Another Strong Start for Harrison Debate Team

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The Harrison Debate team continues to gain National recognition with second place finishes at the Vassar Round Robin tournament at the Collegiate School in Manhattan and the Greenhill Round Robin and Championship tournament in Dallas, TX.

Varsity debaters, junior Danny DeBois and senior Patty-Jane Geller, qualified to represent Harrison High School in these two premier events. The Vassar Round Robin, which recognizes the top 24 debaters in the country, awarded Danny the tournament runner-up and top speaker of the tournament.

The competition included seven preliminary rounds. The top four competitors advanced to the semi-final round and winners of that round debated in a final round before a panel of six adult judges and one combined student vote.

Patty-Jane Geller placed ninth overall and was the tournament’s fifth speaker. Danny had an amazing 14-0 record heading into the final where he lost an extremely close 4-3 decision.

At the Greenhill Championship, Danny reached the final round in a field that included the top 100 debaters in the country, finishing in second place and was named the tournament’s fifth speaker. Patty-Jane also reached elimination rounds and competed in the double-octofinals, where she finished among the top 30 debaters in the country.

The two varsity debaters ended last season with impressive placements at prestigious district, state and national tournaments. Danny competed in the Tournament of Champions in Lexington, Kentucky last May where he placed in the top 16 among nearly 100 top debate students from across the country. He also was the runner-up in the NCFL (National Catholic Forensic League) National debate in Baltimore.

At the NFL (New York State Forensic League) District tournament last spring, both Danny and Patty-Jane were crowned co-champions. Based on pre-tournament seeding, Danny was chosen to represent Harrison at Nationals and Patty-Jane was the alternate. Harrison also won the tournament’s sweepstakes award as the top-placing debate team in the district.

Amy Geller, Patty-Jane’s younger sister, was named the winner of the New York State Forensic League State Championship (NYSFL) and was the runner-up in the New York State Debate Coaches’ Association (NYSDCA) State Championship in the novice division.

As the four year old debate program continues to expand, novice, junior varsity and varsity debaters will compete at Bronx High School of Science and Monticello High School competitions in October.