BAREFOOT DEBATERS SCALP COMPETITION AT WARRIORS WEEKEND

The judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet debate team dominated the competition at the Williams Warriors' Weekend Debate tournament in Plano, Texas.

The policy squad closed out finals. The teams of Eddie Camacho & Charlie Stephens and Brittany Williams & Zavier Wingham shared Co-Champions of the VCX tournament. The squad also "closed out" best speaker awards with Brittany, Eddie and Charlie earning 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Best Speaker awards respectively. Emilio Lozano & Rolando Velasquez also finished 3-1 and narrowly missed the cut to Semi-Finals by 4/10ths of a speaker point. They finished 5th.

In the Varsity LD pool, Harvey Luna earned his first TFA points by breaking to Octos.

In all, the team collected seven trophies.

KELSEY ANNU-ESSUMAN BREAKS @ HOCKADAY

Kelsey Annu-Essuman broke to elimination rounds in VLD at the Hockaday tournament this past weekend. Kelsey won her Double-Octo round to advance to Octos and earn two additional points towards TFA State Qualification. When the results become official, Kelsey will have amassed 7 of her 10 points.

3 Top 10's @ UNT Debate Tournament

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet Debate team had 3 Top Ten finishes this weekend. Colton Donica and Lucero Pina finished tied for 9th place in Varsity CX. In the Varsity LD competition, Kelsey Annu-Essuman broke to "out rounds" again. This time finishing ninth and earning an additional TFA point. Karla Brother-Lopez and Ivan Garcia became the first Novice CX team to make it to the elimination rounds. They amassed an impressive 4-1 record in the prelims and also finished tied for ninth.

Harvey Luna also competed as a cross-over entry in VLD as a last minute substitute. Competing in his first ever VLD debate tournament, Harvey competed in a break round. He only missed breaking by dropping a very close round to one of the Hockaday girls who closed out the tournament. We shouldn't be surprised if he breaks next week at the Hockaday tournament.

Finally, I would like to thank Zavier Wingham and Sarah Delgado for all their help in coordinating between the widely scattered buildings at the tournament.

Johnson RIngs LD BELL in Out Rounds

Glynesha Johnson helped keep the Law Magnet streak of consecutive out rounds alive by breaking to the Quarter Finals at LD Bell this weekend. Johnson continues to improve as she has now advanced to elimination rounds three times this year.

Eddie & Charlie win TOC bid at St. Mark's

Eddie Camacho and Charlie Stephens (CS) continue to break new ground. The team became the first debaters in Law Magnet history to earn a bid to the Tournament of Champions (TOC). The TOC is the most prestigious tournament on the "national circuit," representing the most competitively successful debaters from the nation's most prestigious individual debate tournaments.

CS finished preliminary rounds with a 4-2 record after winning a must-win 6th round. They then went out to defeat Pembroke Hill VH, the #8 seed in the bracket.

Law Magnet Wraps up TFA Spots @ Plano West

The Law Magnet had two Varsity CX teams qualify for the TFA state tournament with their performance at the Plano West Tournament. Eddie Camacho & Charlie Stephens went undefeated through the prelims and claimed the 2nd Seed. Brittany Williams and Zavier Wingham had one loss in the prelims and secured the 5th Seed. Both teams advanced to semis and garnered enough points to qualify to TFA state. This is the earliest we have had two teams qualify.

Congrats to both teams.

Parent's Meeting - Oct. 12 @ 7PM in Room 212

Please remember to tell your parents about the Parent's Meeting, Monday, October 12 @ 7PM. We will discuss the full debate calendar in order to request final approval from DISD for all upcoming tournaments. I will also discuss the value of debate, concerns about grades, travel guidelines, and summer debate institutes.