ESU debaters ace national JV tournament

The ESU debate team took first place in the Neil L. Warren Junior Varsity Round Robin tournament in Rohnert Park, Calif. Jan. 30-Feb. 3. Only eight top university teams were invited to compete -- including Kansas State University and Pepperdine University.

ESU's David Keller and Kelly Winfrey went undefeated in the competition, winning the semifinals over Kansas State University and defeating Idaho State University in the final debate. The win is the third time this year that an Emporia State team has gone undefeated on the way to winning a tournament.

An Emporia State University team of Tiara Naputi and Austin Case took third place in the tournament. Winfrey also received 4th speaker honors while Keller was 5th speaker overall.

"This is a big win for the younger debaters, they worked hard to prepare, and it is great to see them competing at a national level so early in their careers," said ESU debate director Ken DeLaughder, "This tournament is a warm up for the much larger Junior Varsity National Championship that we go to in March, if we perform at the same level we hope to be bringing that title back to Emporia State."

"I have never had three teams go undefeated in my history as a coach! One weekend it is the varsity doing well, the next the junior varsity wins, this is an incredible group of debaters."

An Emporia State team of SJ Moore and Ben Wilson won the inaugural Neil L. Warren tournament event three years ago.

"Historically this has been a great tournament for Emporia State, every time we attend we win it with some great efforts by our younger teams. This type of format allows them to be the focus of the coaching staff for a weekend, and they always seem to rise to the occassion," said James Taylor, assistant coach.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>