(Left to right: Adam Wiechman ’15, Emmanuel Ruiz ’17, Bennett Harrison ’15, and Joe Hall ’16 at the Novice and Second Year National Championships)
While many of us were beginning our vacations over Spring Break, the Jesuit College Prep debate team was busy competing in the annual Texas State Debate Tournament at Cypress Creek High School in Houston, Texas. The Texas State Debate Tournament is often regarded as the hardest to qualify for in the country, with 120 teams represented this year. At the tournament, James Ferrera ’14 and Jackson Pyke ’14 tied for 17th place with Brice Tsao ’14 and Adam Wiechman ’15, giving Jesuit a top twenty finish for the fifteenth year in a row! Due to their accomplishment, all four debaters earned All-State honors.
Each team at the tournament competed in six preliminary rounds, and then the top 32 teams competed in a single elimination bracket. Ferrera and Pyke finished with a 4-2 record in the preliminary rounds, moving them on to the elimination bracket where they lost in the first round, putting them in 17th place. Tsao and Wiechman also finished with a 4-2 record in the preliminaries, before being knocked out in the first round of eliminations as well, tying for 17th place. A third Jesuit team, Chandler Dawson ’15 and Bennett Harrison ’15, finished with a 3-3 record in the preliminary rounds, but did not qualify for the top 32 elimination.
Mr. Dan Lingel and Dr. Tracey McFarland, head coaches for the Jesuit Debate Team, were accompanied by Mr. Mark Batik and Derek Liles, who graduated from Jesuit in 2007 and serves as the program director for the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance, as the official coaches representing the Jesuit team at the state tournament.
Two weeks after the state competition, the Jesuit JV and Novice Debaters attended the National Championships, held at Woodard Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. At the Novice and Second Year National Championships, seventy teams from 20 different states and the District of Colombia competed in each division. Bennett Harrison ’15 and Joe Hall ’16 took 9th place in the Novice division, earning them a top 10 finish. Emmanuel Ruiz ’17 and Greg Tan ’17 finished in 9th place as well. Jesuit was the only team from Texas to finish in the top 10. The tournament was set up with 6 preliminary rounds, with the top 16 teams moving on to the elimination bracket. Both teams from Jesuit finished the prelims with 4-2 records, but both teams lost in the first round of eliminations, coincidentally to Pace Academy from Georgia.
Three other teams represented Jesuit at the championship, but ultimately did not qualify for the elimination rounds. Patrick Bender ’16 and Jake LoRocco ’17 competed in the second year division while Josh Cobler ’16, Ethan Tsao ’16, Martin Flores ’17 and Alandro Valdez ’17 competed in the Novice division.
The Jesuit debaters competed against schools from across the country, including The Westminster School from Atlanta, Caddo Magnet from Louisiana, Newburgh Free from New York, Georgetown Day School from DC, Niles West from Illinois, and Berkeley Prep School from Florida, which is coached by former Jesuit teacher, Mike Spear.
At the National Championships, Jesuit varsity debater Adam Wiechman, earned an exceptional award, over and above the customary team awards. He received the Outstanding Student Judge Award, which recognizes the best in student moderating and mentoring at the tournament. This award is based off of a judge’s responsiblility, ballot writing, and feedback from others at the tournament. This is a recognizable example of Jesuit’s motto, being a Man for Others, in action. Jesuit Debate alums Ryan Gorman ’11 and Tom Keane ’00 also attended tournament to support their former team. Josh Cobler, a novice debater at the national tournament, expressed gratitude for the alumni’s presence at the national tournament, stating that “it was nice to have someone with experience present, especially for advice and leadership during the tournaments.”
Jesuit still has one major debate tournament to compete in this year, the National Debate Coaches Association National Championships, occurring this April at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. This organization recognizes the top 100 teams in the nation based off of the qualifying point system. The team that will be competing in this year’s tournament are James Ferrera and Jackson Pyke, Brice Tsao and Adam Weichman, and Chandler Dawson and Bennett Harrison.
