Newman Debate Wins State

The Newman Speech and Debate Team tied for First Place overall in the Louisiana High School Speech League State Championship Tournament held last weekend over Zoom. Our talented debaters won First Place in Advanced Policy Debate, Novice Policy Debate, and Lincoln Douglas, as well as runner-up, finalist, and semifinalist awards in many other categories. While Newman has finished in the Top 3 for the past seven state tournaments, and runner-up for the past five, this is the first time in recent history that we have won the State Championship.

Newman Speech and Debate Coach Christopher Vincent said this performance is especially significant given the relative youth of the team. “It's a very young team with a lot of freshmen and sophomores – we have only three seniors (two coaches, one competitor), who are graduating at the end of the school year. To have a team that is so young and talented gives me great hope for the future. To make such an achievement this year, despite everything else going on, was really exciting,” he said.

After competing nonstop since March, the team now has a break until April, when one student will compete at the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions. After that it is on to the CFL Nationals at the end of May. Please join us in congratulating our incredible Speech and Debate Team members. Full results for this past weekend are below.