Tiger debaters advance to nationals

Fort Scott High School seniors Baker Weilert, left, and Reed Ramsey, right, display their plaques and medals. They were recognized as the top pair in last weekend's national qualifying debate tournament hosted by Fort Scott High School. With the top spot in the tournament, the pair qualified to compete in the national debate tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., this coming summer. (Submitted Photo)

The Fort Scott High School debate team last week hosted and competed in the National Forensics League national qualifying policy debate tournament and finished with favorable results, a news release said.

Thirty-four teams competed for three spots to represent Kansas at the national tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., this summer. The Tigers were represented with four teams. Seniors Reed Ramsey and Baker Weilert led Fort Scott finishing the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. Their performance earned them top honors in the tournament. Weilert and Ramsey are NFL All-Americans, an honor that places them in the top 125 nationally with respect to points earned for competition over the course of their high school careers, the release said.

Tyler Slinkard and Taylor Watkins had a solid showing, ending the tournament with a 4-2 record and exited the tournament in the quarter-final round.

The team of Ashley Allen and Allison Piatt as well as the pairing of Jasmine Davis and Mat Higgins had good showings as both teams made it to the second day of competition by making it to the fourth round.

As a squad, the Tigers came up just short of winning the team sweeps. Their overall 15 wins put them in a tie with Coffeyville, which won the tie-breaker on total number of rounds competed as they were able to take advantage of an extra round of competition between two, two-loss teams that went head-to-head to earn the third and final spot.

The weekend tournament was the first action following the completion of the regular season. The Tigers finished the regular season with tournaments in Lawrence and Chanute.

The Lawrence tournament was a DCI contest where bids for the prestigious Debate Coach Invitational were up for grabs. More than 80 varsity teams competed to try and earn one or more of the bids. The pairing of Allen and Eric Garner was the bright spot for the Tigers as they managed a 4-1 record which earned them one of two needed bids to compete in the DCI in January. At Chanute, the novice team of Haley Ellis and Maggie McDonald came away with a solid tournament, earning medals with a seventh place finish.