Novice debaters place second

It was a great weekend for our debaters in Birmingham.
by Bill Wilson, debate team faculty sponsor
 
The young varsity squad held its own against more experienced competition, while the novices continued their success by claiming second place in the first year division while in Birmingham on Saturday, Jan. 12.
 
In varsity, Nicholas Clancy '20 lost his partner due to illness but decided to continue and finished with a 3-3 record despite debating "maverick" all weekend. As the 17th seed, he was the top debater to miss advancing to the 16 team bracket. Niles Clancy '21 and Christopher Cheek '21 also finished 3-3, while Oscar Fox '21 and Mayowa Kassim '21 finished 2-4. Wiley Barzelay '21 and Lucas Heckers '21 finished 1-5, though they did pick up their win against Montgomery Bell Academy.
 
In the novice division, USN advanced three teams to the quarterfinal bracket. Caroline Cramer '22 and Laura Harris '22 finished the preliminary competition with a 5-1 record. As the third seed, they received a walkover in the quarterfinal round when they met teammates Morayo Kassim '22 and Elena Wierich '22 in the bracket (4-2 record, sixth seed). Laura and Caroline then won a 3-0 decision in the semi-finals over the second seed from Alpharetta High School in Georgia. In the finals, the girls dropped a 2-1 decision to MBA. Nell Cox '22 and Greta Li '22 finished prelims with a 4-2 record, good for the eighth seed. They lost to top seed MBA in the quarterfinals. Laura and Morayo were the 8th and 11th place speakers in the division.

The also team included Isaac Chomsky ‘22, Jude Warren ‘22 and Wei Dai '20.
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.