Barrington High School debaters ace state finals

Two Barrington High School students talked their way to the top in different categories of the Illinois High School Association debate tournament last weekend.

Senior Zach Bakal became Illinois state champion in congressional debate, while junior Kanisha Parthasarathy was first-place speaker in Lincoln-Douglas debate as well as runner-up debater and qualified for the national debate tournament in June in Kansas City.

The weekend's IHSA tournament was held at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. Along with Barrington High School, Northwest suburban students from Hersey, Rolling Meadows, Libertyville, Notre Dame, Elk Grove, Wheeling and Stevenson made the All-State teams.

Barrington High School teacher Dina Giannakopoulos is coach of the school's congressional debaters. She said competition in that category largely resembles a debate in Congress in which up to 15 different topics, or "bills," can come up.

The competitors, however, vote on the order in which the bills will be debated and judge the likelihood of how many will actually come up during the limited time period of the tournament.

Some debaters can thoroughly research the top three bills and do fairly well, but truly accomplished ones like Bakal often go well beyond that, Giannakopoulos said.

A skilled debater knows enough about the topic to be able to argue for or against a particular stance, build on or refute the statements of previous speakers and think on their feet as they field questions, she added.

Lincoln-Douglas debate is significantly different, in which the topics are entirely based on philosophical issues and values, and crafted largely by the debaters themselves, Giannakopoulos said.

Barrington's Lincoln-Douglas debaters are coached by teacher Susan Teegarden, but Giannakopoulos said she knows Parthasarathy and has seen her growth over the years.

"She just has a determination for success," she said. "She just wants to see growth within herself."

Parthasarathy said debate has definitely fulfilled her original intent for it - to pull her out of her shell and overcome her nervousness about public speaking.

And she has strong reasons for choosing Lincoln-Douglas as her particular category.

"I felt it was more intellectually straining because it's a one-on-one event," she said.

Apart from Bakal's own personal strength as a congressional debater, he's also taken on a leadership role on the team and been a helpful resource for other members, Giannakopoulos said.

This is spring break week and Bakal could not be reached.

Suburban winners, IHSA debate finals Congressional Debatebull; State champion: Zach Bakal, Barrington; coached by Susan Teegarden, Dina Giannakopoulos, Will Bentley. bull; State runner-up: Jacob Arber, Highland Park; coached by Pat Cannon, Jennifer Ginopolis, Kathy Tenus. bull; All State Team: Matt Jennings (captain), Notre Dame; Chris Cirrincione, Elk Grove; Prathyum Ramesh, Rolling Meadows; Jacob Arber, Highland Park; Evan Ribot, Stevenson; Sarah Prostko, Hersey; Tom Schwermin, Wheeling; William Hopkins, Notre Dame; Zach Bakal, Barrington; Sarah Libowsky, Highland Park.Lincoln-Douglas Debatebull; State champion: Elsbeth Weeks, New Trier; coached by Linda Oddo, Jane Munksgaard, Adam Groner, Liz Scoggin, Eric Oddo. bull; State runner-up: Kanisha Parthasarathy, Barrington; coached by Susan Teegarden, Dina Giannakopoulos, Will Bentley.bull; All State Team: Kanisha Parthasarathy (captain), Barrington; Pat Donovan, Glenbrook North; Gokul Krishnan, Libertyville; Elsbeth Weeks, New Trier; Vidur Sood, Evanston.Public Forum Debatebull; State runner-up: Joseph Eichenbaum and David Walchak, New Trier; coached by Linda Oddo, Jane Munksgaard, Adam Groner, Liz Scoggin, Eric Oddo. bull; All State Team: David Walchak, New Trier; Joseph Eichenbaum, New Trier; Stefanie Rubenstein, Glenbrook North; Lia Hoag, Loyola Academy.Policy Debatebull; State champion: Flynn Makuch and Alex Pappas, Glenbrook North; coached by Michael Greenstein, Ari Parker, Max Voldman. bull; State runner-up: Dylan Carpenter and Ira Slomski-Pritz, New Trier, coached by Linda Oddo, Jane Munksgaard, Adam Groner, Liz Scoggin, Eric Oddo. bull; All State Team: William Thibeau (captain), Glenbrook South; Alex Pappas, Glenbrook North; Richard Day, Glenbrook South; Flynn Makuch, Glenbrook North; Dylan Carpenter, New Trier; Ira Slomski-Pritz, New Trier.For complete results, ihsa.org/activity/db/index.htmFalse100125Kanisha Parthasarathy False