West Des Moines Valley Closes Out IHSSA State

ANKENY, Iowa — This weekend, the Iowa High School Speech Association hosted its annual state debate tournament at Des Moines Area Community College. IHSSA State is the first of Iowa’s two state tournaments; the Iowa Forensic League All-Iowa Finals will occur on the first weekend in March.

West Des Moines Valley High School’s Anna Lyons and Moses Sloven closed out the final round. Anna, as top speaker and top seed, was declared the IHSAA State Champion, while Moses is runner-up. Read more →

Happy Birthday, Bietz!

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Mike Bietz is one of the foremost Lincoln-Douglas Debate coaches in the history of the activity. He is also one of the nicest people I know and one of the greatest supporters of this activity. And today is his birthday.

Mike Bietz is at the MBA Round Robin today. Let’s leave him some birthday love to which to return home.

VBD Weekend Coverage: January 7-9, 2011

NEW YORK, N.Y. — VBD is providing coverage of the following tournaments this weekend.

Bobcat Classic (Byram Hills) — Snowed Out
Laird Lewis Invitational (Myers Park) — Finals: Cary’s Zach Dresher defeated Durham’s Raghav Bansal on a 5-0 decision.
MBA Round Robin — Final Ballot Count: MBA ROUND ROBIN: Walt Whitman’s Marshall Thompson places first; Harvard-Westlake’s Jake Sonnenberg places second.
Sunvitational (University) — Finals: Lake Highland’s Martin Sigalow defeated Stoneman Douglas’s Josh Feinzig on a 3-0 decision.
University of Puget Sound — Finals: Brentwood’s Kyle Allen-Niesen defeated Mercer Island’s Lizzie Tao on a 2-1 decision.

Marshall Thompson Wins MBA

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Walt Whitman High School’s Marshall Thompson is the champion of Montgomery Bell Academy’s twenty-seventh annual Sandra Davis Memorial Southern Bell Forum Round Robin, having placed first in the ballot count. Harvard-Westlake School’s Jake Sonnenberg is runner-up. The demonstration debate between the two competitors is forthcoming. Read more →

Martin Sigalow Wins the Sunvitational

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lake Highland Preparatory School’s Martin Sigalow is the champion of the third annual University School Sunvitational; he defeated Stoneman Douglas High School’s Josh Feinzig on a 3-0 decision in the final round. Read more →