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Jewell debaters earn top national ranking, travel to Oxford tournament Contact: Rob Eisele, 816-415-7574 November 8, 2006 William Jewell senior debaters Kevin Garner and Lilia Toson, both of Kansas City, North, are the top parliamentary debate team in the nation according to the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence rankings. Garner and Toson are competing at Oxford University November 10-12 in their first attempt at world-style parliamentary debate. “The tournament at Oxford is one of the most prestigious of the year,” said Director of Debate Gina Lane. Teams from all over the world compete at Oxford, including Ivy League universities in the United States. “We are grateful for the financial support of loyal alums who wanted to make this tournament happen for our debaters. This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Lane. Of Garner and Toson’s current season results to date, Lane commented: “This is an outstanding start to the season. It is hard to imagine they could match last year’s record, when they hovered in the top 5 for the entire year, but they are outdoing themselves.” Of the four tournaments the team has competed at this semester, they have finished no lower than semifinalists, winning the tournaments at the University of Wyoming, William Jewell College, taking second at Colorado College, and finishing third at Lewis and Clark in Portland, Ore. At the Colorado College tournament, Garner and Toson were undefeated in the preliminary rounds and received the top two speaker awards. “Their speaker points were nearly perfect,” said Lane. The two defeated several top-ranked teams before losing to a team from Western Kentucky University in finals. They were joined by Jewell debaters Paige Oster (Springfield, Mo.) and Eric Myers (Parsons, Kan.), who won the junior varsity division, James Luce (Aurora, Mo.) and Jake Williams (Bellevue, Neb.), who were double octafinalists in the open division, and junior octafinalists Tony Bowen (Mass.) and Christina Morris (Liberty, Mo.). Brian Danley (Bartlesville, Okla.) and Chelsea Koehn (Marshall, Mo.) also competed. The combined efforts of the squad led to a third place overall debate sweepstakes award. Several of the younger debaters have brought home trophies this semester, leading to the squad’s number 11 ranking in the National Parliamentary Debate Association’s national sweepstakes. The NPDA rankings focus on the efforts of the entire squad, instead of individual teams. Founded in Liberty, Mo., in 1849, William Jewell College has earned a solid reputation among the Midwest’s most consistently honored and academically challenging private colleges. With its rigorous academic culture and focus on student achievement, the college offers students an outstanding education grounded in the liberal arts with a unique focus on cultivating leadership, intellectual and spiritual growth.

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