Brimming with newfound confidence and a stack of plaques, the Hillsdale College debate team returned from its tournament Oct. 20 and 21 at Central Missouri University several awards richer, including 2nd in Overall Sweepstakes and multiple First Speaker awards.
“We got second in Overall Sweepstakes thanks to the stellar performances of our novices,” junior Lauren Holt said, “including beating the team who is last year’s reigning national champions.”
Freshman Brianna Hearn and Holt took the dual tournaments by storm, senior Bryan Brooks said, each doing better than they had in any prior competition. The team won second place in Overall Sweepstakes.
“It was terrifying because I had never been past the semi-finals before, and I was actually shocked to get that far because I was working at 50 percent power during semifinals,” Holt said. “Despite the fact that I lost, I am still thrilled I made it to the semifinals.”
Along with Holt’s extraordinary win, the team attributes much of its success in Missouri to the performances of its two newcomers. They especially noted Hearn, who had only competed in one tournament prior to this.
“On the first day, Hearn got second in novice, and the second day she got second in novice as well as the Second Speaker Award for novice,” Brooks said. “Also, her performance in novice at her second tournament was almost unprecedented, as she was competing against debaters who had four years of experience in high school.”
Bearing in mind their performances in Missouri, freshman Kevin Ambrose and Hearn, both novices up to this time, will compete in the open competition in their next tournament. Junior Mary Coran, Holt, and Brooks will be competing this weekend at Marshall University in West Virginia.
“As a team, we hope to retain an upswing after our most recent tournament performance,” Holt said. “Hillsdale debate team’s got its groove back.”
