2025 Debate State Tournament: Advance Release

The Debate State Tournament, the Minnesota State High School League’s longest-running event, will be held on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis on January 17-18. The first tournament was held in 1902.

Champions will be crowned in four categories on Saturday evening. 

Here is a snapshot of the tournament:

• The top two teams from 2024 return in Policy Debate. St. Paul Central’s Max Ulven and Kiernan Baxter-Kauf claimed top honors and Minneapolis South’s Noah Winters and Sofia Burgess placed second. 
• Pranika Kumar of Edina is the highest returning medalist in Congressional Debate. She is looking to improve on last year’s runner-up showing. 
• Bella Adams of St. Croix Preparatory Academy returns to defend her crown in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Edina’s Aditi Jha also returns; she placed second in 2024.
• Jha serves as the Student Lead on the Edina Asian American Alliance. 
• Blake’s Eva Redmond and Zellie Olson are looking for their second consecutive title in Public Forum Debate. Their teammates Kayle Chen and Ruhi Kurdikar, who placed second last year, also return. 
• If Blake wins in Public Forum this year, it will be the sixth consecutive championship for the Bears. Morgan Swigert and Jack Johnson started the streak in 2020. 
• Debaters from 37 schools are competing at this year’s state tournament. 

For complete information on the tournament, including a schedule and results, please visit www.mshsl.org/debate