Check out K-State debate in the News:
KSU Press Release
10.24.2007
10.12.2007
K-STATE RANKED 3RD IN NATION!
Top Ten Teams in Nation!
1. Binghamton
2. Kansas (Univ. of)
3. Kansas State
4. U.S. Military Academy
5. Cornell University
6. Wichita State
7. Southern California
8. Missouri-Kansas City
9. Gonzaga
10. Miami
1. Binghamton
2. Kansas (Univ. of)
3. Kansas State
4. U.S. Military Academy
5. Cornell University
6. Wichita State
7. Southern California
8. Missouri-Kansas City
9. Gonzaga
10. Miami
10.11.2007
Cats in Vegas Baby!
Kansas State took one team to Las Vegas this last weekend for the first annual Vegas Classic debate tournament. Beth Mendenhall & Kyle Zarazan were accompanied by coaches Sarah & Megan on this trip.
The tournament started out great, Beth & Kyle were 3-1 on the first day beating teams that we love to beat like Wichita, Baylor & Emory. Comments on the first day included one judge telling the Cats that Kyle's 2AC was exactly how he would envision the perfect 2AC. Early on the second day, the Judge from our round 4 win over Emory went out of his way to find the KSU coaches and rave about what a good team Kyle & Beth were. Sunday was harder than Saturday as we debated the top of the bracket. Defeating yet another Emory team in the morning propelled us to debate the top seed & fellow Big 12 team Baylor. While we were not victorious in this debate, the Judge did indicate that he really enjoyed the debate. After this loss we had a hard time recovering, losing the next debate to Macalester.
At the end of the day, in the double octafinal debate, we met Vermont, both Megan & Sarah's Alma Mater. Megan was filled with intense desire to win coaching with incredible vigor. With everyone pumped going into the debate, Kyle & Beth held true to their mission solidly defeating the Catamounts on a 3-0 decision.
The next morning we were affirmative against arch rival KU and while one Judge said this was the best debate he had seen in five years, all three judges agreed that our time competing in Vegas was over. So, sadly we lost to KU.
Our loss to KU was softened by speaker awards. Kyle finished 15th in a field of 110 and Beth finished 8th. So, all in all it was a VERY successful weekend.
With 4 hours left after the awards ceremony before our flight left we checked out the Bellagio where we all realized that we are far better debaters than gamblers.
10.01.2007
1st Place in JV, 2nd Place in Novice and 3rd in Varsity at Missouri State!
Kansas State took 7.5 teams to compete at Missouri State University in 3 divisions of Policy Debate.
The Novice Team, Chelsea Good and Ian Stinson rebounded from their experience at UNI two weeks ago by clearing to elimination rounds with an undefeated 6-0 record in preliminary rounds. They won their semifinal debate on a 3-0 decision and unfortunately were defeated in the final round. However, an undefeated preliminary record is an accomplishment in and of itself and the Wildcats could not be more proud of the amazing turn-around this two person team has made.
In the Junior Division, Three K-State teams cleared to elimination rounds. After winning only one debate two weeks ago, Nikki Marcotte & Caitlin Reynolds came out of the gate looking for revenge- which they got as they advanced to elimination rounds with a 5-2 record. They won their partial octafinal debate and advanced to the quarterfinal debate where they unfortunately met another K-State team, Molly McGuire and John Grice who cleared with a 6-1 record as the top seeded team at the tournament. The third K-State team to clear in JV was comprised of Diante Calhoun & Alexis Robinson. Alexis stepped in after a break of almost a year to fill in for George who was unable to compete this weekend because of an injury. After deciding that they were going to debate together three days before the tournament, Diante & Alexis took command in preliminary rounds clearing with a 5-2 record and winning their partial octafinal debate. Diante & Alexis forged forward into the quarterfinal round where they lost a well fought debate. Nothing could stop Molly and John who stepped up in the Semifinals to beat an OU team on a 3-0 decision. Advancing to the finals, Molly & John again defeated an OU team on a 2-1 decision to be named the JV Champions of the tournament. It always feels good to win debates against this Big 12 rival school. All in all the Wildcats were 6-3 against the Sooners this weekend!
In Varsity, three K-State teams competed with two advancing to elimination rounds. Kara Thiele & Tristan Tafolla advanced to elimination rounds for the first time in their Varsity Collegiate debate careers. Although they lost in the partial octafinal debate they intend to clear at another tournament in our district so they may compete at the Wake Forest tournament in November. Traditionally known as the National Championship of the first semester, Wake Forest is a varsity only tournament and in order for a school to enter multiple teams each team must have advanced to elimination rounds at two other tournaments. Tristan & Kara are halfway there!
