Glenbrook North Debaters Sweep State Titles

Glenbrook North’s has always been known as a regional powerhouse, but this year, the squad pulled out all stops as the first team to win all three state divisions and have the top speakers in all three state divisions in policy. 

“They made history this year,” said debate coach Michael Greenstein, who was recognized along with the team at a District 225 school board meeting Monday night. 

Team standouts include Alex Pappas and Zach Parker, who won the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championship in policy debate; Mitch Hochberg and Rachel Boroditsky, who earned fifth place in IHSA policy debate; and Max Balkan, who won the state Lincoln-Douglas debate. Alex Pappas was also named captain of the All-State Debate team and was one of only five people ever to win the state tournament more than once, according to Greenstein. 

Asked why he wanted to become a debater, Pappas said it was because he loved the competition.

“Once you start competing a little bit, you just want to even more,” he said.

Next year, he will debate for either Wake Forest University or the University of Michigan.

Glenbrook North’s junior varsity and novice debate teams also swept the competitions this year. At the Illinois Speech and Theater Association State Championship, Glenbrook North’s JV and novice teams won both policy state titles and had the top speaker in each division.

The novice team was so good, Greenstein noted, that they won every tournament they went to, including a novice national tournament where debaters who had competed in middle school were considered “novice,” in contrast to Glenbrook North’s squad of all first-timers.

Principal Paul Pryma commended the team for their grace and humility despite competing vociferously—and winning repeatedly—in tournaments. 

“Congratulations to all of you for making our school a better place,” he said.