Duke University opened its doors to speech and debate teams from across North Carolina and Virginia as it hosted the Inaugural Duke University Blue Devil Classic in early February.

A strong Pinecrest Speech and Debate Team entered the first classic and brought home plenty of trophies to prove their dominant status on the North Carolina competitive front.

The Pinecrest team defeated all comers on the Duke campus, claiming the team sweepstakes award by a 26-point margin. In this first year of the new national venture, local speakers brought home individual awards in eight of the 10 speech and debate events offered.

In duo interpretation, the team of Emily Brownback and Evan Sherwood finished first while the team of Maya Davis and Eli Giudice finished third. Sophomore Ben Denton finished second in extemporaneous speaking, and sophomore Ryon Barton gained third in impromptu speech. In oral interpretation, Pinecrest nearly closed out all competitors with second place going to Emily Brownback, third place to Hannah Sellers, fourth place to Jenny Questell, fifth to Eli Giudice, and sixth to Patrick Sazama. Jenny Questell also placed third in dramatic performance, and Patrick Sazama, fifth.

In debate, Varsity Congressional Debate awards went to Matt Shuster, second, Caleb Frye, third, and Ben Berk, fourth. Fifth place Public Forum Debate awards went to Doug Tableman and John Wheeler in Varsity, and Jairo Vera and Sarah Sizer in Novice. Emily Gower placed fifth in novice Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Public Forum debaters argued that "Resolved: That, on balance, the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) has had a positive impact on the United States." The Lincoln-Douglas topic was "Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity."

In a novel approach, the Blue Devil Classic replaced the traditional trophies with ornamental wooden Duke University basketballs with tournament plaques.

On another national front, five members of the Pinecrest team received acceptance into the Barkley Forum at Emory, a highly selective, application-only event. Held on the Emory University campus in Atlanta in January, the Barkley Forum recognizes the achievement of forensics students at previous national-level competitions.

Senior Ben Berk placed in semi-session of congressional debate while Matt Shuster advanced to the final session before being eliminated. The Public Forum team of Caleb Frye and Meredith Potter was undefeated in seven rounds of debate and advanced to the first tutorial exhibition. Sophomore Ben Denton competed in extemporaneous speaking but did not advance.

For additional information about the Pinecrest Speech and Debate team contact Libby Carter at lcarter@mcs.k12.nc.us.?