Welcome To The Webster Club!
Debate, Forensics, and Mock Trial at Marquette University High School
Home to one of the nation's most successful Debate, Forensics, and Mock Trial programs, Webster Club offers Marquette University High School students the opportunity to participate in a variety of speech activities and compete against the best and brightest that our city, state, and country have to offer. [Read More About Webster Club]
A Decade Of Success At The Wisconsin State Debate Tournament
Posted on December 29th, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: History, Results)
Earlier this month, the Webster Club competed at the 2009 Wisconsin State Debate Tournament at South Milwaukee High School. For the third consecutive year, Marquette qualified two teams to the elimination rounds. And for the third consecutive year, one of those teams reached the final round. Unfortunately, the Hilltopper’s attempt at a three-peat fell one ballot short as sophomores Matt Cekanor and Tyler Thur were defeated by two seniors from Nicolet on a 3-2 decision. Nonetheless, the duo became the first sophomore/sophomore team ever to reach the final round at State.
Juniors Sam Scheurell and Ryan Welsh also reached the quarterfinals after compiling a 5-1 record in the preliminary rounds but were defeated on a split, 2-1 decision by the top team from Neenah. All four debaters earned top speaker awards: Thur fourth, Cekanor sixth, Scheurell seventh, and Welsh eleventh.
The outstanding performance capped off a decade of success for the Webster Club. Over the past ten years, Marquette has been in more final rounds (six), has qualified more teams to the elimination rounds (16), and has earned more top speaker awards (5) than any other school. The squad’s accomplishments include:
- 3 Championships (second only to Brookfield Central’s 4)
- 5 Top Speaker Awards (no other school has more than 1)
- 3 Runners-Up (more than any other school)
- 4 Semifinalists
- 6 Quarterfinalists
- 16 Teams In Elimination Rounds (more than any other school and more than 20 percent of the total)
A complete year-by-year listing of the Webster Club’s accomplishments during the 2000s is available below the fold.
Wanted: Webster Club Alumni Interested In Keeping In Touch With The Squad
Posted on August 23rd, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: History, News)
Are you an alum of the Webster Club? Did you come across this site when googling yourself or a friend from high school? Would you like to receive occasional updates about the exploits and accomplishments of the Marquette University High School Webster Club? If so, we’d love for you to fill out our alumni contact form so that we can add you to our list. Don’t worry: we won’t share your information with anyone and we will only contact you if you opt-in. But we know that there are hundreds of Webster Club alums out there who cherished their time at Marquette High and would make great role models for our current students. If you’d like to stay in touch, we’d love to meet you — even if only electronically! Please feel free to pass this URL around to your friends and former classmates… we can’t wait to (re-)connect!
The Super Bowl of Debate: Celebrating The History Of Marquette High’s Debate Tournaments
Posted on August 17th, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: History)
While this year will mark only the tenth installment of the Hilltopper Classic, the Webster Club has a long history of hosting competitive debate tournaments in Milwaukee. Beginning in the 1977-1978 season, Marquette hosted the “Super Bowl of Debate,” a National Football League-themed tournament that brought together 30 of the best teams in the nation during the week between Christmas and the New Year. Some recent research has uncovered several newspaper articles covering this event.
The 10th Annual Hilltopper Classic - September 18-20, 2009
Posted on August 17th, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: News)
Dear Colleagues,
You are cordially invited to attend The 2009 Hilltopper Classic at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, WI. The MUHS Webster Club is once again excited to welcome friends new and old from across the state, region, and country to enjoy fine hospitality and excellent competition and judging. We are proud to once again be designated a Final Round Qualifier in Policy Debate for the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky.
Accomplishments Honored At 2009 Webster Club Awards Night
Posted on May 17th, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: News)
The Webster Club hosted its annual Awards Night at Marquette University High School this past Tuesday to honor the accomplishments of this year’s squad. With their parents providing a pot luck dinner, debate and forensics students received accolades for their hard work and competitive success during the past year. Although the National Catholic Forensic League and National Forensic League National Tournaments remain on our schedule, the Awards Night provided a fitting conclusion to what has been an extremely successful season.
A full list of the awards and honors that were given is below the fold.