The ESU debate team recently returned from a weekend on the Wichita State University campus attending the annual “Bear Shock” tournament. Fourteen colleges and universities from six different states participated in the competition.
Four Hornets represented ESU in the junior varsity division. The partnership of Nick Mathias and Nick Wathke narrowly missed qualifying to the single-elimination debates after achieving an impressive 4-3 record in the preliminary rounds.
The partnership of Lucas Lord and Gage Simpson also achieved a 4-3 record, and their performance qualified them to the elimination debates as the No. 4 seed. They ultimately finished as semifinalists after losing a close debate to competitors from the University of Texas – San Antonio.
Lord also received an award for placing as the fifth best individual speaker in the division.