Middle-schoolers like to argue, or at least that’s how it seems as their brains develop and they’re motivated to put newly acquired critical-thinking skills to the test. Suddenly, the word “why” becomes commonplace, and the conversation at dinner feels like a scene from Perry Mason.

But that’s what makes school debate so much fun, and a valuable instructional tool. Classroom debates – and more formalized speech and debate competitions – teach students to conduct research, organize their thoughts, collaborate and brainstorm ideas, and speak with authority, says CSD Instructional Specialist Leslie Robinett. What better way to harness students’ newfound passion for the well-articulated point?

Each year, Canyons District invites middle school and elementary-age students (in the fourth and fifth grades) to ply their rhetorical skills at a districtwide debate tournament. This year’s tourney drew more than 230 contestants and was held at Mount Jordan Middle, which walked away with most of the awards, including the title, District Team Champions.

Students were eligible to win individual events and special awards, including MVP. In all, 61 qualified to advance to the state tournament, which will be held at Alta High, April 20-21.

Here’s the full list of awardees by division and category:

Oratory
1^st        Parker McKay, Mount Jordan
2^nd       Raunya Barakat, Albion
3^rd        Hayden Sullivant, Mount Jordan
4^th        Chaitrali Samant, Albion
5^th        Isabel Phillips, Albion
6^th        Lilly Reidy, Eastmont
7^th        Baylee Johnson, Draper Park
8^th        Emma Winegar, Butler
9^th        Zoey Slaughter, Eastmont
10^th      Areesha Nazir, Indian Hills

Qualifiers: 
Juseong Kang, Albion
Mollie Scott, Mount Jordan
Zoe Quirones, Mount Jordan
Alex Hill, Eastmont
Anna Chubak, Indian Hills
Josh Huff, Butler
Luc Doucette, Albion

Extemporaneous
1^st  Angelica Hsueh, Draper Park
2^nd Matthew Bronson, Indian Hills
3^rd Elias Stennet, Mount Jordan
4^th Andrew Davidson, Indian Hills
5^th Jordan Ogg, Indian Hills
6^th Chase Elggren, Albion
7^th Logan Rose, Mount Jordan

Impromptu*
1^st Hayden Sullivant, Mount Jordan
2^nd Parker McKay, Mount Jordan
3^rd Elias Stennet, Mount Jordan
4^th Raunya Barakat, Albion
5^th Fatima Zaidi, Albion
*not a state event

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Speakers*
1^st Ethan Updike, Mount Jordan
2^nd Ashton Pelley, Mount Jordan
3^rd Cameron Johns, Albion
4^th P.J. Pearmain, Eastmont
5^th Zoe Liu, Midvale
*not a state qualifier

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
1^st        Abbey Simmons, Mount Jordan
2^nd       Porter Eldredge, Albion
3^rd        AJ Rowland, Mount Jordan
4^th        Fatima Zaidi, Albion
5^th        Alex Morzelewski, Eastmont
6^th        Ethan Updike, Mount Jordan
7^th        Ashton Pelley, Mount Jordan
8^th        Cameron Johns, Albion
9^th        Zoe Liu, Midvale
10^th      John Askew, Draper Park
11^th      Emily Erickson, Indian Hills
12^th      Merrin Maughan, Eastmont
State qualifier  Gabriel Min, Butler

Policy Debate Speaker Awards*
1^st        Katelyn Johnson, Midvale
2^nd       April Dong, Midvale
3^rd        Saisha Vankayalapati, Midvale
4^th        Rian Liew, Midvale
5^th        Caizden Agnew, Indian Hills
6^th        Xinying Bi, Midvale
7^th        Marianne Liu, Midvale
8^th        Madelyn Azares, Albion
9^th        Erin Zhang, Midvale
10^th      Michael Chan, Midvale
*Not state qualifiers

