Tonganoxie High debate team’s road to state trophy had ‘miraculous’ feel

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Tonganoxie High’s four-speaker debate team hoists its third-place trophy up Jan. 18 at the state championships in Winfield. Tonganoxie’s two-speaker team of Solomon Carter and Ella Pruitt also placed fourth. Kizer Morando, Parker Welsh, Heather Leeper and Eric Bieser were this year’s four-speaker state team alongside THS coach Steve Harrell.Tonganoxie High School’s debate program is no stranger to the state tournament.
Year in and year out, longtime THS coach Steve Harrell usually is taking two-speaker or four-speaker teams or both to the state tourney.
This year, the four-speaker team nabbed the final spot in its regional, but had a losing record at 3-5, the same as third-place Clay Center. That was right before winter break.
“The four-speaker team that took third was just a complete shocker,” Harrell said. “Even the kids will tell you going into it they didn’t have a real good regional event in McPherson … we got what we got: our ticket punched to the (state) tournament) and that’s all we got.”

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Tonganoxie High School debate team members celebrate their placings at the 2025 state debate championships in Winfield.
It was different story in the new year. The four-speaker squad placed third at state with a 10-4 record. THS also ended up splitting with both eventual state champion Miege and runner-up McPherson at state.
“They came back after the holidays with a better vision of what they were going to get accomplished and they made it,” Harrell said.
The affirmative duo was Eric Bieser and Parker Welsh and negative side was Heather Leeper and Kizer Morando for the THS’ four-speaker squad.
The team actually was in first place after five rounds, but would eventually take third. They also split with both Miege and McPherson.
Tonganoxie’s two-speaker squad of Solomon Carter and Ella Pruitt placed fourth at state this season as well. Pruitt and Cayden Hunter placed second last year in two-speaker debate.
Debate season starts in September and runs into December before concluding in January.
“It’s a long March,” Harrell noted. “We were league champions again this year. That was exciting.
“We had some good weekends out. A lot of kids medaled. That felt pretty good.”
Of course, there’s not much of a breather for many of the students, as forensics season just started up. There’s also some overlap with the scholars bowl team, which will wrap up the season in the coming weeks.
As for debate, it turned out to be another banner year for the program.
Between debate and forensics, Tonganoxie has captured 18 championship trophies and 37 second- or third-place trophies under Harrell.
As it pertains to debate specifically, THS has 14 state titles overall under Harrell’s guidance: 2013, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1999 and 1998 in four-speaker and 2008, 2003, 2001 and 2000 in two-speaker.
This year didn’t quite produce more marks in those lists, but it’s definitely one Harrell and his team will remember for quite some time.
“The ending was just kind of miraculous,” Harrell said about the four-speaker finish. “It was ‘oh my gosh, were did this come from.?’
“We felt really blessed to be there. Nobody saw it coming really.”