Sophomore Emma Parker and senior Tyler Phillips celebrate their gold medals in UIL CX debate. Courtesy photo

For the last eight years, Heather Stringer has been at the helm of the Princeton High School speech and debate program where she has built a culture of family. Recently, two of her kids brought home the program’s first CX debate state championship and they credited the rest of their “family” for the win.

Senior Tyler Phillips and sophomore Emma Parker won gold medals for the contest, and each earned Top Speaker awards, with Tyler winning the “Golden Gavel” and Emma placing Fourth.

“I don’t just think of it as we won state,” Tyler said. “I think of it as Princeton won state because of how everyone on our team helped us prepare along the way. We always work together to practice debates.”

For Stringer, the medals were a little sweeter because not only is Emma part of Stringer’s PHS family, but she’s also her actual daughter.

“I think of all of them as my kids, but this does carry a certain amount of weight,” Stringer said. “While this is very special, we have to credit the entire team. We have built a family, and everyone here helped us prepare. These two brought home the gold medal, but it was very much a team effort.”

To round out this family affair moment, the win also allowed fellow debate coach Matt Riggins to receive his gold medal from his mom, Jana Riggins, who is the director of speech and debate for UIL.

“This win is feeling very full circle,” Stringer said.

The journey to the high-level cross examination debate competitions began in August when the year’s topic was released. That’s when the work began, including hours of preparation and research, followed by numerous weekends spent at debate tournaments, as well as seventh period classroom practice with their teammates.

“The planning and research take hours and hours, then there are lots of speech redos,” Emma said. “When it comes down to the actual debate competition, we have to trust that what we did was enough and rely on the fact that we are both very capable.”

It takes grit to battle through a year of debate.

“It’s tough,” Stringer said. “First off, this is a tough district from start to finish. But these kids are insatiable. They never mind going to a tournament. They never complain. They are always asking to practice.”

This year’s topic was focused on intellectual property, and Tyler and Emma had to prepare a case on the subject. Possible angles run the gamut.

“We had to create a plan and be prepared to argue the topic,” Emma said.

A tournament win is preceded by numerous debates in front of judges and endless waiting to know if they survived to advance and argue their case in the next round.

“There was a moment in quarterfinals at state when I thought we were not advancing,” Tyler said. “And that is where we ended last year. Then we had to wait an hour and a half to find out. I felt good about finals, but there is still all the waiting to know for sure.”

But Emma said it was worth the wait.

“We were completely surprised and excited,” she said. “On top of the world, honestly, and part of the best moments were us both getting speaker awards.”

Despite their sibling-like rivalry and their frequent criticism over the other’s eyebrows, they each value their partner’s contribution to their debate duo.

“We are really close, and it’s cool to watch what he does, and it passes down to me,” Emma said. “When he graduates, it will be like we’ve switched places, and I hope I can follow in his footsteps and teach someone younger than me like he has.”

Tyler said he has watched his partner grow as a competitor and person.

“I do feel like she’ll follow in my footsteps, and she is already No. 1 in her class,” he said, referring to his rank as valedictorian of the Class of 2025. “I just wanted to make sure I never led her astray because I wanted her to stay motivated. At the same time, her influence has always aspired me to be a better person.”

The duo is not done. They will take their show on the road this summer when they compete in CX debate at nationals.

“We are lucky enough to be in a program that makes this possible,” Tyler said. “It allows us to travel, compete, qualify. Princeton has helped us achieve a lot of success. And the people are pretty cool.”

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