Jared and Jason Barton win first place for Public Forum Debate, and Jared earns Top Speaker honors in Flower Mound.
Five members of the Lake Highlands High School Debate Team will be traveling to Birmingham, Alabama this summer to compete in the National Championship Tournament of the National Forensics League. The NFL is similar to the UIL in the world of speech and debate, and the Wildcats have been competing successfully at tournaments all over Texas to qualify.
Isabel Pask will compete in Dramatic Interpretation, Justin Rice & Arjun Nair in Public Forum, and brothers Jared & Jason Barton, also in Public Forum (a partner-style event).
Jared, who was District Champion in Lincoln-Douglas debate, won 2nd at Regionals for the format made famous by the former Senate candidates from Illinois. He says the LHHS team is ready for the June 14 competition.
“I look forward to competing against students from around the nation who have different debate styles from those you traditionally see in Texas. The Texas style is more aggressive and fast-paced than the rest of the nation, so it will be enjoyable to face more relaxed competition.”
Hunter Wood, debate coach at LHHS since 2009, will accompany the crew to Alabama.
“For the past three years, he has sent as many as seven competitors to Nationals and as few as five,” Jared told me. “This is a larger-than-average number for a team to send to the National Tournament across the nation. This is unprecedented, not only in the history of Lake Highlands, but also in RISD.”
Jared, who’s already been to Nationals once, says participating with his sibling will be a bonus.
“Competing with my brother provides a strategic advantage because we can work together whenever we want. We have had great success this year, placing well at many tournaments, including first-place finishes at the Plano Senior High, Marcus High School, NFL Districts and Royce City tournaments.”
After he graduates in June, Jared will head off to the University of Oklahoma to major in Political Science. Debate, he says, has taught him a host of life lessons.
“Despite being very competitive, you must learn to live with differing opinions and, while you may not always agree with someone, you must listen and at least understand where they are coming from.”
The final rounds of the national competition will be judged by former Cabinet members, corporate CEOs and stage and screen celebrities. Winners will earn more than $200,000 in college scholarships.
Good luck, Wildcats!
