The week of March 10, the Jesuit Varsity Debate Team embarked on one of the most important tournaments they participate in. They put up an impressive performance in the 2024 Texas Forensic Association State Tournament and made Jesuit proud. The 88-team Houston-based event saw three teams of ours qualify, ending solidly and with an optimistic outlook from the Jesuit participants.

The teams (listed in no particular order) each consisted of two debaters. Let’s get an overview of the three teams:

Kyle Ma ’24 and Caden Cutchall ’24

This team consisted of two seniors, seasoned veterans of past tournaments. Kyle had previously participated in tournaments all his years at Jesuit, with Caden having just as much experience.

Peter Loh ’24 and Luke Lastelick ’25

A team of one senior and one junior, Peter Loh ’24 has been debating for four years, and Luke Lastelick ’25 for three. 

Langdon Carver ’26 and Alex Ramsey ’26

This pair of debaters consisted of entirely sophomores, Langdon Carver ’26 and Alex Ramsey ’26.

Events As They Happened

On Tuesday, March 12, the Jesuit Debate team departed for Houston, short of Alex Ramsey, who sadly was sick and had to stay back in Dallas. The several-hour bus ride was an opportunity to talk with coaches or prepare arguments for future deployment. When the bus pulled into the hotel in Houston, the team ate their dinner and retired to their rooms; there was work to be done tomorrow.

March 13, a Wednesday, saw the Jesuit Debate team hold a war room, where they planned as well as recalculated for the absence of Ramsey. The new plan was to utilize Langdon Carver in a scouting capacity, a job he would do in conjunction with helper Leo Ramirez and with support from Coaches Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Lingel and Dr. McFarland. Leo played a critical part in the team’s ability to recalibrate and adapt to the change of roster. 

“Leo was a big help and we’re very thankful for him.” -Peter Loh ’24

Thursday, Day 1

The Jesuit debaters had a strong start to the tournament, with a winning record for both remaining teams. Kyle Ma and Caden Cutchall went 3-0, winning each round they were a part of. Luke Lastelick and Peter Loh went 2-1, securing a positive record.

Friday, Day 2

Continuing the tournament, the teams managed to hang on the their leads, with both teams finishing with 4-2 records overall. Kyle Ma and Caden Cutchall went 1-2 the second day, and the Loh-Lastelick lineup went 2-1. Both teams narrowly held a winning record, which was necessary if they wanted to advance to the elimination rounds.

Both Jesuit teams won their respective elimination rounds that same evening, and they were now among the top 16 teams in the tournament of 88. Peter Loh, in particular toughed out while experiencing a “mystery illness” that gave him quite the nasty fever-migraine combo. He credited Luke Lastelick later, saying

“I’m happy I had a really good debate partner in Luke Lastelick to kinda keep me going, and do some of the heavier lifting on Friday night when I was struggling to even walk straight due to the fever.” -Peter Loh ’24

Dr. McFarland said of Peter Loh and Luke Lastelick, “Preparation for the state tournament begins really the summer prior – and particularly Luke Lastelick and Peter Loh demonstrated a commitment to getting better every day to be competitive at the TFA State Tournament.”

Saturday, Day 3

Day three sadly saw the loss of both our teams in the octofinals, with tough defeats in the first round for both Jesuit teams. But overall, Jesuit put up an all-round solid performance with both teams finishing top ten. Kyle Ma and Caden Cutchall ranked 9th, with Luke Lastelick and Peter Loh securing 10th place. If you ask me, the top 12 percent of all Texan high school debaters isn’t a bad spot to be.

The debaters arrived in Dallas by bus that night, tired and filled with Buc-ee’s brand snack food. The seniors rode in a van of their own, and they listened to former debater, Alumni Service Corp Member and Debate Coach Jack Griffiths tell stories of his past debate experiences on the ride home. The team was ultimately proud, with Caden Cutchall having this to say:

“It was immensely gratifying to see our focus and determination translate into tangible success.”

Dr. McFarland noted the continuation of a successful history, saying:

“The Jesuit debaters that cleared are a part of a 25 year streak – of clearing at least one team to the elimination rounds of the tournament.”

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

On their teams’ performance, Jesuit Debaters had pride in the job they did.

Peter Loh, when asked how this tournament ranked up to previous ones, said:

“Probably one of the best, I mean I’ve been to a lot of really good travel experiences… I’m happy we saw two teams get as far as they did.”

Caden Cutchall reflected:

“Kyle and I had a great postseason – we were able to incorporate past experiences and advice.”

Dr. McFarland’s comment was one of the team’s work paying-off, saying:

“Throughout the season, we watch scout and watch film, we develop plays in our playbook against specific teams, adapt to our judges – truly the process is a dynamic one throughout the season.” 

On the significance of the tournament, Dr. McFarland said,

“Jesuit Debate takes TFA State very seriously – it’s a true state championship because it’s public and private schools; no divided by class; not divided by gender – and qualification is very challenging throughout the regular season.”

Our guys performed extremely well in this respected tournament, proving themselves, yet again, to be some of the best high school debaters in the entire state of Texas. Both finishing top 10 out of 88 total teams, Jesuit Debate’s two qualifying teams were excellent examples of skillful argumentation.

Stay tuned to The Roundup for more Jesuit Debate coverage!