The University of North Texas Debate Team and the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Coaches Association hosted the 5th College Lincoln-Douglas Grand Prix in Denton in a two-day event.
Holden Bukowsky, Taylor Dougherty, Zachary Jones, and Joseph Wofford represented the Mean Green to a second-place finish.
The hybrid format was held to maximize opportunities for teams to enter using the topic and event rules of the National Forensics Association in three divisions: Open, Junior Varsity, and Novice.
Wofford was named the Tournament's Top Speaker and continued into the quarterfinals with Bukowski. Meanwhile, Jones advanced the farthest in double-elimination debates. Winning nine debates, he advanced to the semifinals where he was defeated by Andre Swai from Western Kentucky University.
"We are incredibly proud of our entire team for their outstanding performances at the Lincoln-Douglas Grand Prix and the Asynchronous Tournament," said Dr. Brian Lain, Director of Debate at the University of North Texas. "Their hard work and dedication have paid off in a big way, and their success is a testament to our students' exceptional talent and skill."
UNT collected end-of-season awards with Bukowsky named to the All-American Team and landed on the National Debate Scholars -Summa Cum Laude list with teammate Jones. This honor recognizes their academic and competitive achievements.
Tournament Results
Top Speaker Open Division Joseph Wofford, University of North Texas
Top Speaker Junior Varsity Division Nevin Butler, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Top speaker of the Novice Division Yina Todd, Central Michigan University
Combined Sweepstakes Winners
1st Western Kentucky University
2nd Washburn University
3rd University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Open Sweepstakes Winners
1st Western Kentucky University
2nd University of North Texas
3rd Washburn University
The team travels to Santa Ana, California for the American Forensic Association's National Speech Tournament this week.
For more information on the UNT Debate Team, click here.