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Our History

Prof. Nadine Strossen, the long time president of the American Civil Liberties Union and Professor of Law at NYU, is a former Hopkins debater. In fact she was on two state championship teams in the late '60s. Since that time she has obviously gone onto great things, including being the public face of the ACLU for many years and being an outspoken advocate for civil liberties issues.


Prof. Strossen recently gave an interview with MPR before giving a lecture at the University of Minnesota Law School. She discussed, among other things, her views on some contemporary civil liberties issues and a widely seen public debate between she and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Toward the end of the interview she talks at length about her experience as a debater at Hopkins and how that experience provided her with skills that have been (and continue to be) integral to her success. It is a ringing endorsement of high school debate and our program gets a very nice mention.

 

 

At Hopkins we are proud of the tradition of excellence associated with our program. If we have omitted any noteworthy accomplishments we encourage alumni or anyone who has been associated with our team to contact us to let us know what we should add.

For over 60 years the Hopkins High School Debate team has distinguished itself at home in Minnesota and across the nation. We are very proud of that tradition and continue to strive for excellence. Our students have achieved significant success on both the local and national circuits. We have a distinguished record at many prestigious tournaments, including those held at the Greenhill School, the Glenbrooks, Apple Valley High School, West Des Moines Valley High School, Cedar Rapids Washington Caucus Debates, Omaha Westside Warrior Invitational, Alta Silver and Black Invitational, Stanford University, The University of California at Berkeley, and many more. Our program has displayed impressive depth with numerous high finishes at the Great Midwestern Novice Championships and the Minnesota JV/Novice State Tournament. 


One of the many markers of the Hopkins’ tradition is our impressive record at state and national championship tournaments. Below are some of the keystone events of our season and Hopkins' history of competitive success at those tournaments. Our continuing mission is to remain among the top teams in the nation competitively and to provide a fun and educational debate experience for our students at all levels.

Minnesota State Debate Championships

State Qualifiers

  • 2010 – Matt Watters

  • 2010 – Paul Saliterman

  • 2008 – Conor Doherty

  • 2004 – Sam Pryor; Semifinalist

  • 2003 – Sam Pryor

  • 2003 – AJ Meyer; Quarterfinalist

  • 2002 – Anna Medina, Leilani Savitt

  • 2001 – Andrew Gisselquist, Julie Kaster

  • 2001 – Natee Pysno

  • 2000 – Gabi Gillett, Maria Schriver

  • 2000 – Nikki Baker

  • 2000 – Rob Saliterman

  • 1999 – Lena Gardner, Anjali Garg

  • 1999 – Joe Kirchhof, Ben Clark

  • 1999 – Betty Luther; State Champion

  • 1999 – Emily Pryor; Quarterfinalist

  • 1998 – Jenny Rhein, Sanjay Ramprasad

  • 1998 – Ben Clark, Joe Kirchhoff

  • 1998 – Karen Sandler; Runner Up

  • 1997 – Isaac Rabinowitz, Sanjay Ramprasad

  • 1997 – Ben Clark, Christine Hagerman

  • State Qualifiers continued...

  • 1997 – Sage Zahere; Quarterfinalist

  • 1997 – Karen Sandler

  • 1995 – Celia Clark, Andy Abruzzese

  • 1995 – Maya Mikhailov; Semifinalist

  • 1995 – Emily Johnson

  • 1991 – Jason Carlson, Derek Hagland; Quarterfinalists

  • 1991 – Jana Landon, Aaron Klemz

  • 1989 – Luke Samaha, Stephen Simon; Octofinalists

  • 1989 – Sherri Wolson, Tony Alpert; Octofinalists

  • 1988 – Luke Samaha, Sherri Wolson ; Octofinalists

  • 1988 – Erik Ewald

  • 1988 – Adam Minter

  • 1987 – Shari Latz

  • 1987 – Adam Minter

  • 1985 – Sandy Cohen, Ben Frisch; Octofinalists

  • 1973 – Melissa Barker, Mary Hughes, Craig Lindholm, Greg Harvey, Jim Luke, Anne Larson, Mary Beth Johnson (Lindbergh HS)

  • 1971, 1972 – Lindbergh HS hosts state tournament

  • 1970 – Sue Hall, Flint Schier, Brent Stenberg, Julie Brendemuehl, Bruce Barton; State Champions

  • 1969 – Bruce Barron, John Bowen, Steve Parker, Bill Rix, Mark Johnson – 3rd Place

  • 1968 – Nadine Strossen, Craig Stenberg, Roger Transgrud, John Bowen, Michael Weidner, Bill Rix; State Champions

