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.

The 2009 edition of the Hilltopper Classic will take place on Friday, September 18th through Sunday, September 20th. That’s right: after holding out as long as possible, we have decided for the first time to extend the Varsity Policy Debate tournament to a three-day event.

The semifinals and finals of Varsity Policy Debate will take place on Sunday morning; all other divisions will conclude on Saturday. This will necessitate an additional night of lodging for those teams that are competing in the semifinals, but we have secured enough high-quality hired judges to ensure that no teams that have been eliminated on Saturday will be obligated to provide judging on Sunday. While we have prided ourselves on bringing the “Texas-style” two-day tournament model to the Great Lakes, the move to a three-day event will enable us to return to a full six preliminary rounds without forcing students and judges/coaches to endure a marathon (and admittedly impossible) schedule.

In addition to Varsity Policy Debate, competition will again be offered in Novice Policy Debate, Open Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Open Public Forum Debate. Given the timing of our tournament (very early in the season/school year), we will do our best to ensure that each of these divisions is viable.

Why should your squad attend the 2009 Hilltopper Classic?

1. We are a high school tournament run by a high school program whose livelihood depends upon the existence of a strong, supportive, and competitive local and regional circuit. We take our obligation to the community very seriously: our tournament is managed in a way that reflects our commitment to nurturing the growth of debate in our region, not to maximize profits at our neighbors’ expense. We don’t want you to attend our tournament so that we can make more money — we want you to attend our tournament because we want to create excellent competitive opportunities for students from throughout our region. To that end, entry fees will remain unchanged for the second year in a row… we are one of the most affordable TOC qualifiers in the nation.

2. We know how much time and effort debate coaches and judges spend on our activity and we know how exhausting a tournament can become. We can’t prevent the exhaustion, but we will do what we can to make our guests comfortable and happy by providing complimentary food and beverages and a dedicated judges lounge throughout the tournament to our adult guests. It won’t be anything fancy, but we’ll take care of you the best we can.

3. We value all formats of debate and are proud to offer competition in Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum divisions. Bring your whole squad and enjoy a full-service tournament with a friendly, supportive atmosphere.

4. We try to get all the “little things” right:

   • Mutual Preference Judge assignments in Varsity Policy supplemented with a strong pool of hired judges;
   • Full results printouts available to everyone after every round in every division;
   • A transparent, fair, and expertly-managed tabulation process including publication of full elim brackets;
   • A second-year breakout division in Varsity Policy for the top four second-year teams that do not clear to octafinals;
   • Beautiful, show-your-principal-with-pride quality trophies and certificates for all elimination round participants and the top individual speakers; and
   • Affordable, tasty-but-not-fancy food options for students (including a special effort to provide delicious vegan/vegetarian options this year!).

On behalf of the Webster Club and the entire Marquette University High School community, I look forward to hosting you here in beautiful Milwaukee.

Sincerely,
Bill Batterman
Director of Debate & Tournament Director
Marquette University High School

A full list of the awards and honors that were given is below the fold.

Team Captains

The team captains for this year’s squad included:

1. Joe Balistreri – Debate
2. Nicholas Nassif – Forensics/Public Forum Debate
3. Ben Benson – Policy Debate
4. Samuel N. Hope IV – Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Reverend Curry Scholarships

This year’s Rev. Curry Scholarships were presented a day earlier at the Senior Awards Convocation.

1. Joe Balistreri – Policy Debate
2. Sam Hope – Lincoln-Douglas Debate
3. Nicholas Nassif – Forensics

National Qualifiers

Marquette qualified for all four national tournaments this season.

