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]
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.
Marquette’s 2009 Success Continues With Strong Showing at the TOC
Posted on May 17th, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: Policy Debate, Results)
On Derby Weekend, the Webster Club traveled to Lexington, Kentucky for the National Tournament of Champions. Hosted by the University of Kentucky every year since 1972, the TOC is debate’s preeminent national championship and one of the most intense experiences of any high school debater’s career.
In order to attend the TOC, a team must qualify by accumulating at least two bids during the regular season. Bids are attained by reaching the designated elimination round at an invitational tournament: the most elite tournaments are qualifiers at the octafinal level while others offer bids to quarterfinalists, semifinalists, or finalists. Marquette’s own Hilltopper Classic is the only tournament in Wisconsin to offer contestants a bid to the TOC.
After failing to qualify last season, Marquette was once again represented at the TOC in 2009 thanks to clutch late season performances by senior Joe Balistreri and sophomore Michael Hoffmann at the Harvard and Maine East tournaments. Marquette closed-out the first TOC in 1972—and remains the only school in the tournament’s history to do so—but the squad has struggled to replicate that success during the ensuring four decades. The Hilltoppers finished as runners-up in 1979 and 1985 but have not reached the elimination rounds since despite qualifying six teams to the tournament in the past decade.
Marquette Reaches Sweet Sixteen at NDCA National Championship
Posted on May 16th, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: Policy Debate, Results)
While most Marquette High students were enjoying the last weekend of their Spring Break, the Webster Club traveled to Las Vegas for the National Debate Coaches’ Association National Championship Tournament. Hosted this year by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and its debate team, the NDCA tournament has grown into one of the most prestigious in the country. Boasting one of the most competitive fields and perhaps the best judging pool of any high school tournament, it provides a tough postseason test for the nation’s best teams. After travel woes nearly prevented us from competing, the tournament proved an enormous success as Marquette reached the Sweet Sixteen and earned a top-ten speaker award. But it certainly wasn’t easy.
The Webster Club was supposed to be represented by senior Joe Balistreri and sophomore Michael Hoffmann, but plans changed early on Friday morning when Michael’s flight home from a college visit trip was delayed in Atlanta. Fortunately, senior Ben Benson was ready and willing to pinch hit and fill Michael’s spot. Catastrophe was averted—or at least that’s what we thought.
Marquette Runner-Up at Woodward Second Year Nationals; Hoffmann Earns Top Speaker
Posted on April 2nd, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: Policy Debate, Results)
The Webster Club’s top first and second year policy debaters traveled to Atlanta this past weekend to participate in the prestigious First and Second Year National Championships at Woodward Academy. Attracting a field of 140 teams from throughout the U.S., the Woodward Tournament brings together the country’s best first and second year debaters for a weekend of tough competition that serves as a barometer for future success.
After losing in the quarterfinals as freshmen, Michael and Jack entered this year’s tournament as one of the favorites in the second year division. Hoping to better their semifinals appearance at the St. Mark’s Sophomore Hoe Down in October, the duo advanced to the elimination rounds as the top seed with a perfect 6-0 record, boasting wins over teams from St. Mark’s (TX, twice), Alpharetta (GA), Chattahoochee (GA), Pine Crest (FL), and Oak Park-River Forest (IL). Wins over Henry W. Grady (GA) in the octafinals and Pine Crest in the quarterfinals set up a showdown with the fourth-seeded Westminster (GA) on Sunday morning. Defending the negative, Michael and Jack earned another victory and advanced to the final round to debate Mountain Brook (AL). On a 2-1 decision, Kevin Jiang and Lee Quinn were awarded the championship with the Hilltoppers forced to settle for second place.
Despite the loss, Michael and Jack advanced farther at this year’s Second Year National Championship than any team in Marquette’s history. In addition to their second place finish, Michael was named the tournament’s top individual speaker with Jack finishing twelfth. Michael joins a small and very elite list of sophomores to win the top speaker award at both the Sophomore Hoe Down and Second Year National Championship in the same season.
Webster Club Update - March 2009
Posted on March 3rd, 2009 by Bill Batterman (Category: News)
The March 2009 issue of the Webster Club Update is now available:
Webster Club Update - March 2009
It includes extensive coverage of this year’s debate season.