(Rock Creek Debate) Josh Roberts (left) and Dylan Meyer hold 5th place medals from Emporia Tournament

The high school debate season opened on Saturday, September 15.   The Rock Creek debate team traveled to Emporia High School.   Crystal Chitwood and Jacob Miller finished 3rd out of 47 entries in the open division, and Dylan Meyer and Josh Roberts took 5th.   “I was really proud of how the students did.  Those four played in and cheered at an intense football game the night before, only to get to school at 5 a.m. the next morning to travel to Emporia to argue all day.  That showed great mental toughness on their part,”  said Coach Miller.  The pairing of Jacy Johnston and Rachel Forrester went 3-2 on the day, while Trey Basa and Larissa Eshelman went 2-3. 

            The tournament was a memorable one for many reasons.   First of all, Mr. Miller hit a deer and a rabbit on the way to Emporia.  “Luckily the animals did not damage the suburban.  Unfortunately, the rabbit and the deer did not fare as well,”  said Mr. Miller.   Secondly, the tournament had out rounds, which meant a 6th round for Crystal and Jacob.   “They were pretty tired at that point, but they plowed ahead and competed in the 6th round.”    Dylan and Josh almost made the out rounds, but not quite.  “They are pretty competitive.  They always want to win.  However, they handled the news of not making out rounds well,” said Coach Miller. 

            Rock Creek will be hosting an open tournament on Saturday. “It will be the largest debate tournament Rock Creek has ever hosted, so if anyone wants to help out, we could use the help,”  said Coach Miller.