CASE Debates Teams Advance to Nationals
Leave a commentMarch 5, 2024 by HCDE Communications
Students in the Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment for Kids (CASE for Kids) debate program are headed to nationals after an incredible performance at the 2024 Houston Urban Debate League (HUDL) City Championships on March 2.
Second place World Schools Debate winners Chikanyima Nkemdirim, Shalom Akinkunmi, Gerardo Diaz, Victoria Pacheo and Syed Ali, of Alief Kerr Hight School in Alief ISD. 
Policy (Cross-Examination) Debate co-Champions – Kaitlyn Lewis & Alara Eyuboglu, and Matthew Gonzales-Gordon & Alexander Prieto of Heights High School in Houston ISD. 
A student participates in HUDL City Championships. 
Lincoln-Douglas Debate co-Champions – Sarah Cruser and Christianna Thomas, both of Heights High School in Houston ISD.
CASE Debates is the expansion of a program designed by HUDL to serve Houston Independent School District students. The Harris County Department of Education-funded program provides students in Harris County districts, including charter schools, with training, access to coaches and the opportunity to build self-esteem and meet like-minded students locally and nationally.
This year, CASE Debates served more than 300 students and expanded its footprint in Aldine ISD to include five campuses. Leaders also hosted the first-ever CASE Debates tournament in Goose Creek ISD, which welcomed nearly 200 students.
On Saturday, 50 CASE for Kids students competed against Houston ISD students in four events: Congressional Debate, Policy (CX) Debate, World Schools Debate and Lincoln-Douglas Debate. The tournament was hosted at downtown Houston’s historic Bob Casey Federal Courthouse.
Winning students and teams advanced to the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament this June in Des Moines, Iowa. These students also earned more than $10,000 in scholarships after placing first and second at the city level.
Below is the list of winners from the Houston Urban Debate League (HUDL) City Championships:
| Congressional Debate | ||
| First Place | Rebecca Oyeniyi | Alief Kerr High School (Alief ISD) |
| Second Place | Sean Mclain | Alief Kerr High School (Alief ISD) |
| Public Forum | ||
| First Place | Sebastian Pan and Kashyapi Atri | Debakey High School (Houston ISD) |
| Second Place | Shining Sun and Cynthia Kong | Debakey High School (Houston ISD) |
| Policy (CX) Debate – TIE | ||
| First Place | Kaitlyn Lewis and Alara Eyuboglu | Heights High School (Houston ISD) |
| First Place | Matthew Gonzales-Gordon and Alexander Prieto | Heights High School (Houston ISD) |
| World Schools Debate | ||
| First Place | Taha Asghar-Ali, Andres Henriquez, Preston Hershkowitz and Tej Aliota | Westchester Academy for International Studies (Spring Branch ISD) |
| Second Place | Chikanyima Nkemdirim, Shalom Akinkunmi, Gerardo Diaz, Victoria Pacheo and Syed Ali | Alief Kerr High School (Alief ISD) |
| Lincoln-Douglas Debate – TIE | ||
| First Place | Sarah Cruser | Heights High School (Houston ISD) |
| First Place | Christianna Thomas | Heights High School (Houston ISD) |