L to R; Debate Coach Dr. Justin Gus Foote, students Alex Arndt and Abiah George.
ABERDEEN, S.D. (NSU) – Last weekend Northern State University Speech and Debate sent a small but mighty crew to New York City to compete in two styles of debate at the Off-Broadway Swing competition. This year marked the largest in the tournament’s long history, as 22 schools from 16 states brought over 400 students total entries to the tournament.

On Dec. 2, Alex Arndt, a senior from Blue Springs, Missouri, and Abiah George, a freshman from Aberdeen, competed in International Public Debate, finishing preliminary rounds with records of 3-1 and 4-0 respectively. Both received Silver Awards (tied for second overall). George was tied for fifth place overall individual speaker and Arndt placed 12th.   Northern was the only team to place multiple debaters into the final round  of International Public Debate. Northern placed fourth in overall debate standings. Northern also earned the quality award, recording 20.5 points per entry.  The next closest competitor only earned 9 points per entry.

On Dec. 3, George and Arndt competed in National Parliamentary Debate, going 3-1 in preliminary rounds. They advanced to elimination rounds  as the third seed in the tournament and, after a hard-fought win in the semifinals, they cruised through the final round winning the tournament championship. Arndt placed third in overall debate speaker awards, while George placed 11th. Northern placed fifth in overall debate standings. Again, Northern also earned the quality award, recording 19 points per entry. The next closest competitor only earned 13 points per entry.

Overall, Northern State University was the only school to place multiple debaters into the final round each day and the only school to have debaters place within the top 15 overall speaker awards both days. With a total of three entries out of the 400 plus at the tournament.