The University of Wyoming debate team took its season-opening momentum into the month
of October with impressive performances for both the policy and parliamentary halves
of the squad, boasting two final four appearances, a top speaker award and 25 total
victories and wins against some of the most elite schools in the country.
In parliamentary debate action, the Cowboys attended the Golden Gate Invitational
Debates, hosted by the University of California. Nearly 60 teams were in attendance,
representing the Pacific and Mountain West regions. Seniors Kathryn Starkey of Jackson
Hole and Jeremiah Etcheverry of Rock Springs continued their strong performance with
victories over Oregon, Western Washington, Washburn and Concordia-Irvine en route
to a seventh-place finish.
Another pair of seniors opened their season at California. Nick Larmer of Gillette
and Isaac McBride of Boise, Idaho, went on a dominating run through the elimination
rounds, finishing in the final four. Along the way, the duo gathered wins against
Washburn, Nevada-Reno, California, Oregon and Pepperdine.
The policy half of the squad traveled to the Las Vegas Classic, hosted by UNLV. With
nearly 120 teams in attendance, it was the largest tournament of the year that the
Cowboys have attended thus far.
Wyoming had four teams in attendance: Senior Mike Bausch (Boise, Idaho) and sophomore
Kacey Ballard (Green River); sophomores Jared Fanning (Cheyenne) and Amy Pauli (Green
River); sophomore Kathleen Bouzis (Omaha) and freshman Jon Swartz (Cheyenne); and
freshmen Ben Berry (Cheyenne) and Darshan Patel (Newcastle).
The most impressive performance for the Cowboys was once again provided by Ballard
and Bausch. They finished in the final four with an impressive string of victories.
They defeated elite competition from Dartmouth, Northwestern, Emory, California and
Cal-State Fullerton. Ballard and Bausch's matchup and subsequent defeat of Idaho State
in the elite eight was especially gratifying, as ISU is one of UW's most skilled regional
rivals.
Bausch was also recognized for his impressive speaking abilities, once again laying
claim to the tournament's overall Top Speaker award (his third such award this season).
The squad is now back in Laramie gearing up for November competitions at Colorado
College, Northwest College in Powell, Whitman College and Wake Forest University.
For those who may have missed coverage of the team's success in September, please
read: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/cojo/showrelease.asp?id=46502.