Ateneo HS boys bring home 9 golds, 15 silvers from Yale's WSC Tournament of Champions

Representing the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University, Junior and Senior High School students Jesu Manzano (10-Pires), EJ Porta (11-Gavan), Renzu Santos (11-Hoyos), and Sian Trasmontero (11-Hoyos) took home a total of nine golds and 15 silvers from the prestigious World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) Tournament of Champions (TOC) senior division. Held from November 2 - 8, 2023, at Yale University’s sprawling campus in New Haven, Connecticut, the tournament attracted over 2000 contestants (a.k.a. “scholars”) from 70 countries.

Here are our students’ medal details:

JESU MANZANO (10-Pires)  

·Three golds (Top 86, Individual Debate; Top 40, Team Debate; Individual Writing)

·Three silvers (Team Writing, Champion Scholar, Top 144 Team)

·Top 162 Champion Scholar

EJ PORTA (11-Gavan)  

·Three golds (Individual Debate, Team Debate, Individual Writing)

·Four silvers (Team Writing, Art, Individual Champion, Overall Champion)  

·Top 224 Champion Scholar

SIAN TRASMONTERO (11-Hoyos)

·Two golds (Individual Debate, Individual Champion)  

·Five silvers (Team Debate, Individual Writing, Literature, Art, Special Challenge)  

·Top 115 Champion Scholar

RENZU SANTOS (11-Hoyos)

·One gold (Individual Writing)

·Three silvers (Team Debate, Individual Debate, History)

The WSC Tournament of Champions gave participants (a.k.a. “scholars”) the opportunity to come together from all over the world and compete in four key events: the Scholar’s Bowl, Collaborative Writing, Scholar’s Challenge and the Team Debate. The scholars also got to interact with and learn directly from Yale students and faculty, attend special panels on college life, and even eat Yale dining hall food! They also attended the Yale Ball and got to explore “every corner of Yale’s campus and the surrounding community” during the scavenger hunt. All in all, the WSC scholars got to experience first-hand what it’s like to be a student at one of the world’s greatest universities.

The 2023 WSC TOC was hosted by the Yale International Relations Association at Yale University.