A full list of the awards and honors that were given is below the fold.

Team Captains

The team captains for this year’s squad included:

1. Joe Balistreri – Debate
2. Nicholas Nassif – Forensics/Public Forum Debate
3. Ben Benson – Policy Debate
4. Samuel N. Hope IV – Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Reverend Curry Scholarships

This year’s Rev. Curry Scholarships were presented a day earlier at the Senior Awards Convocation.

1. Joe Balistreri – Policy Debate
2. Sam Hope – Lincoln-Douglas Debate
3. Nicholas Nassif – Forensics

National Qualifiers

Marquette qualified for all four national tournaments this season.

National Forensic League National Tournament:

1. Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann – Policy Debate
2. Ben Benson & Noah Charles – Policy Debate

National Catholic Forensic League Grand Nationals:

1. Alex Beck & Jack Mackay – Policy Debate
2. Paras Bansal & Sam Scheurell – Policy Debate

National Debate Coaches’ Association National Championship:

1. Joe Balistreri & Ben Benson – Policy Debate

The Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky:

1. Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann – Policy Debate

State Tournament Elimination Round Participants

Marquette earned this year’s State Championships in Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

1. Joe Balistreri & Michael Hoffmann – Champions in Policy Debate
2. Ben Benson & Noah Charles – Quarterfinalists in Policy Debate
3. Sam Hope – Champion in Lincoln-Douglas Debate
4. Christopher Christmas – Semifinalist in Lincoln-Douglas Debate
5. Nicholas Nassif - 2nd Place in Radio Announcing
6. Matt Dean - 5th Place in Radio Announcing
7. Brandon Kurzynski - Semifinalist in Humorous Interpretation

Leading National Forensic League Point Recipients

The following students are in the top ten in points as of May 2009.

1. Nicholas Nassif- 1,455 (Outstanding Distinction)
2. Joe Balistreri - 1,366 (Outstanding Distinction)
3. Ben Benson - 1,361 (Outstanding Distinction)
4. Noah Charles - 1,141 (Outstanding Distinction)
5. Samuel Hope - 1,078 (Outstanding Distinction)
6. Michael Hoffmann - 1,074 (Outstanding Distinction)
7. Jack Mackay - 857 (Superior Distinction)
8. Alex Beck - 504 (Special Distinction)
9. Jeremy Schmid - 416 (Distinction)
10. Zach Kasun - 403 (Distinction)

Special Award Recipients

The following special awards were given to deserving students.

1. The 2009 James Madison Copeland Webster Club Speaker of the Year Award — Joe Balistreri
2. Policy Debate MVP — Joe Balistreri
3. Lincoln-Douglas Debate MVP — Sam Hope
4. Public Forum Debate MVP — Nicholas Nassif
5. Four-Year Career Achievement Award — Ben Benson / Noah Charles
6. Debate Rookie of the Year — Tyler Thur
7. NFL Point Leader, Seniors — Nicholas Nassif
8. NFL Point Leader, Juniors — Matthew Waldoch
9. NFL Point Leader, Sophomores — Michael Hoffmann
10. NFL Point Leader, Freshmen — Tyler Thur

On Derby Weekend, the Webster Club traveled to Lexington, Kentucky for the National Tournament of Champions. Hosted by the University of Kentucky every year since 1972, the TOC is debate’s preeminent national championship and one of the most intense experiences of any high school debater’s career.

In order to attend the TOC, a team must qualify by accumulating at least two bids during the regular season. Bids are attained by reaching the designated elimination round at an invitational tournament: the most elite tournaments are qualifiers at the octafinal level while others offer bids to quarterfinalists, semifinalists, or finalists. Marquette’s own Hilltopper Classic is the only tournament in Wisconsin to offer contestants a bid to the TOC.

After failing to qualify last season, Marquette was once again represented at the TOC in 2009 thanks to clutch late season performances by senior Joe Balistreri and sophomore Michael Hoffmann at the Harvard and Maine East tournaments. Marquette closed-out the first TOC in 1972—and remains the only school in the tournament’s history to do so—but the squad has struggled to replicate that success during the ensuring four decades. The Hilltoppers finished as runners-up in 1979 and 1985 but have not reached the elimination rounds since despite qualifying six teams to the tournament in the past decade.

This year, Joe and Michael were intent on ending the school’s elimination round drought. With only the nation’s top 67 teams in the field, this would be no easy task. The entire squad worked hard to prepare for the tournament and we were ably assisted by alum and former coach Andy Nolan and Francisco Bencosme, a debater at Wake Forest University and friend of the program who was hired for the weekend.

