The Belmont Abbey Debate Team competed this weekend in the Bowling Green State University Cyber Falcon Tournament. The competition welcomed students from 41 schools across 18 states to compete synchronously online. While team sweepstakes specific to debate are not available for the tournament, our students did well individually as we continue to adjust to the online format.
In novice, freshman Carter Keller competed in his first tournament and was honored as the ninth place speaker . Simultaneously, sophomore Paloma Shrauder placed fourth overall with a 3-1 record and was honored as the 10th place speaker. Paloma concluded as a quarterfinalist, dropping on a 2-1 decision against the co-champion in novice IPDA.
In varsity, senior Isabelle Robertson concluded her tournament with a 2-2 record, placing one ballot away from advancing to elimination rounds. Isabelle also did well in individual speaking points, accumulating nearly 80% of the available points in preliminary rounds. Finally, Blake Traylor had several close decisions in rounds; while he did not advance to elimination rounds, he averaged 82.5% of possible speaking points.
Our next tournament is scheduled for November 7, when St. Anselm College will host both Lincoln Douglas and IPDA debate.