September 27, 2015
MARSHALL, Texas (9/21/15) - The East Texas Baptist University Debate Team competed at the Lee College Kickoff Classic Debate Tournament in Baytown, Texas and came away with a third place finish. Over 75 competitors from 11 schools across a five-state region competed in the tournament September 18-20. Ten ETBU students entered the competition and as a squad, the team finished in third place, falling only behind Louisiana State University at Shreveport and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The ETBU team also won the Lee College "Mendoza" award which recognizes the team with the largest number of points accumulated at the Lee College tournament over a span of time. The award is given yearly to the team that has the most points based on the points earned each year the school has competed at the event. When a school wins the award, its points are reset to zero and they begin the process of building points again. ETBU won the cumulative point award after competing at the Lee College tournament for only three years.
The ETBU squad had some outstanding individual performances at the event. In the Novice division, Savannah Bell of Whitehouse and TeleMa Blackman of Alexandria, La. posted preliminary records that advanced them to elimination rounds. Bell was eliminated in the round of 16, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and three losses. Blackman advanced to quarterfinals, ending with a 7-2 record. Blackman and Harleigh Parrish of Huntington were both recognized as two of the top five novice speakers at the tournament. Thirty-one individuals were entered in the Novice division.
In the Junior Varsity division, Sheldon McGowan of Tyler won four of seven preliminary rounds, advancing to the quarterfinals before being eliminated from the competition.
Varsity debater Madysen Neathery of Wake Village compiled a 5-2 preliminary record and also advanced to the quarterfinal round. Neathery also was recognized as the fifth best varsity speaker at the event. A total of 20 competitors were entered in the Varsity division.
In the Professional division, ETBU professor and debate team coach Dr. Cole Franklin posted a 4-3 preliminary record. He also defeated his semifinal competitor before falling in the final round. He was recognized as the top speaker in the Professional division.
Other ETBU competitors at the tournament contributing to the team wins included Austin Brown of Fort Worth, Amanda Fuqua of Houston, Josh Moreno of Fort Worth, and Charles Quigley of Houston.
"We are very pleased with our results," Dr. Franklin said. "This is a very young team. Four of our 10 competitors had never competed in a collegiate debate tournament before and one other had only competed at one tournament before this weekend. To have this level of success with such an inexperienced team is extraordinary. We are looking forward to a very successful season."
The ETBU squad will next compete at the University of Arkansas at Monticello Weevil Wars debate tournament October 2-4. The ETBU debate team is open to any ETBU student, faculty or staff member that would like to participate. No experience is required. For more information about the ETBU debate team, please contact Dr. Cole Franklin at 903.923.2288 or email cfranklin@etbu.edu .