The OHS Speech and Debate team will once again send members to Nationals.

Debaters competed in the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Districts this past weekend (March 10-12) at Clayton and Pattonville. Shaun Lamar (11) placed second in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and made it to the top seven in Lincoln Douglas Debate.

“Making it that far in both events was amazing. I was especially excited about LD because it was my primary focus…I don’t usually do DX, so it was very surprising to place in it again,” he said.

Lamar also placed first in his House Chamber in Congressional Debate. He will move on to the NSDA National Tournament in this event.

“I don’t want to say that I expected to win the chamber, but I felt pretty good about it based on how I’ve performed in the past. Taking first place in the chamber was especially exciting for two reasons: Congress is all about politics and there were a few individuals who tried to campaign against me, and they announced my place in DX first. They led me to believe that I was going to Nationals in DX, meaning that I did not place first in Congress. After announcing Congress, I realized that I would be going to Nationals in Congress instead. I am super excited for Nationals. It is my first time qualifying. I’m very excited to leave the competitive environment of our district. While we will still be competing against each other…the Eastern Missouri district assembles into one giant team during Nationals. I hope to establish more lasting friendships,” he said.

Aaron Mohabbat (11) will also be going to Nationals in Congressional Debate, but for the Senate Chamber.

“Qualifying for Nationals was a great experience. It is every debater’s dream to go to Nationals, and to do it in my second year of competition is very good. Congressional Debate is a very hard and grueling form of debate, but I do enjoy it. I am very excited for Nationals. I cannot actually prepare for Nationals until May 1, when the National Congress Legislation will be released. But once it is, Shaun and I, and the rest of our Eastern Missouri team, need to do a lot of research,” he said.

The NSDA National Tournament will be June 11-18 in Salt Lake City, Utah.