Arriving in Lexington late on Thursday night after a long drive, we spent Friday finishing our preparation and resting up for the challenging debates to come.

Saturday morning greeted us with overcast skies and a persistent drizzle, but we arrived at the University ready to go at 6:50AM. In the first round, Joe and Michael were matched up with Mountain Brook (Alabama), another senior-sophomore team and one-half of which had defeated us in the finals of the Woodward Second Year National Championship. This time, we avenged the loss and earned a much-needed round one win.

In round two, we were paired against our close friends and rivals from Woodward Academy (Georgia). We had gone out to dinner with the Woodward squad the previous night and have worked closely with them throughout the season, but they once again got the better of us in a closely-fought round. The loss left us with an 0-3 record against Woodward on the season but more importantly a 1-1 record at the TOC and needing to win four out of our final five debates to clear.

After regrouping during a brief lunch, Joe and Michael got back on the winning track in round three with a win over Salt Lake City West (Utah), a team that had defeated us at this year’s Southern Bell Forum in January. With a 2-1 record, we were then matched up with a tough team from the Kinkaid School (Texas) in round four. Knowing that this was a “must win” debate against one of the nation’s best teams, Joe and Michael debated extremely well and pulled out the victory to finish day one with a 3-1 record.

While the students slept, Mr. Batterman and Francisco spent the night hard at work to prepare for Sunday’s critical rounds. We needed to win only two out of three to clear, but that wouldn’t be easy: those three rounds would undoubtedly be against some of the best teams in the country.

The weather was no better on Sunday morning as we again arrived on campus at the break of dawn. In round five, Joe and Michael were paired against the top team from Bellarmine (California), one of the most talented duos in the country and a team that had won the University of Southern California and Meadows School tournaments as well as their state championship (for the second time). Again at the top of their games, Joe and Michael prevailed to claim one of their biggest wins of the season.

With two prelims to go, Marquette was in great position at 4-1. But two big debates remained.

In round six, we were matched up with the top team from the Bronx High School of Science (New York), the team that had defeated us in the semifinals of Harvard and the quarterfinals of St. Mark’s (but that we had defeated in the prelims of Harvard). Continuing the trend begun at Harvard when we had each broken new affirmatives against one another, they read a new case that provided alternative energy to the Post Office in order to prevent its collapse. After a long deliberation by the judge, Bronx emerged victorious and Joe and Michael stood at 4-2.

Needing to win round seven to clear, we drew the top team from Bishop Guertin (New Hampshire). The consensus number two team in the country, they had recently reached the finals of the NDCA National Championship and had claimed the titles at Blake, New Trier, and Georgetown Day and had consistently been in the late elimination rounds of the major national invitationals. Defending the affirmative, Joe and Michael put up a valiant fight but were unable to pull off the upset to knock Bishop Guertin out of the tournament.

Finishing with a 4-3 record, we fell one win short of ending the school’s elimination round drought. Exhausted and disappointed, we nonetheless had much to be proud of—the teams that we debated accumulated 30 wins during the preliminary rounds, the most opponent wins of any team in the tournament.

Looking back, Joe and Michael could boast wins over an eventual semifinalist and the runner-up; their only losses were to two eventual octafinalists and a quarterfinalist. Had the pairings been different, we almost certainly would have ended the drought. But it was not to be, at least not this year.

With the National Forensic League National Tournament remaining on their schedule, the season did not end for Marquette BH. But even if it had ended, Joe and Michael have put together one of the most impressive seasons in Webster Club history. Since the beginning of February, they have:

• Qualified for NFL Nationals with an undefeated record
• Reached the semifinals of the Harvard National Invitational (Joe 18th Speaker)
• Won the Maine East Regatta (Joe 9th Speaker, Michael 15th Speaker)
• Reached the finals of the Woodward Second Year National Championship (Michael with Jack Mackay)
• Earned the top speaker award at the Woodward Second Year National Championship (Michael)
• Reached the octafinals of the NDCA National Championship (Joe with Ben Benson)
• Earned the 8th speaker award at the NDCA National Championship (Joe)
• Finished 4-3 at the TOC
• Earned wins over the TOC Champions and Runners-Up

And that is certainly something to be proud of. And it is something that the entire Webster Club family—debaters, coaches, parents, and alums—can take pride in. Although the elimination round drought at the TOC will continue for at least another year, this year’s squad is one whose achievements will not soon be forgotten.

