A Palo Alto High School debate team member is celebrating after his success at the Alta Tournament Dec. 5 through Dec. 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sophomore Anant Marur made it to the bid round for the Tournament of Champions, falling just short of a bid to the prestigious tournament.

“Getting to a bid round was definitely a huge achievement for me in my debate career,” Marur said.  “It showed me that I have the potential to bid to the Tournament of Champions in the future.”

Speech and debate director Jennie Savage expressed her pride in Marur.

“He was being considered for a spot at the National Championship if he would have won octa-finals,” Savage said.  “He was competing against mostly junior and senior debaters who have more experience than he does, so his feat is all the more impressive.”

Marur said he was disappointed in his performance at the last TOC bid tournament, Meadows, which motivated him to improve.

“I wasn’t satisfied with my performance [at the last tournament], since my record was 2-4,” Marur said.

Savage noted the value of the debate coaches to Marur and the team’s success.

“We’ve got a phenomenal set of coaches, which is the backbone to any program,” Savage said.

According to Marur, he will continue to use the same strategies, including practicing every day, to continue improving and become even more successful in the future.

“I need to consistently go to practice,” Marur said.  “And spend a solid chunk of time every week writing cases and doing rebuttal redoes, and do speed drills everyday.”

The next debate tournament is the College Preparatory School Tournament will take place on Dec. 22 and 23 in Oakland.