Akhil Jalan Wins the 2013 Loyola Invitational

Los Angeles, CA- Congratulations to PV Peninsula’s Akhil Jalan for defeating Brentwood’s Jackson Lallas to win the 1st Loyola Invitational. Akhil is coached by Scott Wheeler, Akash Gogate, and Chris Theis. Jackson is coached by Victor Jih, Mollie Cowger, Naila Dharani, Erik Legried, Dylan Scher, and Richard Shmikler. The Loyola Invitational was also the first bid tournament to ever use online balloting.

Advances Partial Doubles without debating

La Jolla RP

Brentwood JL

PV Peninsula AT

HW TC

Meadows SM

HW WG

Brentwood CH

Immaculate Heart KH

PV Peninsula AJ

Los Altos SD

Del Mar Independent VB

Leucadia SW

PV Peninsula RT

Claremont JH

PV Peninsula JW def. San Marino NL (Nathan Lam) (Alderete, Fife, Fink)

John Marshall DD def. San Marino NT (Nicholas Truong) (Harris, Torson, Grishaber)

Octas

La Jolla RP def. PV Peninsula JW (Jerry Wang) (Harris, Fink, Torson)

Brentwood JL def. John Marshall DD (David Dosch) (Jiang, Placido, Spence)

PV Peninsula AT def. Claremont JH (Joe Hurley) (Alderete, Bietz, Bistagne)

Harvard Westlake TC def. PV Peninsula RT (Raam Tambe) (Grishaber, Fink, Morris)

Meadows SM def. Leucadia SW (Shayne Walton) (Solomon, Torson, Fife)

Del Mar Independent VB def. Harvard Westlake WG (William Gingold) (*Grishaber, Bistagne, Fife)

Los Altos SD def. Brentwood CH (Carson Horky) (Jablon, Spence, Harris)

PV Peninsula AJ def. Immaculate Heart KH (*Cowger, Dharani, Placido)

Quarters

PV Peninsula AJ def. La Jolla RP (Ram Prasd) (Fink, *Placido, Torson)

Brentwood JL def. Los Altos SD (Salim Damerdji) (Jablon, Overing, Fife)

PV Peninsula AT def. Del Mar VB (Varun Bhave) (Bistagne, Solomon, Grishaber)

Harvard Westlake TC def. Meadows SM (Sabina Manzini) (Harris, Cowger, Spence)

Semifinals

PV Peninsula AJ def. HW TC (Tommy Choi) (Fink, Placido, Cowger)

Brentwood JL def. PV Peninsula AT (Arjun Tambe) (Grishaber, Torson, Harris)

Finals

PV Peninsula AJ def. Brentwood JL (*Placido, Grishaber, Torson)

Speakers

1) Jackson Lallas- Brentwood

2) Ram Prasad- La Jolla

3) Arjun Tambe- PV Peninsula

4) Akhil Jalan- PV Peninsula

5) Tommy Choi- Harvard Westlake

6) Salim Damerdji- Los Altos

7) Varun Bhave- Del Mar Independent

8) Shayne Walton- Leucadia

9) Sabina Manzini- Meadows

10) Raam Tambe- PV Peninsula

Salim Damerdji

Frankly, Loyola is the best tournament I’ve ever attended.

The judging pool was ridiculously good and was just loaded with exceptional judges, many of whom were hired by the tournament. Every round I watched/debated had spot-on RFD’s literally every time. Keep in mind, this is a finals bid and it still had a better judging pool than many octas or quarters bid tournaments.

Logistically, nothing ran late, parking couldn’t have been easier, and LD rounds conveniently were all in the same, simple building so no one was confused about where rounds were.

Hospitality was unbelievable. Like Valley, Loyola was generous with housing competitors and many Loyola debaters/alumni graciously offered rides to competitors or judges. I could go on forever about the countless hours Loyola families, alumni, and security guards spent just to ensure we weren’t struggling with something. But for one example, my flight coming to the tournament was delayed by three hours, but tab switched me to second flight to make sure I wouldn’t miss round one.

It might’ve been Scoggin or Mr. Overing, but, when I showed up, someone working tab told me to stop worrying about the details of how to register and “just go debate” and that felt like it summed up the tournament really well. You don’t have to worry about logistics, housing/transportation fees, parent judges, or finding good food (tacos+infinite guac=fuck yeah!), all you get to do is debate.

And on that note, the competition was great. Many debaters here qual’d last year. This tournament showcased CA (and NV) talent really well, with the exception of Loyola and some NorCal debaters who would likely come if it were more than a finals bid.

I won’t be debating next year, but I really hope this tournament gets a solid upgrade in bid level. There isn’t a tournament as well-run or educational as Loyola. Regardless, if you have novices, make sure they come here next year. There isn’t a better pedagogical experience for them to have: awesome judges, competition, and no distractions detracting from those two.

Akhil Jalan Wins the 2013 Loyola Invitational

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