June 22, 2025
Mounds Park Academy’s speech team delivered an extraordinary performance at the 2025 National Speech and Debate Tournament, showcasing the power of dedication, collaboration, and Panther pride on the national stage.
Leading the way was Kelvyn Boddipalli, who captured the title of National Champion in Storytelling, earning top honors in a highly competitive field. His outstanding achievement reflects not only his incredible talent but also the collective spirit of the entire MPA team. In fact, Kelvyn’s success was both an individual and a team victory. Each night and between rounds, his teammates worked alongside him to refine his piece, offering feedback and helping him adapt his performance for the final round. As Coach Sunderman shared, “There were bits and pieces of each student on that trip in the performance. It was truly a team effort.”
As a sophomore, this achievement is particularly noteworthy and after many years of strong teams, Kelvyn is MPA’s first national champion.
All of the MPA students at nationals distinguished themselves:
- Paul Fertig finished tenth in the nation in United States Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Amal Sastry advanced to the quarterfinals in International Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Ash Klann reached the octafinals in Original Oratory.
- Mari Minear made it to the double octafinals in Poetry.
- Annika Binstadt did not advance, but she was next out of octafinals, finishing top 65.
All of these remarkable accomplishments contributed to MPA being named a National Speech and Debate School of Honor for Speech, recognizing the school as one of the top 40 speech programs in the nation.
But the team’s success extended beyond their own events—they were leaders and collaborators, helping their peers from across the state.
When an internet outage on Monday disrupted access for all Extemporaneous Speakers, the tournament committee announced that if the outage continued, students would be prohibited from using any internet resources, including hotspots. MPA students immediately stepped up to find a solution.
Late that night, MPA students organized a statewide effort. At 10:30 PM, they had every Minnesota Extemp competitor on a call, working together to build a backup system so all speakers would have the articles they needed for competition. From Burnsville to Eastview, Stillwater to Edina, and Fairmont to Willmar, MPA students led the charge and ensured their fellow Minnesotans were prepared.
They saw their fellow qualifiers not as rivals, but as peers and friends. They reminded everyone that Speech and Debate is about more than just trophies—it’s about honor, building connections, and using their tools and skills to support others in need.
These successes would not have been possible without the guidance of MPA’s dedicated coaches, Tanner Sunderman and Jen Frieden, and the incredible camaraderie and support among students. The team’s spirit of collaboration and shared purpose exemplifies one of the things that makes MPA’s Speech and Debate program so special—it’s a program where individual excellence and team unity go hand in hand.
Congratulations to our outstanding students and coaches for representing MPA with such distinction on the national stage!
Watch Kelvyn’s performance at the 17-minute mark here.
