From left: sophomore Mayank Mardia (State Champion); senior Jim Huang (State Champion); junior Mako Giordano (State Champion); sophomore Arjun Verma (3rd place); junior Rishab Chimmanamada (State Champion); freshman Nikhil Gogineni; junior Eric Bussey (5th place); sophomore Ben Gillen (State Champion); senior Reuben Hogan (5th place); sophomore Andrew Cerise (State Champion)

The Debate Team won first place in the 2014 Louisiana state tournament (the LHSSL Tournament of Champions) hosted by Lafayette High School on March 22.

In Public Forum debate, junior Rishab Chimmanamada, sophomore Mayank Mardia, sophomore Andrew Cerise, and junior Mako Giordano beat top rival Holy Cross to close out the finals and claim a shared state championship for the first time in Jesuit debate history. The team of juniors Eric Bussey and Josh Duhon contributed to the Jesuit success in Public Forum with a fifth place finish.

In Varsity Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate, senior captain Jim Huang capped off his stellar debate career with his third consecutive state championship, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in over 20 years. LD debaters sophomore Arjun Verma advanced to semifinals and took third place while senior Reuben Hogan placed fifth. In Novice LD, sophomore sophomore Ben Gillen overcame unbelievable odds to advance to finals and earn a share of the team’s third state championship of the weekend.

The team is coached by Ian Gunn ’07 and moderated by Travis Smith.