Marquette Claims Policy, LD Championships at Janesville Invitational
Posted on November 14th, 2006 by Bill Batterman (Category: Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Results)
The Webster Club braved the hail and snow this past weekend on their way to Janesville for the inaugural Janesville Viking/Cougar Debate Invitational at Craig High School. While the Novice Policy and Public Forum squads took the weekend off, Marquette’s Varsity Policy and Lincoln-Douglas teams were out in full force and were rewarded with a pair of tournament championships.
In Varsity Policy Debate, the Hilltoppers qualified three of their four teams to the Wisconsin State Debate Tournament. Senior Gaurav Bhatnagar and sophomore Noah Charles teamed up to finish the elimination rounds with a perfect 6-0 record, good for the tournament’s top seed, before dropping to Rufus King’s top team in the semifinals. Senior Nolan Wanecke was paired with sophomore Ben Benson and the duo managed a 5-1 preliminary round record; unfortunately, a tabulation error prevented them from competing in the semifinals. Junior David Gebhardt and sophomore John O’Neill also put together a successful weekend, notching three wins and three losses during the preliminary rounds.
The only “normal” partnership, however, was the big story. Juniors Garrett Fields and Mark Kettler, needing to clear to the elimination rounds in order to qualify for State, finished the prelims with a clutch 5-1 record and as the third seed entering the elimination rounds. The duo went on to defeat Brookfield Central in the semifinals and then claimed the championship when Rufus King conceded the final round. It was the “B” team’s first appearance in elimination rounds and their first tournament championship after several disappointing near-misses.
In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, all four Hilltopper entries put together excellent weekends: Junior Jacob Swan won the championship on Friday night and was a quarterfinalist on Saturday, junior Paul Foy was a quarterfinalist on Friday and a semifinalist on Saturday, sophomore Sam Hope was a quarterfinalist on both days, and freshman Stephen Buting made his Webster Club debut in style by compiling a 3-5 overall record.
Marquette combined to post a 39-21 record—a .650 winning percentage—and earned twelve more bids to the Wisconsin State Debate Tournament.
Photos from the Webster Club’s trip to Janesville are available below the fold.
Ben Benson debated with Nolan Wanecke and qualified for the Wisconsin State Debate Tournament.
Lincoln-Douglas Captain Jacob Swan won the Friday night tournament.
Paul Foy put together a successful weekend, finishing as a quarterfinalist on Friday and a semifinalist on Saturday.
Garrett Fields and David Gebhardt await the round one pairings.
John O’Neill and David Gebhardt prepare for their third round debate.
Noah Charles poses for a picture with Mark Kettler, Gaurav Bhatnagar, Ben Benson, and Nolan Wanecke in the background.
Nolan Wanecke receives his second place speaker award as tournament director Brian Devine announces the results in the background.