  • 1968 - Legendary Coach Charlie Caruson’s last year as Hopkins Debate Coach

  • 1967 – Craig Stenberg, Roger Transgrud, Nadine Strossen, Linda Kraemer, John Bowen, Bill Gallea; State Champions

  • 1966 – Linda Kraemer, Warren Wolter, Jim Cory, Bill Soule; State Champions, Undefeated at State Tournament

  • 1965 – Dave Nord, Julie Johnson, Margaret Krause, Warren Wolter; State Champions, Undefeated at State Tournament

  • 1964 – Julie Johnson, Geoffrey Garwick, Robin Johnson, Dave Seal; Runners Up

  • 1963 – Geoffrey Garwick, Julie Johnson, Dave Seal, Rob Johnson; Runners Up

  • 1962 – Joe Hanson, Howard Kaibal, Dick Rippe, Steve Thorne; State Champions

  • 1961 – Chris Johnson, Mark Josefson, Jan DeVries, Jim Conover; 5th Place

  • 1960 – Dave Krause, Elon Peterson, Craig Anderson, Casey Underhill; Runners Up

  • 1959 – Casey Underhill, Andre Zdazil, Craig Anderson, George Robb; State Champions, Undefeated in State Tournament

  • 1958 – Andre Zdazil, Frances Taft, Randy Blohm, Arthur Carlson; Runners Up (Lost the tournament on a tie breaker – one point from a state championship!)

  • 1957 – Lind Greggs, Nancy Horner, Jon Davis, Randy Blohm – 4th Place

  • 1956 – Barbara Anderson, Bob North, Nancy Horner, Gordon Mork; 7th Place

  • 1952 – LuAnne Winterfield, Ford Ruplin, Henry Heikkinen, Paul Hetland – 3rd Place

  •  * Hopkins is tied for 2nd Place All-Time with 7 State Championships in Policy Debate

National Forensic League National Championship

National Qualifiers

  • 2004 – Hopkins Wins Leading Chapter Award

  • 2003 – Sam Pryor

  • 2003 – Nate Zerbib-Berda

  • 2000 – Andrew Gisselquist, Anjali Garg

  • 2000 – Tom Pryor; Quarterfinalist

  • 1999 – Emily Pryor; Top 20

  • 1999 – Betty Luther

  • 1999 – Jenny Cook (Coach) receives 1st Diamond

  • 1998 – Peter Hinrichs                                                  

  • 1997 – Sage Zaheer ; Top 20

  • 1996 – Maya Mikhailov; 6th Place

  • 1991 – Jana Landon, Aaron Klemz

  • 1990 – Wanda Manther (Coach) receives 1st Diamond

  • 1988 – Adam Minter

  • 1988 – Sherri Wolson, Tony Alpert

  • 1988 – Scott Perreault (Coach) receives 1st Diamond

  • 1984 – Hopkins Wins Leading Chapter Award

  • 1967 – Nadine Strossen, Craig Stenberg

  • 1967 – Bill Gallea, Linda Kraemer

  • 1966 – Jim Cory, Bill Soule

  • 1965 – Julie Johnson, Dave Nord

  • 1964 – Julie Johnson, Robin Johnson, Dave Deal, Geoffry Garwick

  • University of Kentucky National Tournament of Champions

TOC Qualifiers

  • 2009 – Conor Doherty

  • 2008 – Conor Doherty

  • 2007 – Dan Jennis

  • 2007 – Vanessa Hernandez

  • 2004 – Nate Zerbib-Berda

  • 2004 – Brian Klaas

  • 2003 – Sam Pryor

  • 2003 – Nate Zerbib-Berda

  • 2003 – Matthew Thompson

  • 2002 – Nate Law

  • 2001 – Tom Pryor; TOC Champion, Top Speaker

  • 2001 – Anjali Garg, Maria Shriver

  • 2000 – Tom Pryor; Octofinalist

  • 1999 – Emily Pryor

  • 1999 – Betty Luther

  • 1999 – Tom Pryor

  • 1999 – Gulzar Babeva

  • 1998 – Emily Pryor; Quarterfinalist

  • 1998 – Karen Sandler

  • 1997 – Sage Zaheer

* Earlier records from the TOC are unavailable 

Please Note: Many of our records are incomplete. If you have at some time been associated with the Hopkins team or have more information about our team history, please feel free to share it with us. We believe it is important to stay connected with alumni, friends, and other community partners who have shared in our program’s success through the decades.

To provide more information on team history, please e-mail Adam Torson: adam.torson@gmail.com

 

 

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