Louisiana Tech’s Debate Team rode a wave of success in the season’s second half to a 12th place finish nationally against the 137 teams they competed against this year.
All competitions were virtual.
Freshman math major Emmitt Antwine finished as first place speaker and senior biomedical engineering major Katie McKenzie tied for sixth place speaker. Antwine and Alex Gibson, a member of the Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) debate team, were second place overall for the season, and senior political science major Steve Garcia and McKenzie were fourth place.
As a team, Tech was fourth place overall in team debate.
Debate team adapts, competes virtually
News Highlights: Debate team adapts, competes virtually
Although the pandemic hindered many campus activities, the Louisiana Tech Debate Team adapted with great success. In-person debating matches weren’t feasible this fall, but the team adapted by moving to virtual competitions.
In the season opener, hosted by Lee College in Baytown, Texas, junior communications major Kara Taylor was a starting semifinal. Skylar Dean, a senior political science major, won third place for speakers in the junior varsity division.
Junior Electrical Engineering Major Neel Patel was a starting quarter-finalist in the competition hosted by the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Tech alumnus Kendrick Kruskie, a budding competitor last year, took second place for speaker award in the professional division.