Hersey debaters start year with big win

The John Hersey High School Congressional Debate team, under the direction of coaches Jack Stanislaw, Kent Manthey and Kevin Poduska, hopes to continue their winning ways at the Dundee Crown High School tournament on Oct. 14-15.

The team brought home the first-place team trophy in the first contest of the year at Elk Grove High School, which featured more than 500 debaters from northern Illinois.

Leading the Hersey Huskies was sophomore Melanie Cohodes, who won both first-place speaker in her chamber and third-place speaker in the quality category.

The award means that Cohodes’ speech scores were the third best of all 500 contestants. The top quality award is the most coveted by coaches and students, and Cohodes has continued her excellent performances from last year when she was named to the IHSA All State team as a freshman.

Sophomore Ben Goldberg also won two awards: the Critics Choice award, as the highest point scorer in his chamber; and a trophy gavel for Best presiding officer. In legislative debate, students are elected to run the session according to the rules of parliamentary procedure.

Hersey debaters who also earned points were sophomores Mike Miller and Mike Feltes, who received nominations for best speaker in their respective chambers.