The Grove City College Debate Team successfully closed out the 2020-21 season with the four-day National Christian Colleges’ Forensics Invitational.
The final forensics challenge in a year of virtual debate saw: the team named top Small (entry) School Debate Team; senior Jonathan Skee finish in the top eight in IPDA varsity; co-captain senior Susannah Barnes named the third best speaker in NPDA varsity and, on a team with junior Reese Overholt, win second place in NPDA varsity competition.
Colleges represented at the tournament included Azusa Pacific University, Belmont University, Cedarville University, Colorado Christian University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, and Liberty University.
Barnes and co-captain Tegan Truitt, also a senior, deserve special recognition for “guiding the team through this most challenging year as Covid changed the very nature of the activity,” Coach Jason R. Edwards, professor of History, said. “They nevertheless attracted and trained a large and vibrant freshman class that promises great things for the team’s future as we all look forward to a return of in-person debate next year.”
This season, the Grove City College Debate Team competed in three virtual tournaments in the fall and six in the spring in a variety of formats. Debaters consistently fared well, achieving titles in team competitions and individual speaker awards. Freshmen Brayden Peppo and Estan Sutter overachieved as novices, frequently competing and succeeding against varsity squads and going on to earn second place at PKD Nationals in the novice division. Truitt and Barnes both took home individual titles and sophomores Jacob Adams and Sebastian Anastasi placed second in the Pennsylvania State Championships. National Championship titles were won at the PKD National Comprehensive Tournament by freshman Eden Kleiman (Novice IPDA) and Truitt (NPDA Top Speaker).
Dr. Andrew Harvey, professor of English, and Dr. Michael Coulter, professor of Political Science, assisted Edwards in coaching the team.
For more about debate at Grove City College, visit gcc.edu/debate.