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.
2000-2001:
Champions - Manav Bhatnagar & Andy Nolan
Semifinalists - Ankur Aggarwal & Mike Gesinski
1st Speaker - Andy Nolan
2nd Speaker - Manav Bhatnagar
3rd Speaker - Ankur Aggarwal
8th Speaker - Mike Gesinski
2001-2002:
Runners-Up - Ankur Aggarwal & Manav Bhatnagar
Semifinalists - Pat Pugely & Erik Schuchard
1st Speaker - Manav Bhatnagar
2nd Speaker - Ankur Aggarwal
10th Speaker - Steve Weiskopf
2002-2003:
Quarterfinalists - Charley Boynton & Ben Schultz
6th Speaker - Erik Schuchard
2003-2004:
Semifinalists - Charley Boynton & Ben Schultz
2004-2005:
No teams cleared, No speaker awards
2005-2006:
Runners-Up - Gaurav Bhatnagar & Tyler Jackson
Quarterfinalists - Mark Kettler & Nolan Wanecke
1st Speaker - Gaurav Bhatnagar
5th Speaker - Nolan Wanecke
6th Speaker - Mark Kettler
7th Speaker - Tyler Jackson
2006-2007:
Quarterfinalists - Gaurav Bhatnagar & Nolan Wanecke
1st Speaker - Gaurav Bhatnagar
5th Speaker - Nolan Wanecke
2007-2008:
Champions - Joe Balistreri & Garrett Fields
Semifinalists - Noah Charles & Mark Kettler
Quarterfinalists - Ben Benson & David Gebhardt
2nd Speaker - Garrett Fields
3rd Speaker - Mark Kettler
7th Speaker - Joe Balistreri
2008-2009:
Champions - Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann
Quarterfinalists - Ben Benson & Noah Charles
1st Speaker - Joe Balistreri
5th Speaker - Michael Hoffmann
9th Speaker - Noah Charles
2009-2010:
Runners-Up - Matt Cekanor & Tyler Thur
Quarterfinalists - Sam Scheurell & Ryan Welsh
4th Speaker - Tyler Thur
6th Speaker - Matt Cekanor
7th Speaker - Sam Scheurell