Debate earns bids to national competition

Jewel Hardin

Taking on local tournaments for the first time can be an uneasy process for novices. Competing on the world stage is a completely different story.

Senior Chloe Johnson and junior Naomi Island are set to compete in the national tournament sponsored by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA). The duo of seniors Jayden Moreno and Jacob Vazquez, as well as senior Devon Rux and freshman Vivian McAdam, have both qualified as the first and third alternate respectively.

Johnson and Island have qualified for many different events including the state competition, Kansas Debate Classic (KDC), and the Debate Coaches Invitational (DCI). Moreno and Vazquez will also be accompanying them at the KDC.

Johnson and Island will also be competing in Washington D.C. for the National Catholic Forensics League (NCFL); another national competition outside of the NSDA.

2-Speaker State is another competition in which teams could qualify for by having a 50% win rate in at least four tournaments in the open division. The teams of senior Devon Rux and sophomore Natalie Werth and sophomores Dustin Duensing and Noah Gray have qualified. Junior Max Chisham will be brought along as an additional person.

Johnson/Island and Moreno/Vazquez will also be participating in the state tournament.

“Naomi and I have been doing really well at the local level,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotten second at a couple of tournaments and then qualified for two different nationals.”

Ever since the pandemic put competitions online, Derby has proven to have talented teams.

We have been very successful in debate,” said Lynn Miller, who coaches the debate students.

Miller also chose four teams to go to the novice state competition in January. The teams are as follows:

  • Freshmen Vivian McAdam and Kaitlyn Lindstrom
  • Freshmen Cole Gnapp and Jason Jones Hundley
  • Freshmen Adriana Dollarhide and Isabelle Skeen
  • Sophomores Natalia Werth and Noah Gray

Other events such as forensics and congressional debate had qualifier competitions in the spring.

“My partner and I specifically qualified for policy debate,” Island said.

The NSDA national tournament will be on June 12-17 in Louisville, KY.