At the recent state championship in Division two, ACP’s Speech & Debate team demonstrated their remarkable skills, which resulted in seven individual students becoming state champions. One of the students, sophomore William Covington, competed in the Lincoln Douglas Debate, discussing the morality of actions. To earn the medal, William had to win three preliminary rounds and four elimination rounds. His state champion title was well-deserved, as he excelled in his performances despite encountering some hardships. William’s dedication and hard work allowed him to positively represent our school as well as display his skills by participating in the championship.

Since I had the great pleasure of interviewing William, I asked him to describe the championship and what its most important aspects were, to which he expressed, “The championship was about proving our improved abilities compared to last year where we lost by only a few points against Basis Peoria. Since this year we won, we demonstrated our ability to hold our own with the other best teams in the state.” Reaching his position in the championship significantly impacted William both in school and outside of it due to the numerous life skills and experience he gained from debate. In his debate career, William has increased his confidence in tournaments by conducting online research, collaborating, doing practice debates with the other exemplary debaters on our team, and working around strategy in order to properly prepare. According to William, the hardest part of the championship was the first day of competition. He mentioned, “I was coming off of some poor performances, and I needed to get through that first day as a booster. However, if you want to achieve anything, you must put in the hard-work. Every individual on the team has done and will continue to do phenomenal things with the right amount of effort.”

Because of Mr. Rumsey’s exceptional guidance and teachings, William and his peers were able to improve and further develop their debate skills, leading their team to victory. Their state champion titles, such as that of William Covington’s, serves as proof of the Speech and Debate team’s commitment and ability. They serve as a reminder toward us to strive for the impossible and be extraordinary. Go Knights!