Speech and Debate Earns Back-to-Back Championships

The Speech and Debate Society at the U of A, sponsored by the Diane Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society, traveled to Bossier City, Louisiana, this past weekend to compete in the Eddy Shell Invitational hosted at Bossier Parish Community College. Students Austin Keefe, Dylan Hall, Izzy Swafford, Emma Powell, Ella Grannon, Hayden Jescheling, Josh Tompkins, Lydia Lim, Hayden Mittlestat, Jace Godfrey, Percy Blaich, Brendan Klaus, Jonas Lansford, Vedaant Shah, Remi La Blue, Lee Lough and Matthew Cook were among top performers at the tournament, with many notable accolades earned, including two tounament champions. 

In team competition:
The team of Austin Keefe/Emma Powell were ranked 2nd and 1st place speakers, respectively, in the Team IPDA division. The team of Dylan Hall/Izzy Swafford again won the TIPDA division, going undefeated in the competition for the second time in a row. Hall/Swafford are now undefeated with a record of 14-0 over the past two tournaments. 

In individual competition:
Brendan Klaus and Lydia Lim finished as double-octofinalists in the novice division of competition, marking both of their first appearances in collegiate outrounds. Hayden Mittlestat earned 4th place speaker and a quarterfinalist finish in the junior varsity division, and Emma Powell finished as a semifinalist in the same division in her first tournament as a JV debater. In the varsity division, Dylan Hall finished as a quarterfinalist and the division's first place speaker. Austin Keefe finished as the 2nd place speaker in the division (solidifying his season-long national champion status as varsity speaker) and also finished as the varsity division's champion, the first individual championship Keefe has earned.  

In sweepstakes: 
The Speech and Debate Society finished as the overall TIPDA Sweepstakes Champions, as well as the 3rd place overall program in attendance.  

The team will next head to Conway for the UCA End of Hi-Bear-Nation debate tournament, and then will travel to Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas, to compete in their final tournament prior to nationals in April.

The Speech and Debate Society at the U of A would love to thank The Blair Center for their continued support, the History Department and Grace Gierach.  Each of these offices/individuals has been instrumental in the team's incredible success, and their organization's top-five ranking as a program is due, in no small part, to them. Thank you!

If you, or someone you know, is interested in joining the speech and debate society, please reach out to Coach Hannah Morris at hannahm@uark.edu or President Austin Keefe at akeefe@uark.edu.