On November 4-5, 2011, the Jesuit Debate team performed admirably at the University of North Texas debate tournament, finishing with three teams in the top ten of the varsity division and two teams in the top ten of the novice division. With five out of its eight teams placing at the tournament, the Jesuit debate squad celebrated their success.
In the varsity division, three of five Jesuit teams ended up with respective records good enough to advance to the elimination rounds.
Two of those duos, Jackson Pyke ’14 and James Abbott ’14, and James Mantil ’12 and Ryan Tan ’13, lost the first elimination round, tying for 9th place overall.
However, the team of junior Tanner Davis and senior Kevin Kim ’12 won their first debate in the elimination before losing to a St. Mark’s team that ended up winning the tournament. However, since they advanced past the first elimination round, they obtained two state points, a great start towards the 10 points needed to qualify for the state tournament.
After the tournament, Davis remarked, “It’s bittersweet knowing that we were that close to getting four state points but fell short. But it’s a positive that we now have more state points than we had before.”
In the novice division, two out of the three teams present at the tournament advanced to the elimination rounds.
The team of freshmen Trent McRae and James Schroeder lost in the first elimination round, ending up tied for 9th place.
The team of juniors Connor O’Hanlon and Adam Brennan won the quarter- and semi-final rounds of competition, only to lose in the finals to a team from Louisiana. It was an excellent finish for this team of juniors, especially because it was the first major tournament they attended.
Debate coach Tracy McFarland was pleased with the results of the first year debaters, commenting, “The novices have had a late start, so it was exciting that they had success in their first tournament.”
The Jesuit Debate team will send at least six teams to the Hockaday tournament this weekend.
For more information about the schedule of tournaments in the future or simply to learn more about debate in general, visit the debate link on the Jesuit website or contact coaches Tracy McFarland and Dan Lingel.
