MSU Debate Bears Win National Competition

Team unseats Western Kentucky in Lincoln-Douglas sweepstakes. 

SPRINGFIELD — The Missouri State University Spicer Debate Forum team is coming home victorious from the 2019 National Forensic Association (NFA) Championship.   

The team competed in the Lincoln-Douglas (LD) sweepstakes. At the collegiate level, LD is a one-on-one policy debate over a topic decided by the NFA.

“The Holt Spicer Debate Forum has a long history of excellence,” said Dr. Shawn Wahl, dean of the College of Arts and Letters.  “I am so proud of the students who have worked hard all year long; this national championship team sweepstakes brings tremendous external recognition to Missouri State University.”

Thirteen Bears competed, and 10 reached the elimination rounds. Each student’s individual scores added up for a team victory in the LD sweepstakes.

The elimination rounds were broken down into triples (top 43), doubles (top 32), octofinals (top 16), quarter finals (top 8), semifinals (top 4) and finals (top 2).

LD awards: Kylee Evans, finals; Sean Atkins, semifinals; Mikayla Dickerson, quarterfinals; Peyton Reeves, octofinals; Zach Kaufmann, doubles; Alex van Dyke, doubles; Derek Allgood, doubles; Isaiah Eaton, doubles; Gabe Morrison, triples; Brayden King, triples.

Speaker awards – during the preliminary LD rounds, students are awarded a win or loss and speaker points. These points contribute to a placement prior to the elimination rounds.

These students placed in the preliminary rounds: Peyton Reeves, 5th place; Zach Kaufmann, 7th place; Kylee Evans, 8th place; Mikayla Dickerson, 9th place. 

This year’s LD topic was “The United States federal government should substantially increase actions by United States Cyber Command to prevent complex catastrophe and/or protect critical infrastructure.”

The contest was held April 18-22 in Santa Ana, California.

The NFA is an academic association dedicated to providing leadership in intercollegiate speech and debate education in the United States.