Alumni success
Students who attended SWSDI in 2010 and 2011 have shown remarkable success in competition. Here is a sample of some of the achievements of our alumni:
Arizona State University Southwest Championships ’11
- Noah Wuerful won LD.
- Julia Yoo and Haoxuan Wu made quarterfinals of LD.
- Joel Guy won Extemp, and Ebru Dogan placed 4th.
- Paxton Attridge placed 2nd in Duo Interp.
- Roy Diego McCoy and Paxton Attridge made finals of Humor.
- Devanshi Mathur made finals in Prose.
- Brianna Torres made finals in Expos.
- Martin Lawrence placed 2nd in Congress.
- Sam Wolff made quarterfinals of policy.
- Jessica Schulte and Austin Gilliland made quarterfinals of PF.
FLA Winter Trophy Tournaments ’11
- Sam Matthews placed 2nd in LD.
- Jessica Schulte and Austin Gilliland won 4A PF, and Seth Schorr and Brody Krager made semis.
- Jimmy Qian won 3A PF and was top speaker, and Celine Sannes-Pond, Lexie Filkins, and Jonathan Garza made semis.
- Jeremiah Johnson made finals in Drama.
- Jessica Schulte made finals in Duo.
- Jimmy Qian, Jonathan Garza, and Joel Guy made finals in Extemp.
- Joe Russell, Brody Krager, and Seth Schorr placed in Congress.
- Sam Wolff made semis in Policy.
Alta Silver and Black Invitational ’11
- Noah Wuerfel made octafinals (the bid round) in LD.
Dobson Invitational ’11
- Half of the field in each LD outround was SWSDI alumni. In particular, Joel Guy placed 2nd, Celine Nguyen made semis, and Noah Wuerfel was top speaker.
- PF was also dominated by SWSDI alumni. Jimmy Qian won and Jessica Schulte, Austin Gilliland, Celine Sannes-Pond, and Lexie Filkins made semis.
- Paxton Attridge placed 2nd in Duo and 3rd in Humor.
- Jimmy Qian placed 2nd and Jonathan Garza placed 4th in Extemp.
Mountain View Toro Country Classic ’11
- Jimmy Qian placed 3rd in Extemp.
- Paxton Attridge placed 3rd in Humor, and Kate Coriell also made finals.
- Joe Russell placed 2nd in Oratory and 2nd in Congress, and made semis in PF.
- Darius Ansari made semis in PF.
Desert Sun Invitational ’11
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence won PF, earning a bid to the TOC.
- Jimmy Qian placed 2nd in PF, earning a bid to the TOC.
- Darius Ansari and Joe Russell also earned bids to the TOC in PF.
- Sam Wolff won Policy Debate.
SWSDI Tournament ’11
- Half of the Congress finals was SWSDI alumni: Jimmy Qian took 3rd and Kate Coriell, Paxton Attridge, Joel Guy, Patricia Grahmann, Celine Sannes-Pond, and Lexie Filkins finaled.
- Henry Sands placed 2nd in public forum
- Frea Mehta placed 2nd in policy debate
- Jonathan Garza made semis in public forum
- Gavin Singer made semis in policy debate
NFL Nationals ’11
- Congress alums Jimmy Qian and Martin Lawrence were national finalists in Congress! LD alum Noah Wuerfel also made national finals in Congress.
Arizona state championship tournaments ’11
- Steven Limitone was a state champion in 5A PFD
- Kathie Zhang was a state champion and top speaker in 3A policy debate
- Jimmy Qian was a state champion in 3A PFD
- Haoxuan Wu made semis in 5A LD
- Broderick Krager and Seth Schorr were the top speakers in 4A PFD
National qualifiers ’11
- Kasey Graves, Andrya Salazar, Frank Daniel, Lexi Zent, Joshua Quenneville, and Dylan Quenneville qualified to NFL Nationals in policy
Berkeley ’11
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence were invited to the prestigious Berkeley Round Robin in PFD
- Kyle Turpin advanced to elimination rounds in LD
Central High School Bobcat Bonanza ’11
- Noah Wuerfel and Jimmy Qian won their houses of congress, Celine Sannes-Pond took second, and Kyle Turpin took third
- Darius Ansari, Martin Lawrence, and Celine Sannes-Pond made semis in PFD. Martin Lawrence and Celine Sannes-Pond were top speakers.
- Kyle Turpin tied for top speaker in LD
Mountain View Toro Country Classic ’11
- Alisa Partlan won policy debate
- Haoxuan Wu made semis in LD
- Celine Sannes-Pond, Martin Lawrence, and Mary McIntosh made semis of PFD
- Celine Sannes-Pond won Congress, and Martin Lawrence took 2nd
ASU Southwest Championships ’11
- Alisa Partlan made semifinals in policy
- Jimmy Qian made quarterfinals and earned a bid to the TOC in PFD
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence made octafinals in PFD
- Michael Ippolito made double octafinals in PFD
FLA Winter Trophy (5A) ’10
- Michael Ippolito took 2nd in PFD
- Steven Limitone made semis in PFD
- Lily Luo made semis in policy
FLA Winter Trophy (1-3A) ’10
- Kyle Turpin took 1st in LD and tied for top speaker
- Noah Wuerfel made semis in LD
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence took 1st in PFD and were top speakers
- Kathie Zhang took 2nd in policy
- Erica Parrish and Joshua Quenneville made semis in policy
Red Mountain Lost Dutchman Invitational ’10:
- Lily Luo made semis in policy
- Darius Ansari made semis in PFD
- Abby Perkins tied for top speaker in LD
- Jimmy Qian took 2nd in Congress
Dobson Invitational ’10:
- Haoxuan Wu made semis in LD
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence took 2nd place in PFD
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence tied for 3rd in House 1
- Martin Lawrence won individual sweepstakes
- Jimmy Qian took 3rd in House 3
- Steven Limitone was top speaker in PFD
PCDS Eagle Classic ’10:
- Dylan Quenneville, Josh Quenneville, Chloe Lopez, and Erica Parrish closed out novice policy
- Ryan McCoy took 1st in varsity policy, Lily Luo made semis
- Noah Wuerfel made semis in LD
Desert Sun Invitational ’10:
- Celine Sannes-Pond and Martin Lawrence took 2nd place and a TOC bid in PFD
- Noah Wuerfel was top speaker in LD
We love hearing from our students- if you attended SWSDI in the past, email us at info@southwestdebateinstitute.org to let us know of your successes!

