For the first time this season, the Manhattan High School Debate team placed first overall at its Topeka Hayden tournament this past weekend.

“It was a big team effort,” coach Ben Sutherland said. “They did really well. I was really proud of them.”

In second place for teams, senior Cathy Lei and freshman David Miller went with a 5-0 record, wins to losses, while with a 4-1 record, senior Sterling Edgar and junior Douglas Kim placed fourth.

“I felt that it was a team effort and we did a very well job at it,” Kim said. “I think [the win] will boost the moral and the team will overall do better next time.”

The win that the students received at this J.V. Debate Invitational put everyone in an excited and hopeful mood.

“It definitely helps, because, I think, we don’t have as many trophies this year as we did last year, and so, to have another one, especially first place, is really special,” Lei said.

This upcoming weekend will be one of the final tournaments for the Varsity members, where they will compete to qualify for nationals.

“I remembered while we were watching Cathy go up and get our Sweeps medal that, just, how long ago it felt at my very first tournament [when] we won Sweeps,” Edgar said, “and seeing Manhattan dominate like that, it was a good feeling.”