Best Debaters

This year, two debate teams from Shawnee Mission East High School did something no other Kansas debate team had ever done: They finished first and second in the state championship. Led by coach Paulette Manville, debaters Brian Nye and Scott Stinson nabbed the top trophy; Andrew Ardinger and Eric Suni came in second. All seniors, they'd been dominant throughout high school, having made it to the state championship all four years. The two teams also qualified for two prestigious national championships -- the National Forensics League championship and the Tournament of Champions. This past June, they donned their caps and gowns and unleashed themselves upon the world, scattering to the University of Kansas, Stanford, and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. According to one recent newspaper article, hoped-for jobs among the four include debate coach, lawyer, Supreme Court justice and president of the United States.