Policy Debate
1^st        Michael Koyle and Alan Aguilar, Mount Jordan
2^nd       Anders Sandberg and Landon Brough, Draper Park
3^rd        Isaac Middlemas and Coleman Rhode, Union
4^th        Leith Sherman and Joe O’Neal, Draper Park
5^th        Ryan Hueniuk and Britton Bettinson, Eastmont
6^th        April Dong and Erin Zhang, Midvale
7^th        Brian Y and Rian Liew, Midvale
8^th        Paris Snider and Madely Azares, Albion
9^th        Katelynn Johnson and Anna Hsu, Midvale
10^th      Isabella Nibley and Anna Pager, Draper Park
State Qualifiers: 
McKayla Mower and Caizden Agnew, Indian Hills
Will Mercurio and Beau Starbuck, Butler

Coaches’ Award
Logan Rolfson, Albion                        
Will Mercuri, Butler               
Anna Page, Draper Park         
Alex Morzelewski, Eastmont (District Award Winner)
Andrew Davidson and Ryan Pomeroy, Indian Hills   
Katelynn Johnson, Midvale    
Abigail Simmons, Mount Jordan       
Isaac Middlemas, Union                    

Most Valuable Participant
Madelyn Azares, Albion                     
Beau Starbuck, Butler            
Isabella Nibley, Draper Park  
Hailey Hendrickson, Eastmont           
Emily Erickson, Indian Hills    
Zoe Liu, Midvale        
Ashton Pelley, Mount Jordan (District Award Winner)
Coleman Rhode, Union                      

Canyons School District Team Champions
1st                   Mount Jordan
2^nd                   Albion
3^rd                    Eastmont

Elementary I Pro
1^st Drew Morgan and Quin Briggs, Brookwood
2^nd Jeremy Baker and Miles Morgan, Brookwood
3^rd Cheyenne Frank and Wyatt Horning, Ridgecrest
4^th Isa McMaster and Ava Karimi, Ridgecrest
Alternates: 
Andrew Murphy and Ethan Vidal, Draper
Nate Riedel and Tate Hales, Brookwood

Elementary I Con
1^st Lauren Gray and Bria Johnson, Brookwood
2^nd Vance Longhurst and Austin Longhurst, Ridgecrest
3^rd Randee Tormondsen and Reese Jones, Draper
4^th Lance Gray and Ryles Rackley, Brookwood
Alternates: 
Hannah Fellows and Gabby McCall, Ridgecrest
Isabelle Chambers and Grace Vidal, Draper

Elementary II Pro
1^st  Edward Loh and Tina Zhou, Peruvian Park
2^nd Fiona Zara and Kaliana Suhuka, Peruvian Park
3^rd Ivan Chen and Deeraj Vislawath, Peruvian Park
4^th Anna Oldham and Michael O’Neal, Sunrise
5^th Mitch Phippen and Ben Martin, Draper
Alternates: 
Teagan Kay and Gracie Johnson, Sunrise
Rachel Scott and Kassandra Holt, Sunrise

Elementary II Con
1^st Rachel Scott and Kassandra Holt, Peruvian Park
2^ndAvery Parry and Sara Moienvaziri, Peruvian Park
3^rd  Tyler Olsen and Josh Martin, Peruvian Park
4^th Jaclyn Wei and Mila Malyuchik, Peruvian Park
5^th Austin Taylor and Jacob An, Peruvian Park
Alternates: 
Hannah Larsen and Peyton Denkers, Peruvian Park
Jordan Pomeroy and Jeremy Christensen, Sunrise

Speaker Awards*
1^st Ben Martin, Draper
2^nd Hannah Larsen, Peruvian Park
3^rd Elijah Keister, Sunrise
4^th Callie Shroeder, Peruvian Park
5^th Randee Tormondsen, Draper
6^th Gabriel Williams, Peruvian Park
7^th Gracie Johnson, Sunrise
8^th Lauren Gray, Brookwood
9^th Caelan Stocker, Peruvian Park
10^th Amelia Jennings, Sunrise
*not a state qualification

Oratory
1^st Denali Workman, Oakdale
2^nd Helen Frazier, Oakdale
3^rd Angelina Hickcox, Oakdale
4^th Jaydan Hurtado, Oakdale
Alternate: 
Luke Christensen, Oakdale

Informative
1^st Mason Lohrke, Oakdale
2^nd Cache Despain, Oakdale
3^rd Nathan Cater, Oakdale
Alternate:  Lilly Hutchings