Over fall break, the ESU Debate team hosted the 62nd Annual George R.R. Pflaum tournament on campus. Over 80 competitors and colleagues from universities and colleges across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Minnesota converged in Emporia for a weekend of intense competition.
Eight Hornet debaters represented the home team at this year’s tournament. In the varsity division, four debaters narrowly missed qualifying for the single-elimination rounds.
Both the partnership of Cole Nuessen and Alex Rickard and the partnership of Squid Monteith and Noel Keil finished with a preliminary record of 3-3. The varsity competitors picked up notable wins against Kansas State, Wichita State, Central Oklahoma and Concordia College.
In the junior varsity division, the team of Nick Mathias and Nick Wathke finished with an impressive preliminary record of 4-2. That record was good enough to earn them a spot in the single-elimination debates; they eventually bowed out as semifinalists.
The team of Kalese Warfield and Isaach Johnson also finished the preliminary debates with a 4-2 record. They made it all the way to the final round, eventually taking second place overall after a close loss to University of Texas – San Antonio. Warfield and Johnson also received awards honoring their individual speaking skills, earning third and fourth place respectively.
Next-up, ESU Debate will be sending four students to compete at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas Classic.