The Emporia State University Debate team kicked off its season on Sept. 16 at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, where students from 26 schools across 13 different states converged for three days of intense competition. All of the debates were about the pros and cons of the United States establishing a national health insurance policy.
ESU brought eight students who competed in partnerships of two throughout the tournament. After six to eight rounds of preliminary competition, six Hornet debaters had achieved enough success to earn spots in Monday’s single-elimination debates
In the junior varsity division, the team of Squid Monteith and Noel Keil sailed through the quarterfinals and semifinals before becoming tournament champions by defeating their opponents from Johnson County Community College in the finals. Monteith and Keil also received awards for being the fourth and seventh best individual speakers in the division, respectively.
The duo of Kalese Warfield and Isaach Johnson finished as semi-finalists and received recognition for being the fifth and eighth best individual speakers in their division.
In the varsity division, the team of Arriq Singleton and Issie Engelbert found much success in the elimination rounds, defeating their opponents in the double-octofinals and octofinals before losing a very close debate in the quarterfinal round. Singleton also received an award for being the 17th best individual speaker in the division.
After picking up numerous wins against powerhouses like Kansas University, The University of Texas - Austin and Baylor, the Hornets are back home and hard at work preparing for their next tournament at the University of Northern Iowa.