In other Varsity news, Jordan Hansen & Derek Ziegler advanced to elimination rounds as the 6th seed with a 5-2 record. They narrowly won their partial octafinal debate on a 2-1 decision and advanced to quarterfinals where they were victorious over a Missouri State team on a 3-0 decision. Derek & Jordan then competed in the semifinal debate where they were unfortunately defeated by a team from the University of Kansas. Derek & Jordan have however vowed to obtain revenge against KU in the future.
While team awards are the most important, there were several individual speaker awards handed out to KSU debaters this weekend:
In Novice, Chelsi was 9th and Ian was 8th!
In JV, Diante was 8th and John was the Top Speaker!
In Varsity Jordan narrowly missed the top 10 coming in as the 13th Speaker!
All in all, this was an amazing weekend for the Wildcats.
Squad record before this weekend: 36-64 36%
Squad record at Missouri State: 44-25 68%
Squad record after this weekend: 80-89 47%
For the Purple and the White!
The Novice Team, Chelsea Good and Ian Stinson rebounded from their experience at UNI two weeks ago by clearing to elimination rounds with an undefeated 6-0 record in preliminary rounds. They won their semifinal debate on a 3-0 decision and unfortunately were defeated in the final round. However, an undefeated preliminary record is an accomplishment in and of itself and the Wildcats could not be more proud of the amazing turn-around this two person team has made.
In the Junior Division, Three K-State teams cleared to elimination rounds. After winning only one debate two weeks ago, Nikki Marcotte & Caitlin Reynolds came out of the gate looking for revenge- which they got as they advanced to elimination rounds with a 5-2 record. They won their partial octafinal debate and advanced to the quarterfinal debate where they unfortunately met another K-State team, Molly McGuire and John Grice who cleared with a 6-1 record as the top seeded team at the tournament. The third K-State team to clear in JV was comprised of Diante Calhoun & Alexis Robinson. Alexis stepped in after a break of almost a year to fill in for George who was unable to compete this weekend because of an injury. After deciding that they were going to debate together three days before the tournament, Diante & Alexis took command in preliminary rounds clearing with a 5-2 record and winning their partial octafinal debate. Diante & Alexis forged forward into the quarterfinal round where they lost a well fought debate. Nothing could stop Molly and John who stepped up in the Semifinals to beat an OU team on a 3-0 decision. Advancing to the finals, Molly & John again defeated an OU team on a 2-1 decision to be named the JV Champions of the tournament. It always feels good to win debates against this Big 12 rival school. All in all the Wildcats were 6-3 against the Sooners this weekend!
In Varsity, three K-State teams competed with two advancing to elimination rounds. Kara Thiele & Tristan Tafolla advanced to elimination rounds for the first time in their Varsity Collegiate debate careers. Although they lost in the partial octafinal debate they intend to clear at another tournament in our district so they may compete at the Wake Forest tournament in November. Traditionally known as the National Championship of the first semester, Wake Forest is a varsity only tournament and in order for a school to enter multiple teams each team must have advanced to elimination rounds at two other tournaments. Tristan & Kara are halfway there!
In other Varsity news, Jordan Hansen & Derek Ziegler advanced to elimination rounds as the 6th seed with a 5-2 record. They narrowly won their partial octafinal debate on a 2-1 decision and advanced to quarterfinals where they were victorious over a Missouri State team on a 3-0 decision. Derek & Jordan then competed in the semifinal debate where they were unfortunately defeated by a team from the University of Kansas. Derek & Jordan have however vowed to obtain revenge against KU in the future.
While team awards are the most important, there were several individual speaker awards handed out to KSU debaters this weekend:
In Novice, Chelsi was 9th and Ian was 8th!
In JV, Diante was 8th and John was the Top Speaker!
In Varsity Jordan narrowly missed the top 10 coming in as the 13th Speaker!
All in all, this was an amazing weekend for the Wildcats.
Squad record before this weekend: 36-64 36%
Squad record at Missouri State: 44-25 68%
Squad record after this weekend: 80-89 47%
For the Purple and the White!
9.19.2007
2007-2008 Season Kicks Off
K-State Debate started the season this past weekend at the Universty of Northern Iowa. I the largest ever Kansas State Contingent to travel to a debate tournament, 12 teams and 7 coaches made the trek to Waterloo/Cedar Falls Iowa to compete in this mid west season opener. The logistics of travel with 31 people is definitely difficult but went off without any major snags this weekend.
