Eastside Catholic senior Kyle Hendrix recently finished as a national finalist in the Senate competition during the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., placing him in the top 24 in the country.

In the final round, Hendrix debated about four topics: balancing the trade deficit with China; Limiting campaign contributions to those within a district; granting amnesty to illegal immigrants and abolishing the electoral college.

Hendrix will attend Whitman College in the fall.

Sophomore Scott Hutchins finished as a national semifinalist in the House during the competition, June 10-15.

Each house had over 300 entrants, all of whom qualified by placing at the top of their individual districts, making Hendrix and Hutchins among the best out of thousands of competitors nationwide.