This weekend, the U of A Speech and Debate Society took a group consisting of Hadley Adkison, Savannah Barrentine, Matthew Cook, Megan Dial, Jackson Dowler, Tristen Farris, Dylan Hall, Jacob Hurbanek, Austin Keefe, Anna Laubenstein, Molly Lay, Jennifer Lopez, Rhea Neugebauer, Colten Nichols, Daisy Rehbock, Jaci Sabatini, Benjamin Shoptaw, Gabriel Thompson, Mattie Thompson, Luke Thurmon, and Jack VanDyke attended the University of Central Missouri "Missouri Mule" tournament, located in Warrensburg, Missouri. 

The team yet again saw great success, having had an overall win percentage of 63%, high for the number of competitors that attended. All students won at least one round, and a majority of competing students had a winning record - including three undefeated debaters coming out of preliminary competition. Finally, the team walked away with 12 awards, including two program-wide awards that all students had a hand in earning. To break down the accolades:

Megan Dial — JV octofinalist
Rhea Neugebauer — Novice quarterfinalist
Colten Nichols — Undefeated in preliminary competition; Novice quarterfinalist, 5th Place novice speaker
Dylan Hall — 2nd Place junior varsity speaker
Austin Keefe — Undefeated in preliminary competition; Varsity quarterfinalist, 4th Place varsity speaker
Jaci Sabatini — Undefeated in preliminary competition; Pro quarterfinalist, 3rd Place professional speaker 
Daisy Rehbock — Junior Varsity Champion 

Sweepstakes: 

3rd place debate program out of 23 programs
3rd place overall program (including debate and individual events) out of 23 programs

The team next sets its sights on the Red River Classic hosted by friends at LSU - Shreveport November 3-5th. They will be hard at work fundraising in order to be able to attend this event.

Special thanks from the team to the U of A History Department for being such a wonderful support system. If interested in joining the top-ranked UARK Speech and Debate Society, please contact president Megan Dial at mmdial@uark.edu or coach Hannah Morris at hannahm@uark.edu. The team also has a HogSync account that can be joined.