1 team entered in the novice division. Chelsea and Ian, both juniors at KSU decided that with no prior debate experience they would join the debate team. They had two practice debates prior to the tournament and attended several training sessions. At KSU we promote and encourage those with no prior debte experience of any kind to join our team as novices. Little did the coaches know that every other school at the tournament interpreted novice to mean those with 4 years of LD debate experience. Ian and Chelsea had a tough weekend, but returned home committed to continuing their mission to debate. More training will ensue before this team heads out to Missouri State for our next tournament.
6 Teams entered in the JV division, 4 of which were competing at their first EVER college debate tournament. For some, the road was rough, in the end two teams, John Grice & Molly McGuire along with Drew Cummings & Heather Woods cleared to elimination rounds. For Molly, a first year debater who debated in Wisconsin in high school, this was the first time she had ever made it t elimination rounds ad she was very excited to be 5-3. John was the 3rd speaker in the division. Heather and Drew were novice debaters last year, in fact Heather only competed at 4 tournaments last year. In their first ever JV showing they were 5-3 and cleared. Drew was the 5th speaker in JV. Both teams advanced without debating from the partial octofinal round to the quarterfinal round.
5 teams were entered in the Varsity (Open) division. 4 of these teams learned that there is more work to be done in order to compete successfully in this division. One team, Kyle Zarazan and Beth Mendenhall were 6-2 in prelims and cleared as the 6th seed. Kyle & Beth advanced without debating in the partial double octafinals to the octafinals. In Octa's they defeated Missouri State on a 2-1 decision. In the quarterfinal round they debated Wichita state and lost on a 3-0. In the decision, two of the judges gave our team a nice pick-me-up when they indicated that Kyle's 2AC was "flawless" ad that they were glad to have brought their younger debaters to watch this particular debate because it was a perfect model for instructing younger 2AC's. Kyle & Beth were also just short of obtaining speaker awards. Kyle was the 19th speaker and Beth was the 11th speaker. Congrats team!
Even though, not every team advanced to elimination rounds, every debater woke up on Monday morning to watch rounds and scout for the team. In several instances throughout the tournament the teams that did not clear provided crucial scouting information that enabled us to obtain more victories emphasizing the extent to which the whole squad contributes to the success of individual teams. Every individual is an important part of our success.
If this tournament is any indication, K-State Debate has a great season ahead. Upon our return home, each team has indicated a renewed commitment to working hard to prepare for tournaments and if experience tells us anything, it will pay off.
1 team entered in the novice division. Chelsea and Ian, both juniors at KSU decided that with no prior debate experience they would join the debate team. They had two practice debates prior to the tournament and attended several training sessions. At KSU we promote and encourage those with no prior debte experience of any kind to join our team as novices. Little did the coaches know that every other school at the tournament interpreted novice to mean those with 4 years of LD debate experience. Ian and Chelsea had a tough weekend, but returned home committed to continuing their mission to debate. More training will ensue before this team heads out to Missouri State for our next tournament.
6 Teams entered in the JV division, 4 of which were competing at their first EVER college debate tournament. For some, the road was rough, in the end two teams, John Grice & Molly McGuire along with Drew Cummings & Heather Woods cleared to elimination rounds. For Molly, a first year debater who debated in Wisconsin in high school, this was the first time she had ever made it t elimination rounds ad she was very excited to be 5-3. John was the 3rd speaker in the division. Heather and Drew were novice debaters last year, in fact Heather only competed at 4 tournaments last year. In their first ever JV showing they were 5-3 and cleared. Drew was the 5th speaker in JV. Both teams advanced without debating from the partial octofinal round to the quarterfinal round.
5 teams were entered in the Varsity (Open) division. 4 of these teams learned that there is more work to be done in order to compete successfully in this division. One team, Kyle Zarazan and Beth Mendenhall were 6-2 in prelims and cleared as the 6th seed. Kyle & Beth advanced without debating in the partial double octafinals to the octafinals. In Octa's they defeated Missouri State on a 2-1 decision. In the quarterfinal round they debated Wichita state and lost on a 3-0. In the decision, two of the judges gave our team a nice pick-me-up when they indicated that Kyle's 2AC was "flawless" ad that they were glad to have brought their younger debaters to watch this particular debate because it was a perfect model for instructing younger 2AC's. Kyle & Beth were also just short of obtaining speaker awards. Kyle was the 19th speaker and Beth was the 11th speaker. Congrats team!
Even though, not every team advanced to elimination rounds, every debater woke up on Monday morning to watch rounds and scout for the team. In several instances throughout the tournament the teams that did not clear provided crucial scouting information that enabled us to obtain more victories emphasizing the extent to which the whole squad contributes to the success of individual teams. Every individual is an important part of our success.
If this tournament is any indication, K-State Debate has a great season ahead. Upon our return home, each team has indicated a renewed commitment to working hard to prepare for tournaments and if experience tells us anything, it will pay off.
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