Northeast News
April 14, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Debate Kansas City students recently took home top honors at a national competition.

Lincoln College Prep’s Monica Medeiros took home the top overall speaker award at the Urban Debate National Championship in Los Angeles.

Lincoln Prep’s policy team of Monica Medeiros and Ellen Baker advanced all the way to semi-finals, where they were defeated by the eventual champion from Baltimore. Medeiros was named the tournament’s top speaker and her partner was not far behind, earning the third place award. The policy debate tournament was held April 10 – 12 on the campus of the University of Southern California.

Students from Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kan., grabbed a second place finish by Sumner Academy in the national tournament. Mylan Gray and Alex Trobough of Sumner Academy were undefeated in six rounds of preliminary competition and won three elimination debates, until they lost in the final round on a 4-3 judging decision. The duo also earned fifth and six place speaker awards out of 76 competitors from 19 Urban Debate Leagues.

Each Urban Debate League is allowed to enter their two best policy debate teams into the championship tournament, which began in 2008. This year, 38 policy teams from 19 leagues debated in six preliminary rounds. The top 16 preliminary finishers advanced to elimination debates. Each elimination round shrinks the field in half until the final round decides a champion. Until this year, no Debate Kansas City team had advanced past the quarter-final. During preliminary debates, judges not only decide the winner and loser of each round, they also assign speaker points. Those points are added together for all the competitors, and the top 10 point earners are given awards.