The Michigan State University Debate Team continued its strong season with a finish in the top four of a tournament held in California over the winter break.
Ninety-seven teams from across the United States competed in the tournament.
Honors College and international relations senior Tyler Thur and mathematics senior Margaret Strong made it to the quarterfinals after defeating pairs from Harvard University, the University of Michigan, Trinity University, Indiana University, Rutgers University-Newark and Georgetown University.
Strong finished fifth overall in individual speaker awards and Thur finished seventh.
“The California tournament is an important marker as it kicks off the final half of the competitive college debate season,” said Head Coach Will Repko. “Tyler and Marge had another great tournament in California, continuing their standing as a top-ranked team nationally.”
Also competing for MSU were the pairs of Honors College and computer science sophomore Connor Munsinger and international relations freshman Luc Walkington; and professional writing sophomore Breana Brill and Honors College physics freshman Evan Runburg.
The season’s debate topic is U.S. military presence abroad. The MSU Debate Team will compete in the Dartmouth Round Robin – a highly-selective event for only the top seven teams in the country – Jan. 23-24.
The MSU Debate Team is a part of the Honors College.