National Forensic League National Tournament:

1. Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann – Policy Debate
2. Ben Benson & Noah Charles – Policy Debate

National Catholic Forensic League Grand Nationals:

1. Alex Beck & Jack Mackay – Policy Debate
2. Paras Bansal & Sam Scheurell – Policy Debate

National Debate Coaches’ Association National Championship:

1. Joe Balistreri & Ben Benson – Policy Debate

The Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky:

1. Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann – Policy Debate

State Tournament Elimination Round Participants

Marquette earned this year’s State Championships in Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

1. Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann – Champions in Policy Debate
2. Ben Benson & Noah Charles – Quarterfinalists in Policy Debate
3. Sam Hope – Champion in Lincoln-Douglas Debate
4. Christopher Christmas – Semifinalist in Lincoln-Douglas Debate
5. Nicholas Nassif - 2nd Place in Radio Announcing
6. Matt Dean - 5th Place in Radio Announcing
7. Brandon Kurzynski - Semifinalist in Humorous Interpretation

Leading National Forensic League Point Recipients

The following students are in the top ten in points as of May 2009.

1. Nicholas Nassif- 1,455 (Outstanding Distinction)
2. Joe Balistreri - 1,366 (Outstanding Distinction)
3. Ben Benson - 1,361 (Outstanding Distinction)
4. Noah Charles - 1,141 (Outstanding Distinction)
5. Samuel Hope - 1,078 (Outstanding Distinction)
6. Michael Hoffmann - 1,074 (Outstanding Distinction)
7. Jack Mackay - 857 (Superior Distinction)
8. Alex Beck - 504 (Special Distinction)
9. Jeremy Schmid - 416 (Distinction)
10. Zach Kasun - 403 (Distinction)

Special Award Recipients

The following special awards were given to deserving students.

1. The 2009 James Madison Copeland Webster Club Speaker of the Year Award — Joe Balistreri
2. Policy Debate MVP — Joe Balistreri
3. Lincoln-Douglas Debate MVP — Sam Hope
4. Public Forum Debate MVP — Nicholas Nassif
5. Four-Year Career Achievement Award — Ben Benson / Noah Charles
6. Debate Rookie of the Year — Tyler Thur
7. NFL Point Leader, Seniors — Nicholas Nassif
8. NFL Point Leader, Juniors — Matthew Waldoch
9. NFL Point Leader, Sophomores — Michael Hoffmann
10. NFL Point Leader, Freshmen — Tyler Thur

Webster Club Update - March 2009

It includes extensive coverage of this year’s debate season.

You are cordially invited to attend the 2007 Hilltopper Classic at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, WI. After a one-year hiatus, the MUHS Webster Club is proud to return to the state and national calendar with a top-notch invitational tournament offering fine hospitality and excellent competition and judging.

The 8th Annual Hilltopper Classic will take place on Friday, September 21st and Saturday, September 22nd with competition offered in Varsity and Novice Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Public Forum Debate. For the first time, finalists in Varsity Policy Debate will earn a bid to the National Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky.

On behalf of the Webster Club and the entire Marquette University High School community, I look forward to hosting you here in beautiful Milwaukee.

Sincerely,

Bill Batterman Director of Debate & Forensics, Tournament Director Marquette University High School

The complete invitation is available on cross-x.com.

• Kevin Thom - 2000
• Manav Bhatnagar - 2002
• Brian Stepp - 2003

Established to recognize outstanding forensic competitors who represent the values of the organization both inside and outside of debates, the official description of the scholarship is as follows:

The WDCA Scholarship is a $300 award presented to two 12th grade debaters of WDCA member schools who have demonstrated expertise in Policy, Lincoln-Douglas or Public Forum Debate, sportsmanship, scholarship, and leadership in school and community activities. Our recipients have shown integrity through action.

Gaurav was selected from a pool of outstanding applicants on the basis of his competitive success, community service, and good citizenship within the debate community. The following excerpt from Mr. Batterman’s recommendation letter summarizes his qualifications:

Both inside and outside of the debate round, Gaurav has proven to be an exceptionally talented young man with a love and respect for his peers and a passion for the activity that makes him a deserving candidate for recognition by the WDCA. … Despite his competitive success, Gaurav remains humble. He is respectful of his peers and is a model citizen of the debate community, unwilling to succumb to the temptations of arrogance and elitism. One of the most popular debaters on the national circuit, he is always willing to share his time with other students, coaches, and judges. … I can think of no more deserving candidate for recognition by the Wisconsin Debate Coaches’ Association than Gaurav Bhatnagar.

