Hawken Hosts Inaugural Speech & Debate Tournament

Named for longtime Hawken faculty member, founder of Hawken’s Hawken Speech & Debate program, and member of the Ohio Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame, the tournament honors Larry's years of commitment to the Hawken program and to the speech and debate community.

Schools from Cleveland and across Ohio - including Gahanna Lincoln near Columbus and Mason near Cincinnati - attended the event. Bob Shurtz reports, “People were very impressed by our beautiful building and with our organization, efficiency, and hospitality.”

About 60 students from Hawken’s team worked hard late Friday afternoon and many into the late evening to get ready for the tournament; they returned early Saturday morning and worked throughout the day of the tournament. While the veteran members were busy helping coaches Bob Shurtz, Chase Williams, and Becca Marks run the tournament, newer members of the Hawken team participated in the competition. Congratulations to the following Hawks: Neil Tewari '19 and Ishan Gupta '20 who placed second in Policy Debate and Allie Dettelbach '21, who placed fourth in Lincoln Douglas Debate.

Congratulations to all of the coaches and team members for all their hard work in organizing and executing this first-ever Hawken Speech and Debate Tournament. By all accounts, the event was a great success, and Larry Banks would be very proud.