SUCCESSFUL SPRING CONTINUES WITH MOCK TRIAL, DEBATE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
It has been a standout spring for MBA’s distinctive programs, with remarkable achievements across several disciplines—including mock trial, debate, and more. The Big Red has claimed three national championships and several state titles, with potentially more honors to come as the academic year draws to a close.
Mock Trial
After securing the Tennessee State High School Mock Trial title, MBA’s Mock Trial team traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, and continued its winning streak—earning the program’s first-ever national championship. Competing against a field of more than 50 teams, the Big Red defeated Seattle Preparatory School in the final round.
The team won 11 of 12 possible ballots during preliminary rounds. Team members included Kavneer Majhail (named an All-American Outstanding Attorney), Russell Howard, Kenneth Royer, Sammy Thompson, Jack Rogers, and George Ma. The team was supported by coaches Mr. Wade Cowan, Mr. Tracy Hancock, and Mrs. Marisa Combs-Smith, along with program coordinators Ms. Kit Lechleiter and Dr. Tyler Patterson.
Debate
MBA Debate wrapped up an exceptional year with both the Junior and High School teams achieving national recognition. In the Middle School Tournament of Champions, Tate Roh and Cole Anderson earned the national title with a unanimous 3-0 victory over the Avery Coonley School of Chicago. Alex Vari and Ishmeet Majhail narrowly missed creating an all-MBA final, finishing as semifinalists.
On the high school level, MBA broke a National Debate Coaches Association record with six of the 19 teams advancing to elimination rounds at the NDCA National Championship, where the Big Red’s top team took home a title. The program also tied the national record for the most teams advancing to elimination rounds at the Tournament of Champions (four—previously achieved only by MBA in 2017) and set a new national record with 31 policy bids to the Tournament of Champions (breaking MBA’s own 2017 record of 27). This success reflects the tireless efforts of the boys and the dedication of their coaches: Mr. Kevin Hamrick, Dr. Nick Lepp, Mr. Alex Brown, and Mr. Josh Clark.
Other Spring Accomplishments
Envirothon: MBA’s top team —Alex Abramson, Ryan Chapman, Eric Chen, Bo Schlosser, and Archer White— finished first in Tennessee and will represent the state at the international competition in Alberta, Canada this July. A younger team of Sharvil Kolhatkar, Jimmy Li, Kevin Li, Jameson Ridings, and Ian Zwerner placed second at the regional championship. The teams are led by Mr. Chris Spiegel and Mr. Tyler Blystone.
World Languages: Students taking world languages at MBA tested nationally in Latin, French, German, Spanish and Chinese. Combined, 425 individual accolades were earned including 162 gold medals. Additionally, 30 individuals earned the Volunteer State Seal of Biliteracy including doubled honors for Ben Poster (Hebrew, Latin) and Daniel Garcia Ortega (French, Spanish).
World Languages: Students taking world languages at MBA tested nationally in Latin, French, German, Spanish and Chinese. Combined, 425 individual accolades were earned including 162 gold medals. Additionally, 30 individuals earned the Volunteer State Seal of Biliteracy including doubled honors for Ben Poster (Hebrew, Latin) and Daniel Garcia Ortega (French, Spanish).
Independent Research: Jack Smithwick was honored at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Annual Scientific Symposium for his award-winning poster on cancer research conducted at Vanderbilt. Other students engaged in independent academic research include:
Braden Murphy – aerodynamics of model rockets
Charlie Pierce – table-top working heart model
Claiborne Tompkins – literature review on concussions
David Ni – mathematics project: The Collatz Conjecture and Non-Trivial Cycles
Jack Gannon – mathematics project: Optimizing the Use of Ingredients through Machine Learning
Stock Market Team: MBA won the 2025 Tennessee State Stock Market Championship in a field of 259 teams. The winning team included Daniel Torre, Billy Rennhoff, Edwin Bass, and William Seibels. Another MBA team—Lyon Playfair, Duncan Jackson, Ronit Chandra, and Noam Friedman—placed second. This marks the first time since the competition began in 2008 that MBA has placed both first and second. It is also the school’s sixth state title in the past 13 years. The team is guided by Mr. Ray West (former MBA parent) and retired faculty member Mr. Jamie Tillman.
Montgomery Bell Academy
4001 Harding Road
Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 298-5514
