For many sports, a state championship has the most talented people that your state has to offer face off against one another. But does it really? The sport is divided into men’s and women’s teams then even further by conference (i.e. 6A, 3A, or what have you) so you’d compete against the best teams in your gender and conference, not the best teams in the entire state. However, debate teams have avoided this by creating the Texas Forensics Association, which does not discriminate based on any school’s size, the gender of the participants, or anything; it merely pits the best debaters in the state against one another. Three of Jesuit’s varsity debate pairs racked up enough state qualifying points this season to enter into the 106 team tournament that began on March 9th and ended on March 12th, coming away with some of the best results in Jesuit debate history!
Jesuit had 5 different teams qualify for the “one of the hardest and most competitive state tournaments in the nation due to the sheer number and quality of teams,” according to veteran coach Dan Lingel. The teams of Patrick Bender ‘16 and Emmanuel Ruiz ‘17, seniors Ethan Tsao and Praneeth Kalva, Joe Hall ‘16 and Jake LoRocco ‘17, juniors Zach Watts and Greg Tan, and finally Beomhak Lee ‘17 and Alandro Valdez ‘17 made Jesuit one of only 3 schools in the state to qualify 5 or more teams from one single school. Following their qualifications, the 106 different teams squared off in the 6 preliminary rounds, with Bender and Ruiz, Tsao and Kalva, and Hall and LoRocco advancing to the final “March Madness-style” round of 32 at the 8th, 11th, and 9th seed respectively, stated Lingel. Jesuit’s other two teams didn’t make it to the top 32 but still managed to be in the top 50 of the state, which is certainly nothing to be overlooked!
In the elimination rounds, Jesuit ranked in the elite again with 3 of the top 32 teams in the state, an accomplishment only achieved by 2 other schools in Texas! Performing admirably, Hall and LoRocco faced off against a formidable opponent from Law Magnet (the school which produced the tournament’s winner) in the first elim round, losing the round and earning 17th place. Also, Tsao and Kalva skillfully defeated another team from Austin Westwood before losing to the 2nd place finishers from Lindale, managing to get 9th place overall. Performing excellently in the state championship tournament, Ruiz and Bender defeated one team from Sharyland High School and two different teams from Austin Liberal Arts and Sciences before eventually falling to the tournament’s champions from Law Magnet earning Jesuit 3rd place in the state, its best finish since the victorious 2010-11 state championship.
In coming away with a great victory like this, it’s important to realize all those who’ve helped get you there. Dr. McFarland, “probably the best arguments coach in the nation,” according to Lingel and the team, helped put together evidence and plans to dismantle any argument that any team could possibly throw at them. Also, the assistant debate coaches helped guide the team with their experience, specifically John Hill ‘08, who did exceptional in this very tournament in ‘07 and ‘08, Sullivan McCormick ‘11, who won the state tournament in ‘10 and ‘11 and is currently in the ASC program at Jesuit, and Ryan Gorman ‘11, who was partners with Sullivan through their victories in the TFA state tourney. The coaches’ veteran experience and meticulous preparation certainly contributed majorly to the fantastic finish and cannot be overlooked when celebrating this awesome result.
Be sure to congratulate any debaters on their awesome season and stay tuned to The Roundup for more coverage of all Jesuit’s sports and activities!
