Debate Team Finished Second in the State

The Milton High School Debate Team not only hosted the Massachusetts State Debate Tournament recently at Milton High School, they also earned one of the top awards.

Several hundred students from around the state packed the halls, classrooms, auditorium and library of the high school, competing in various debate events including Policy, Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum.

One of the Milton High School Debate Teams advanced all the way to the final round, finishing second in the state, out of 43 competing teams. This team consisted of Senior Ailsa Jeffries and junior Chris Dsida. Senior Isabelle Smith and Junior Cormac Conners also advanced to the elimination rounds. Individually, Chris Dsida earned third place and Cormac Conners earned fifth place overall out of the 86 competitors in Public Forum Debate.

Although it was Milton High School’s first time hosting this event, everything ran smoothly, thanks to the many parent and student volunteers, and the efforts of Debate Team coaches Nancy Warn and Nick Fitzgerald.

Milton High School’s debate team, now in its fourth year, has grown tremendously since its inception in 2009.  What started as a group of four students has evolved into a program of nearly 30 students that compete in approximately 12 local and national tournaments each year.  In addition to local competitions, students this year competed at Yale and Harvard Universities, as well as at the National Forensic League and Catholic Forensic League Qualifying tournaments.  As the team's competition schedule has expanded, the students have simultaneously continued to achieve higher levels of success.

Three times in the last four years, a Milton High School team has advanced to a semi-final or final round in the tournament.

– Written from a press release.