By Carly Watson
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University Debate qualified two teams to the National Debate Tournament (NDT) at the district qualifying tournament.
Nate Glancy, an economics senior, and David Koster, a political science sophomore in the Honors College, bested teams from Northwestern University, Purdue University, and Wayne State University to finish in the top qualifying spot.
Piper Meloche, a social relations and policy senior in James Madison College, and Tony Miklovis, a James Madison College freshman defeated teams from Northwestern University, Purdue University, and Wayne State University to finish second at the tournament. Meloche and Miklovis are both students in the Honors College.
This is MSU Debate’s second year in a row clinching the top two qualification spots out of the regional district tournament.
Only 78 teams nationally qualify to attend the NDT each year out of hundreds of teams that participate in regional qualifying tournaments. MSU Debate’s regional district includes the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, Purdue University, Indiana University, and Wayne State University.
“The whole team has worked hard all year and our district tournament was incredibly competitive,” said Will Repko, MSU Debate Head Coach. “It’s exciting that we’ll get to finish our season at the NDT with a great group of students.”
MSU has a legacy of success at the National Debate Tournament – the team has qualified for 26 consecutive years and has won the tournament three times.
“MSU Debate has a long tradition of participation at the NDT. We have one of the longest streaks of qualifying of any public university,” said Repko.
MSU Debate next competes at the American Debate Association (ADA) Nationals tournament next weekend. The NDT will be hosted by James Madison University the last week of March.
The MSU Debate Team is part of the Honors College.