The Morehouse Debate Team has won its season opener, the Martin Luther King Jr. Debate Tournament, which was recently held on campus.
More than 70 people participated in the tournament, including 23 teams from Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The competition was sanctioned by the National Parliamentary Debate Association.
Morehouse Debate Coach Ken Newby said the home victory was a “strong start” to the 2018-19 season. The Morehouse Debate Team is among the nation’s top ten collegiate teams.
“This year, we will continue the tradition of excellence,” said Newby, director of the award-winning Morehouse Speech and Debate program. “If we continue to perform well, it will put us in the ‘Top 10’ teams in the country for another consecutive year.”
Last week, Morehouse finished as the King Classic Tournament champion, defeating Arkansas State with a 3-0 decision in the final round. Team Captain Johnny Holloway, a senior, won first place speaker.
Freshman Noah Spicer won fifth place speaker, which was an impressive showing, Newby said.
“This was his first intercollegiate tournament ever,” Newby added. “He and his partner Jaden Johnson reached the quarterfinals and finished in the top eight teams at the tournament. They defeated varsity level debaters to get there.”
Newby said he is expecting many more victories this season. Thirty new students came to try out for the team. He said the talent in the freshman class and the experience of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors will make this another winning season.
“I promise more great things to come this school year for our program,” Newby said.
Morehouse’s next home debate tournament is the Social Justice Debate, which will be held Jan.19-20, 2019. The Debate Team participates in two dozen tournaments annually.