Congratulations to this most deserving young man on behalf of the entire Webster Club!

• The Janesville Cougar/Viking Debate Invitational (November 10-11)
• The Glenbrooks in Northbrook/Glenview, Illinois (November 18-20)
• The Alexandra Hoecherl Challenge at Appleton East (December 1-2)
• The Wisconsin State Debate Tournament at Hortonville (December 8-9)

The Webster Club has qualified several students to the Wisconsin State Debate Tournament. The final two qualifying opportunities will be Janesville and Appleton East.

Public Forum

• Dan Garces
• Robert Schlaeger
• Matthew Waldoch

Lincoln-Douglas

• Jacob Swan
• Sam Hope
• Joe Dobbs
• Paul Foy

Novice Policy

• Joe Balisteri
• David Glaubke
• Pierre Mewissen
• Brendan Schott

The Varsity Policy squad has yet to qualify any teams to State but is hoping to do so at the season’s final two in-state tournaments.

Scrimmages

• Marquette - Saturday, January 21, 2007

Regionals, State, and Nationals

• Regional Tournament - Saturday, February 20, 2007
• State Tournament - Sunday-Monday, March 11-12, 2007
• National Tournament - Thursday-Sunday May 10-13, 2007

The Regional Tournament will be held at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and the State Tournament will be held at the Dane county Courthouse in Madison. This year’s national championship will be held in Dallas, Texas.

For more information about the mock trial team, please contact Mr. Tom Noonan.

Two other Hilltopper teams represented Marquette at The Mid-America Cup. Juniors Garrett Fields and Mark Kettler went 4-2 in the preliminary rounds and were seeded 21st, narrowly missing the elimination rounds based on speaker points. Sophomores Ben Benson and Noah Charles also made their Varsity-level debut and acquitted themselves nicely, compiling a 2-4 record with very solid points.

A semifinals-level qualifier to the Tournament of Champions, Valley hosted 74 policy debate teams from nine states. By claiming the championship, Gaurav and Nolan became the first team from Marquette University High School to qualify for the TOC since the 2001-2002 season in which Gaurav’s brother Manav and his partner Ankur Aggarwal represented the Webster Club in Lexington. They also became the first team to win the title at a tournament of this qualifying level since Manav and Ankur captured first place honors at East Grand Rapids’ Pioneer Classic and the prestigious Harvard University National Invitational during their senior campaign.

Marquette will be back on the road next weekend as the squad competes at the New Trier Season Opener in Winnetka, Illinois and the Brigadier General Rufus King Debate Invitational at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee. The full debate team will be making its debut as the Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum squads open their season at Rufus King.

Photos from the Webster Club’s trip to Des Moines are available below the fold.

Ben Benson and Noah Charles (Marquette BC) and Gaurav Bhatnagar and Nolan Wanecke (Marquette BW) wait for the pairings to be released before round one.

Ben Benson, Garrett Fields, and Noah Charles before round one.

Gaurav and Nolan lounging before round one.

Mark Kettler before round one.

Garrett Fields preps in the Webster Club “War Room” on Saturday morning.

Mark prepares for his third round debate on Saturday morning.

Garrett Fields prepares for his third round debate on Saturday morning.

Gaurav waits for the fourth round pairings to be released.

Jonathan Libgober (Oak Park River Forest, Illinois) chats with Nolan and Ben during lunch on Saturday.

Mark and Noah during lunch on Saturday.

Mr. Batterman discusses his decision after round five.

Nolan Wanecke gets his flows in order as Gaurav Bhatnagar prepares to deliver the 2AC in finals against St. Stephen’s.

The Valley squad shows off its trophies in front of the MUHS van at a Wendy’s somewhere in Western Illinois: (left to right) Gaurav Bhatnagar, Mark Kettler, Nolan Wanecke, Ben Benson, Noah Charles, and Garrett Fields.