Oak Hill Policy Debaters Share State Crown,
School Earns OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A Championship
Two Oak Hill School two-person teams were named co-champions in Policy Debate at the OSAA State Speech & Debate Tournament, which took place April 18-20 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Oak Hill also earned the overall state team championship for OSAA class 4A/3A/2A/1A schools.
The Oak Hill team of senior Julian Bellavita and junior McKenzie Carrier and the team of junior Daisy Hagen and junior Katrina Carrier each won their semifinal rounds against competitors from the Portland area, thus setting up an Oak Hill vs. Oak Hill final round. The two Oak Hill teams were thus declared Policy Debate co-champions, as teams from the same school do not debate each other in final rounds. Oak Hill's third Policy Debate entry – sophomore Jordan Kasitz and freshman Leila Sanghvi -- reached the quarterfinal round at the state tournament. Oak Hill teams thus represented three of the eight quarterfinalists in Policy Debate. In addition, junior Aubra Scott-Hinkle reached semifinals in Extemporaneous Speaking, and sophomore Aiden Turpin advanced to finals in Student Congress.
The combined performance of the Oak Hill competitors earned the school the overall OSAA state championship for class 4A/3A/2A/1A schools. While entries from all six OSAA classifications compete against each other in the various speech and debate events, separate team awards are given for class 6A, for class 5A, and for the combined class 4A/3A/2A/1A schools. This was Oak Hill's second such state team championship, along with two second-place finishes, since 2015. At this year’s state tournament, there were a total of 547 entries, representing 68 Oregon high schools; Oak Hill School was one of – if not the – smallest schools competing at the state tournament
Other Oak Hill competitors at the state championships were junior Kat Antunes in Humorous Interpretation, and freshmen Samantha Mattox and Clara Kaufman in Duo Interpretation. Mattox also participated in Original Oratory, Scott-Hinkle also competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Sanghvi also took part in Impromptu Speaking.
Oak Hill School’s debate program will wrap up its 2018-2019 season in mid-June, as Bellavita, both Carriers, Hagen, and Scott-Hinkle travel to Dallas, Texas, to compete in the National Speech and Debate Championships.
For additional information and/or photos of the team, you can contact debate coach Keith Eddins at 541-543-5508 (or at keith.eddins@oakhillschool.net).