2024-2025
Owen L Coon Memorial Debates at Northwestern University.
Freshman Debaters Lily Severson and Benjamin Kleiman (Iowa KS) made it to all the way to Finals in the JV division; finishing in second place at their very first college policy debate tournament. After going 4-2 in pre-elimination rounds, in quarterfinals Ben and Lilly negated Michigan AL winning all three judges ballots. Iowa KS went on to win another negative round against Minnesota UW in semifinals, before affirming against Kansas HB in finals. In addition to their amazing success as a team, Benjamin Kleiman got the 3rd place speaker award. Special thanks to Maile Huffman for providing coaching and support to Iowa KS, along with the entire Iowa team, throughout the weekend.
Debaters Spencer Anderson McElligott and Grey Parfenoff (Iowa AP) were 17th seed in the open division with a impressive 6-2 record in pre-elimination rounds. They went on to negate against UC Berkeley BT in double-octo finals to finish out the tournament in 17th place.
Debaters Rose Bilicki and Nate Weimar (Iowa PW) debuted their partnership in the open division going an even 4-4 pre-elimination rounds, leaving every Iowa team with an even or winning record.
2023-2024
Franklin R Shirley hosted by Wake Forest University
Debaters Ryan Cavanaugh and Maeve Ella were the 12th seed, finishing in 5th place out of 129 teams. They had victories against Dartmouth in doubles and Georgetown in Octas, with a competitive loss to Wake Forest in the Quarter Finals. Notable victories include Dartmouth, Emory, North Texas, Georgetown, Georgia in prelims. They had impressive individual rankings, with Ryan at 10th and Maeve at 13th out of 258 debaters.
Debaters Spencer Anderson-McElligott and Grey Parfenoff lost their break round to Wake Forest, going 4-3. They beat Kentucky, Binghamton, Georgia, and Cornell.
Debaters Vriti Patel and Nate Weimar lost Round 7 to Baylor, going 3-4. They beat Emory, Weber State, and Wyoming.
Harvard College Tournament
Debaters Ryan Cavanaugh and Maeve Ella placed 9th out of 90 teams, with a narrow 2-1 loss to CSU Long Beach. They entered elimination debates as the 9th seed after going 6-2 in preliminary debates. Notable victories include Georgetown, Dartmouth, UT Dallas, Liberty, and Kansas. Noteworthy individual rankings with Ryan at 20th and Maeve at 24th out of 180 debaters in a field of 90 teams.
Debaters Spencer Anderson-McElligott and Grey Parfenoff won Round 8 against Minnesota to finish the tournament 5-3, just missing elimination debates on speaker points. They beat Minnesota, Wichita State, Michigan State, Rochester, Cal State Fullerton.
George Ziegelmueller Invitational hosted by Wayne State University
Debaters Vriti Patel and Nate Weimar placed 5th, with notable victories including Wake Forest, Michigan State, Emory PS, and Emory RW in Octas. Unofrtunately, they had a 2-1 loss to Wayne State in Quarters.
Debaters Rose Bilicki and Maile HUffman earned the 16th seed. Remarkable individual rankings with Nate at 8th, Rose at 15th, Vriti at 17th, and Maile at 21st.
JW Patterson Debates hosted by the University of Kentucky
Debaters Ryan Cavanaugh and Maeve Ella placed 9th out of 101 teams, with a challenging 3-0 loss to Wyoming. They entered the elimination debates as the 3rd seed, with notable victories including USC, Binghamton, Minnesota, Samford, Georgetown, and UT Dallas. They had outstanding individual rankings with Maeve at 5th and Ryan at 6th our of 202 debaters.
Debaters Spencer Anderson-McElligott and Grey Parfenoff lost their break out round to Wake Forest, going 3-3. They beat Samford, Georgetown, and Easton Logback.
Debaters Vriti Patel and Nate Weimar lost their break round to Emory, going 3-3. They beat Michigan, Northwestern, and Baylor.
Debaters Rose Bilicki and Maile Huffman won Round 6 to finish 3-3, beating Kansas, Emory, and Kentucky.
Owen L Coon Memorial Debates hosted by Northwestern University
Debaters Ryan Cavanaugh and Maeve Ella placed 9th out of 122 teams, with a narrow loss (2-1 decision) to CSU Long Beach. They entered elimination debates as the 18th seed, with notable victories including Kansas, Trinity, Tufts, Michigan State, and Wyoming. Also impressive were their individual rankings, with Maeve at 15th and Ryan at 20th out of 244 debaters.
Debaters Spencer Anderson-McElligott and Grey Parfenoff lost their break round to Minnesota to finish 3-3. They beat Gonzaga, Indiana, and UT Dallas.
Debaters Rose Bilicki and Maile Huffman lost Round 6 to finish 2-4, beating Indiana and Northwestern.
2022-2023
Liberty National Invitational
Hawkeye Debate on the Road to Success
Maile Huffman (’26) and Robert Putney (’24) continue Iowa Debate’s success at the Liberty University National Intercollegiate Debate Invitational, this weekend. Both won individual honors, with Maile receiving 7th place speaker and Robert placing 4th in the speaker race. Going 4-2, the team secured the 4th seed in the elimination debates and face a strong team from Mary Washington, in the Elite 8.
