The Los Alamos High School Hilltalkers recently competed at the Cave Classic Tournament hosted by La Cueva High School. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
The Los Alamos High School Hilltalkers Speech and Debate team had a successful tournament on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend hosted by La Cueva High School. The Cave Classic Tournament announced 15 members of the Hilltalkers as top five in their respective events during the award ceremony on Saturday night.
The team is proud to congratulate these individuals:
Dramatic Interpretation
Lucia Rudin – 1st Place
Duo Interpretation
Emily Xu and Suchir Jha – 1st place
Jamie Grow and Charlotte Lay – 2nd place
Amelia Dolejsi and Emily Zou – 5th place
Humorous Interpretation
Lin Wolf – 1st place
Emily Xu – 2nd place
Sean Lo – 5th place
Informative Speaking
Amelia Inglis – 3rd place
United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Zoe Bent – 1st place
Cameron Davis – 4th place
Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate
Uxue Sansinena – 1st place
Earlier in December, the Hilltalkers also competed online in the Tournament of Champions (TOC), sponsored by the University of Kentucky. The TOC is known for being highly competitive and is open to any competitor around the nation and the globe. In the Varsity Lincoln Douglas debate, Hilltalker Erin Brodnax was put up against 100+ competitors earning valuable experience in a highly competitive event. The team performed astoundingly well and are proud of their accomplishments.
Tournament of Champions placings
Lucia Rudin – 4th place, Dramatic Interpretation
Lin Wolf – 1st place, Humorous Interpretation
Sean Lo – 5th place Humorous Interpretation
Erin Brodnax – placed 48th of 132 entries in Varsity Lincoln Douglas
Cameron Davis – placed 15th of 40 entries in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Matthea Fung – placed 8th (semifinalist) of 30 entries
In addition to performing well at TOC, Hilltalker Lin Wolf earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky in April 2025.
The Los Alamos Hilltalker Speech and Debate team plan on attending the New Mexico State Tournament in late February and National Qualifiers in March, where if qualified, will go on to the NSDA National Speech and Debate Tournament in June held in Des Moines, Iowa.
“I am so proud of our Hilltalkers as they prepare for the State Championship and the National Qualifying tournaments,” Head Coach Margo Batha said. “The Hilltalkers have shown their versatility at Model UN this fall and they are also preparing for the New Mexico Youth and Government conference in April. For our students, they have many opportunities to voice their ideas and thoughts.”
“We are so back and we need community support!” said Hilltalker Tevita Funaki, 2023 National Qualifier. Support for the Hilltalkers is always needed and appreciated. Please specifically designate your gift to the Carr-Wolfsberg Fund at Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation at the following link https://lapsfoundation.com/donate/