TM
Classic Debate Camp
Miami University, Ohio - July 12-20, 2025
Greta Wedel
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Greta Wedel attended Longmont High School in Colorado where she competed in LD for 3 years and served as a team captain her junior and senior year. In 2023, Greta was the Colorado 4A state champion in LD. She qualified for the NSDA national tournament a total of 5 times in 3 different events (LD, International Extemp, and Info) and competed in LD in 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2022 Greta won 13th best speaker, and in 2023, she won 9th best speaker. In 2023, Greta was not only the Rocky Mountain North district champion in both LD and IX, she was also named district Student of the Year. She enjoys traditional LD with an emphasis on framework and philosophy and is passionate about helping debaters to excel. Greta is in her second year in the prelaw program at the University of Arizona, where she is an active member of the mock trial team. Outside of debate she enjoys solving the New York Times crossword and spending time in the great outdoors. Greta joined the CDC LD staff in 2024.
Tarika Kahlon
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Tarika Kahlon attended Oak Ridge High School in California where she competed for four years in Lincoln-Douglas debate. She was president of Oak Ridge High School's LD team her senior year. She is a three-time national qualifier and four-time state qualifier. In 2023, Tarika was an octofinalist at the California state tournament and top speaker and quarterfinalist in California LD at the Stanford Invitational. She is attending Fordham University and studying International Political Economy. In her free time, Tarika enjoys working out, watching Bollywood movies, painting, and traveling. She attended CDC as a camper in 2022 and was the LD champion of the CDC camp tournament that year. She joined the LD staff in 2024.
Olivia Lowry
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Olivia Lowry competed for Dallastown High School in Pennsylvania. She started as a Public Forum debater but then transitioned to Lincoln-Douglas starting in her sophomore year. She served as Co-Captain of her school's team for her last two years, finding this experience to be one of her favorites. In PF, Olivia was an Octafinalist at the NCFL Grand National Tournament in 2022. In LD, she is the reigning Pennsylvania state champion (2023 and 2024). In 2023, she won 1st place in LD at the Three Rivers Tournament at Upper Saint Clair, she was an Octafinalist in LD at the NCFL National Tournament, and she was awarded 8th Best LD Speaker at the NSDA National Tournament. Outside of debate, Olivia dedicates time to policy work with a gender advocacy NGO, hiking, spending time with friends, and reading a book from every country in the world. Olivia became a CDC LD instructor in 2024.
Wes McGovern
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Wes McGovern attended Summit High School in Bend, Oregon. He competed in debate for three years and was the Summit team captain for two years. Wes is the 2024 Oregon state champion in both LD and Extemporaneous Speaking. He is also a three-time national qualifier. In 2023, his World Schools Debate team made it to double-octofinals. In 2023-2024, Wes won some of the largest tournaments in his state and won or made it to final round in the last seven tournaments he competed in — ranging from regional to national and TOC tournaments. Wes is a traditional LD debater but is excited to show campers that you can beat progressive debaters without changing your style. He is attending Fordham College Lincoln Center, where he will continue to compete in debate and study political science. Outside of debate, Wes enjoys journalism, fishing, biking, and snowboarding. Wes attended CDC in 2022 and joined the CDC LD staff in 2024.
Elandrea Baker
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Elandrea Baker attended North Kansas City High School in Kansas City, Missouri, where she competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate all 4 years. She held the position of President of her team her senior year. She was a three-time national qualifier in Big Questions Debate and Original Oratory. At the national tournament, Elandrea finished in the top 32 in BQD in 2022 and the top 32 in OO in 2023. She did qualify for nationals in LD in 2023, but chose to compete in OO. In the state of Missouri, Elandrea was ranked in the top 5 in the state for LD and was the LD champion in her conference in 2022. She currently attends Howard University where she is studying political science and sociology on a pre-law track. Outside of debate she enjoys watching movies, finding new places to eat, and drinking Red Bull. Elandrea attended CDC-Virtual in 2021 and CDC-Miami in 2022. She joined the CDC LD staff in 2024.
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Abby Poprocki
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Abby Poprocki graduated from Oakwood High School in Ohio, where she participated in debate for four years. She spent one year as a Public Forum debater before switching to Lincoln-Douglas. She is a three-time state qualifier and a 2023 NSDA national qualifier in World Schools Debate. Her WSD team placed in the top 32. She placed 3rd in LD at the 2024 Ohio state tournament. As a senior, Abby served as the Oakwood LD team captain, helping the team break a state record by sending eight LD debaters to the state tournament. Outside of debate, she loves reading, playing board games, volunteering at the only peace museum in the country, and eating ice cream. She also enjoys being the captain of her local robotics team. She is studying international relations at Princeton and judging for the George School team in Pennsyl in her spare time. Abby was a CDC camper in 2021 and joined the CDC LD staff in 2024. that year, Abby was the advisor for Gonda house and led her campers to victory in the House Cup sweepstakes. Go to this page for info about the House System.
Allie Dettelbach
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Allie Dettelbach attended Hawken School, where she competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate for all of high school. At Hawken, Allie co-captained the LD team her junior year and served as the Vice-President of Debate. She qualified to States three times, advancing to octafinals twice and quarterfinals once. Allie was the 2020 Cleveland City Club Champion. Also, at the end of her junior year, she placed 6th at the 2020 NSDA national tournament, auto-qualifying to nationals her senior year, when she placed 5th. Allie is passionate about teaching traditional LD debate and has helped teammates and campers of all skill levels to succeed. She was also a co-founder of Ohio for Equity, a student-run organization to combat inequity in the debate community. She is now attending Yale University where she is studying history. Allie was a CDC camper in 2019 and 2020, and she became a CDC instructor in 2021.
