McKendree Debaters Reach Finals at Home; Back in the Top Ten Nationally
Lebanon, Ill. — The McKendree University debate team currently has four teams ranked in the top 50, according to the National Parliamentary
Tournament of Excellence website. Ian Reynolds and Brad Thomas are ranked ninth, Brent
Nicholson and Ben Reid are tenth, Lindsay Hansard and Mat Myles are 29th, and Lucas Barker and Mat Myles are 50th.
McKendree placed three teams in at least semifinals, including one in finals, and
took 16 individual awards at the tournament it hosted on Oct. 14-16. Eleven colleges
and universities competed, including Central Michigan, Loyola and the University of
Texas.
“The team had an outstanding performance,” said Joe Blasdel, coach. “We advanced four
teams to elimination rounds at each half and had a total of three teams reach semifinals.
That’s definitely a good sign when looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Representing McKendree were seniors Anna Chambers, Zak Kilhoffer, Chris Polanc; juniors
Lance Allen, Sarah Brown, Alex Caminiti, Mat Myles, Ben Reid, Ian Reynolds; sophomores
Lucas Barker, Trent Boyer, Eddie Cox, Alex Cunningham, Sarah DeBruyckere, Brent Nicholson,
Brad Thomas; and first-year Lindsay Hansard.
In the first parliamentary debate tournament, the team of Reynolds and Thomas posted
a 4-1 record. After defeating the University of Texas in octofinals, they beat Kansas
City Community College in quarterfinals. They finished as semifinalists after losing
to another team from the University of Texas.
The team of Nicholson and Reid also went 4-1, finishing as quarterfinalists after
defeating William Jewell College in octofinals. The team of Barker and Myles finished
at 3-2 and were octofinalists, while Chambers and DeBruyckere went 3-2 and were double-octofinalists.
Mat Myles was recognized as the first place speaker, from a field of more than 70,
while Brad Thomas and Ben Reid placed eighth and ninth, respectively.
In the second parliamentary debate tournament, Nicholson and Reid went 3-2. After
defeating Loyola University in octofinals, they beat William Jewell College in quarterfinals.
In semifinals, they defeated Kansas City Community College before losing in finals
to the University of Texas. Reynolds and Thomas posted a 4-1 record. After beating
William Jewell College in octofinals, they defeated Washburn University in quarterfinals
and finished as semifinalists after losing to the University of Texas. Barker and
Myles went 4-1 and finished as octofinalists, while the team of Cunningham and Kilhoffer
went 3-2, also finishing as octofinalists. Brent Nicholson was the fourth place speaker,
while Ben Reid and Ian Reynolds were seventh and ninth, respectively.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, Lindsay Hansard posted a 4-1 record, while Lance Allen
posted a 3-2 record. Both finished as quarterfinalists.
The McKendree debaters will compete next at Metropolitan Community College on Oct.
28-30.
-McK-