Robert is no stranger to success. At the 2002 American Debate Association and Cross Examination Debate Association national tournaments, he finished 17th in the nation. Earning two Top 20 rankings for the A. Craig Baird Debate Forum.
Liberty marks Maile’s first policy debate tournament, which makes her success that much more impressive. As a first-year college student, Maile walked onto the team in September. Hailing from Missouri, her background is in high school Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Traditionally, persons without policy debate experience compete at the novice of JV level. Not Maile. Her first competition is at the Varsity level where she has earned success against more experienced debaters.
The Hawks lost on a close 2-1 decision and finished 5th
Cheering the Hawks onto victory!
Wake Forest National Invitational
On a Path to a First Round
Hawkeyes Ryan Cavanaugh (’24) and Maeve Ella (’24) feasted, just prior to Thanksgiving, at the Franklin R. Shirley debate tournament at Wake Forest University and finished the tournament 9th out of 111 teams representing the highest level of competition offered in intercollegiate debate. This is the second time Maeve and Ryan placed in the Top 10 and places them in the race to secure a First Round At-Large bid to the National Debate Tournament.
Maeve and Ryan started off the with a win on the negative against Houston and ended the first day with a 3-1 record. After day two and at the end of preliminary debates, they were 4-2. They secured the 18th seed and a guaranteed position in elimination debates.
In the Round of 64, they affirmed against a team from Northwestern University. Maeve and Ryan entered the round as the higher seed and the favorites to win. On a 5-0 decision, the Iowa CE advanced to the round of 32.
In this next debate, the Hawkeyes would compete against Texas, one of last year’s top teams and First Round At-Large recipients. Texas has experienced a similar track of success as Maeve and Ryan, with both teams seeing late elimination debates at previous tournaments this year. On a 2-1 decision, and after a close debate, the Hawkeyes move on to the Sweet 16.
Waiting for Maeve and Ryan in the Sweet 16 was last year’s NDT Finalist and the winners of the Kentucky Round Robin and the Kentucky National Invitational, Michigan. A true juggernaut, Michigan is ranked as one to the Top 3 teams in the nation. This is where the Hawks run ends.
Recognized as two of the Top 25 debaters out of 222 competitors (Maeve 19th, Ryan 21st), they entered the elimination debates as the 18th seed and finished 9th. With back-to-back 9th place finishes at national invitationals and a 17th place finish at the season opener, Ryan Cavanaugh and Maeve Ella find themselves in the hunt for a First Round.
Let’s fight, fight, fight for Iowa!
Gonzaga National Invitational
Hawkeyes Break into the Top 10
Halloween is more than a trick-or-treat tradition for intercollegiate debate. It’s the weekend of the Harvard Debate Tournament on odd years and the Gonzaga Debate Tournament on even years. This year, Iowa Debate traveled to Spokane, Washington to compete in the most prestigious tournament of the first semester and the team’s bag is filled with treats!
As the campus celebrates Homecoming, Ryan Cavanaugh (’24) and Maeve Ella (’24) clash with the nation’s top intercollegiate debate programs. 88 teams and 176 debaters in total, including Berkley, Dartmouth, Emory, Harvard, Michigan, and Northwestern. The quality of the competition shall put to the test Maeve’s and Ryan’s top twenty ranking.
So far, Iowa Debate is championing the university’s reputation as one of the nation’s top intercollegiate debate squads. Both debaters earned top individual debater recognition with Ryan awarded 12th speaker and Maeve breaking the top ten being awarded 9th speaker. Their performance placed them as the top seeded 4-2 team as they entered the elimination debates as the 12th overall ranked team. After a 3-0 victory over the University of Kentucky, they debated last year’s National Debate Tournament Champion, Dartmouth College, in the Sweet Sixteen. After a rousing debate, Maeve and Ryan fell short of victory and finish 9th.
Anytime a program can achieve a top 10 national ranking, we should celebrate as a campus.
Let’s wish our Hawks the best of success and cheer them onto victory!
Weber State
Hawkeyes,
Ryan Cavanaugh and Maeve Sanders, represented the A. Craig Baird Debate Forum at the Val Browning Round Robin hosted by Weber State University on October 8 – 9. They were selected through a highly competitive application process to compete against 13 other of the nation's top teams. Baylor, Georgia, Gonzaga, and Minnesota, to name a few of the excellent peer programs comprising the list of competitors. This was Maeve and Ryan’s first time appearing in a round robin. They finished in the middle of the pack with a 3-3 record, with Ryan placing in the Top Ten for individual performance. The future of the program is bright, as both Maeve and Ryan are juniors.
To keep informed about the competitive progress of Iowa Debate join the team’s Facebook page “A. Craig Baird Debate Forum” or visit our website at https://debate.uiowa.edu/.
Hawks fly together!