Colin Barberic
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Colin Barberic attended Medina High School, where he competed in Lincoln Douglas for three years. He served as the LD squad’s co-captain and a team officer during his senior year. Colin qualified for states all three years he competed, was district champion, and, most importantly, was a semifinalist in the 2022 CDC Camp Tournament! He loves spending time hiking, playing board games, and making music. He would like to warn all incoming campers that he will not hold back on Game Night. Colin is attending Ohio State University and studying PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and Theatre. Colin attended CDC as a camper both in 2021 and 2022, and he became an instructor in 2024.
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Julia Bray
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Julia Bray competed in debate for three years at Gahanna Lincoln High School. She was a three-time state qualifier, placing fourth in Congressional Debate in her senior year, and she was a two-time national qualifier in Congress and United States Extemp. She coached Gahanna’s debate team for the last four years while she was attending Ohio State University. Julia graduated from OSU this past spring with a degree in Public Management, Leadership and Policy and Economics. She is currently working as a legal assistant at a firm in Austin, Texas. Julia first joined CDC in 2021 as a Congress and Extemp instructor, and she made the transition to the LD staff in 2024.
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Rich Kawolics
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Rich Kawolics began the Speech and Debate program at Laurel School in 2004, and since then he has coached all NSDA and OSDA events. His favorite event, however, has long been Lincoln-Douglas! Rich has coached five Ohio state champions in various events, including the 2023 LD state champion. He is an NSDA Three-Diamond coach. He is a former Chair of the OSDA Board of Directors and remains highly committed to equity and inclusion within the speech and debate community. At the 2023 Ohio state tournament, Rich was inducted in the OSDA Coaches Hall of Fame, making him the third CDC Hall of Fame coach, following Leslie Muhlbach (2014) and Peter Paik (2020). Rich joined the CDC LD staff in 2023, and he became the LD Curriculum Coordinator in 2024.
Owen Tilman
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Owen attended Colorado Academy, where he competed in Lincoln-Douglas for 2.5 years. He served as Speech & Debate Society President his senior year. In 2023, Owen won 3rd place in LD at NSDA nationals, as well as 13th Best Speaker. He was also 2nd Best Speaker in LD at the 2022 national tournament. A two-time district champion, Owen has won or placed at multiple national circuit tournaments, including the CSUF Invitational, Jack Howe, and Ed Long at Hockaday. While he loves traditional LD, he also enjoys K-debate, policy, and T. Owen is attending Yale University, where is a Political Science major. He attended CDC as a camper in 2022, and he returned to camp as an instructor in 2023. In 2024, Owen was the Coordinator of the LD House System, after leading Schaller house to victory in 2023. Go to this page for info about the House System.
Casey Powell
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Casey Powell attended Cary Academy in North Carolina where he competed in Lincoln-Douglas for four years. He served as LD Co-Captain during 11th and 12th grade. Casey placed in the top 14 at NSDA nationals, qualified to the NCFL national tournament three times, and won 1st place at the GMU Patriot Games. Additionally, he was ranked #1 in LD in North Carolina. He coached at the Triangle Debate League summer camp for two years and was active with Beyond Resolved. Beyond debate, Casey enjoys ceramics, thrifting, cross country/track, playing alto saxophone, and creating coffee concoctions. He is a University Scholar at Duke University, studying medicine and political science. Casey enjoys teaching targeted debate techniques. Casey joined the CDC LD staff in 2022.
Genevieve Savage
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Genevieve Savage attended Parker School on the Big Island of Hawai’i where she competed in Lincoln-Douglas for three years. She was a three-time state qualifier and was the 2022 Hawaii LD state champion. In fact, after attending Classic Debate Camp in 2021, Genevieve was undefeated in the Hawaii Circuit throughout her junior year. She qualified for and competed in the 2022 NSDA National Tournament in Lincoln-Douglas. Outside of debate, Genevieve enjoys playing volleyball, reading, watching and analyzing psychological thrillers, and spending time with her puppy, Ichabod. She is studying English and Political Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. Genevieve attended CDC as a camper both in 2021 and 2022, and she became an instructor in 2023.
Rachel Horowitz
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Rachel started her debate career at Dexter High School in Michigan as a Public Forum Debater and then spent three years at Olentangy Liberty High School in Ohio competing in Lincoln-Douglas debate. She was a two-year debate team captain and greatly enjoyed mentoring her teammates. Rachel qualified for states twice, during her freshman year in Michigan in the Novice Public Forum division and during her senior year in Lincoln-Douglas. That year, she advanced to the octafinals at the Ohio state tournament. Outside of debate, Rachel is a blue-belt in Taekwondo and enjoys spending time reading, watching crime documentaries, and trying to learn French. She is attending the Ohio State University where she is studying political science and economics and competing with the Mock Trial team. Rachel attended CDC twice, in 2021 and 2022, and joined the CDC staff in 2023.
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Karishma Ponkshe
Instructor - Lincoln-Douglas
Karishma Ponkshe attended Mason High School where she competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate for four years. Karishma was the co-captain of her team, LD event leader, and a three-time national qualifier. As a sophomore she placed top 20 in Extemp Debate at nationals. At nationals, she also competed in World Schools Debate for two years and in LD her senior year. She placed 5th at states her senior year. Outside of debate, she loves to teach, whether as a teaching aide at a daycare or as a chemistry teaching assistant in college. Karishma is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati where she earned her B.S in Medical Sciences and minor in Public Health. Karishma attended CDC as a camper in 2017, and has taught at CDC for 5 years.