2020-2021
Northwestern University
Iowa BR (Ellie Bennett and Spencer Roetlin) achieved two huge milestones: they advanced to their first national elimination round and won their first elimination round! Out of a field of over 250 of the nation's best debaters, they were each in the top 50 speakers and advanced as one of the top 30 seeds. They were 3-3 against teams who reached the elimination rounds, an outstanding mark to reach against the nation's top 50 teams, and each loss came to one of the tournament's top 20 teams. Congratulations to Ellie and Spencer!!
2019-2020
University of Kentucky
CHAMPIONS!! Junior Varisty - Iowa ST (Sanders/Thomas-McGinnis)
5-3 record - Iowa BR (Bennett/Roetlin)
Wayne State University
8th Speaker -- Elizabeth Bennett, 12th Speaker -- Michael Cho, 19th Speaker -- Spencer Roetlin
ELITE EIGHT! Iowa BR (Bennett/Roetlin)
US Naval Academy
Sweet Sixteen! Iowa BR (Bennett/Roetlin)
2018-2019
**Fall 2018**
Georgia State
FINAL FOUR - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
University of Northern Iowa (UNI)
TOP SPEAKER - D'Angelo Oberto-Besso
SECOND SPEAKER - Suubi Namakula
THIRD SPEAKER -- Spencer Roetlin
7th Speaker -- Elizabeth Bennett, 9th Speaker -- Michael Cho, 10th Speaker -- Alex Blocker.
CO-CHAMPIONS!!!! - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso) and Iowa BR (Bennett/Roetlin).
Quarterfinalists - Iowa BC (Blocker/Cho) and Iowa HM (Hurt/McIlhon).
Emporia State
SECOND SPEAKER - Suubi Namakula
THIRD SPEAKER - D'Angelo Oberto-Besso
CHAMPIONS!!! - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
FINAL FOUR - Iowa BR (Bennett/Roetlin)
MOST PREFERRED JUDGE!! - Brian Rubaie
Gonzaga
18th Speaker - Geordano Liriano
FINAL FOUR - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
Wake Forest
Sweet Sixteen - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
**Spring 2019**
University of Southern California (USC)
14th Speaker - Sam Gustavson
Sweet Sixteen - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
California State-Fullerton
13th Speaker - Geordano Liriano
COACH OF THE YEAR!! - Brian Rubaie
FINAL FOUR - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
Indiana University
13th Speaker - D'Angelo Oberto-Besso
FINAL FOUR - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
Northwestern University
6th Speaker - Geordano Liriano
14th Speaker - Sam Gustavson
7th seed, Elite Eight - Sam Gustavson/Geordano Liriano
National Qualifiers - NDT District 4
FIRST PLACE, National Qualifiers - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Championship at Long Beach State University
FINAL FOUR!! - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
DEBATER OF THE YEAR!! - Geordano Liriano
GRADUATE ASSISTANT OF THE YEAR!! - Kristiana Baez
11th Speaker - Sam Gustavson
14th Speaker - Geordano Liriano
National Debate Tournament (NDT) at University of Minnesota
National Qualifiers, 4-4 record - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
2017-2018
**Fall 2017**
University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC)
CHAMPIONS!! Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
TOP SPEAKER - Geo Liriano
2nd Speaker - Sam Gustavson
University of Northern Iowa (UNI)
TOP SPEAKER - Brooke Kimbrough
8th Speaker - D'Angelo Oberto-Besso
Quarterfinalists - Iowa CK (Christophersen/Kimbrough)
Semifinalists - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
Weber State University
5th Speaker - Brooke Kimbrough
Octofinalists - Iowa CK (Christophersen/Kimbrough)
Quarterfinalists - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV)
TOP SPEAKER - Brooke Kimbrough
6th Speaker - Suubi Namakula
13th Speaker - D'Angelo Oberto-Besso
Semifinalists - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
Octofinalists - Iowa CK
Gonzaga University
Double-Octofinalists - Iowa GL
Wake Forest University
7th Speaker - Brooke Kimbrough
Octofinalists - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
Double-Octofinalists - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
**Spring 2018**
Cal-Berkeley (Part 1)
FINALISTS - Iowa CK (Christophersen/Kimbrough)
Double-Octofinalists - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
Cal-Berkeley (Part 2)
4th Speaker - Brooke Kimbrough
Octofinalists - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
Double-Octofinalists - Iowa CK (Christophersen/Kimbrough)
University of Pittsburgh Round Robin
3rd Place - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
University of Texas
Octofinalists - Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano)
National Qualifiers - NDT District 4
TOP SPEAKER - Brooke Kimbrough
SECOND PLACE, National Qualifiers - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)
Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Championship at the University of Puget Sound
CO-NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!! - Iowa CK (Christophersen/Kimbrough) and Iowa GL (Gustavson/Liriano).*
*Special note: This was only the second time out of 108 national championship debate rounds where two teams from the same school "closed out" the national championship final.
2nd Speaker - Brooke Kimbrough
5th Speaker - Sam Gustavson
9th Speaker - Geo Liriano
18th Speaker - Coco Christophersen
National Debate Tournament (NDT) at Wichita State University
Double-Octofinalists, 11th seed - Iowa CK (Christopheren/Kimbrough)
National Qualifiers - Iowa NO (Namakula/Oberto-Besso)