While most Marquette High students were enjoying the last weekend of their Spring Break, the Webster Club traveled to Las Vegas for the National Debate Coaches’ Association National Championship Tournament. Hosted this year by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and its debate team, the NDCA tournament has grown into one of the most prestigious in the country. Boasting one of the most competitive fields and perhaps the best judging pool of any high school tournament, it provides a tough postseason test for the nation’s best teams. After travel woes nearly prevented us from competing, the tournament proved an enormous success as Marquette reached the Sweet Sixteen and earned a top-ten speaker award. But it certainly wasn’t easy.

The Webster Club was supposed to be represented by senior Joe Balistreri and sophomore Michael Hoffmann, but plans changed early on Friday morning when Michael’s flight home from a college visit trip was delayed in Atlanta. Fortunately, senior Ben Benson was ready and willing to pinch hit and fill Michael’s spot. Catastrophe was averted—or at least that’s what we thought.

Boarding our Frontier Airlines flight from Milwaukee, the weather was beautiful: with temperatures in the mid-70s and a bright sunny sky, the Chamber of Commerce could not have asked for a better Spring day to showcase the city. Unfortunately, the weather in Denver was not quite so nice. During what we thought would be a short layover, the overcast skies and cold drizzle turned to a full-blown blizzard before our eyes. Flights began to be delayed—including ours—and the snow kept falling.

With things looking bleak, we finally boarded our flight to Las Vegas along with a full load of eager Vegas-goers nearly three hours after we had expected. We were guided through the pre-flight routine as the pilot taxied us to the runway and announced that we were third in line and would be taking off in the next few minutes. A few minutes turned into ten minutes, and then a devastating announcement: our flight had been cancelled and we were taxiing back to the gate.

A mad dash to the Frontier Airline customer service desk ensued as frustrated travelers jockeyed for position in what became a line several-thousand-people long. We were about 100th in line: certainly not ideal, but it could have been worse. With Ben and Joe alternating shifts to keep our spot in line, we surveyed our options and followed the weather and airport reports. With a foot or more of snow expected, things were not looking good. And the line, of course, was barely moving.

We finally made it to the Frontier desk just as one of the four employees behind it decided to take a smoke break. So our wait continued. When she returned, we gave her our names and our destination fully expecting to be told that the next available flight was not until Saturday or even Sunday. Instead, she informed us that we had been placed on the 11:30PM flight—the last flight of the night to Las Vegas—and that we should hurry to the gate to make sure we didn’t miss it.

Shocked—in a good way, for once—that’s exactly what we did. And although the flight did not actually leave until 12:30AM on Saturday, we didn’t care: we were en route to Las Vegas and we would be able to compete in the tournament despite the day’s many travel woes.

By the time we finally arrived at the tournament hotel—the World’s Largest Super 8, a hotel that has (correctly) chosen to advertise its size and not its quality—it was nearly 2:00AM Las Vegas time and we were exhausted. But were there, and that’s all that mattered.

Bleary-eyed but excited to debate, Joe and Ben finished day one with a 3-1 record that included wins over St. Mark’s (Texas), Notre Dame (California), and Westminster (Georgia) and a loss to Glenbrook South (Illinois). The win over St. Mark’s was particularly impressive—that team had been in the finals of both the Glenbrooks and the Barkley Forum and they went on to reach the semifinals this weekend.

Needing a 5-2 record in the preliminary rounds to reach the elims, Joe and Ben began day two with a big win over the “B” team from Damien (California) in round five before losing to our rivals from Woodward (Georgia) in round six. Matched up with the top team from Montgomery Bell Academy (Tennessee) in the final preliminary round, the Hilltoppers prevailed and finished as the tournament’s twelfth seed.

At the awards ceremony on Sunday night, Joe was named the tournament’s eighth best individual speaker—his most impressive speaker award of the season and one that put him square in the middle of an elite group of the nation’s best debaters. Mr. Batterman was also honored with the inaugural NDCA Service Award for his contributions to the organization. To celebrate, we enjoyed a feast of ribs and sweet tea at one of Las Vegas’s best barbeque restaurants—the Ellis Island Barbeque & Brewery, located immediately next to our hotel. The food was fantastic and the prices were unbelievably low—despite the long wait (everyone justifiably loves this place), it definitely receives the Webster Club’s stamp of approval.

On Monday morning, Joe and Ben debated the “B” team from Bishop Guertin (New Hampshire)—two friends including Joe’s partner from summer institute—in the octafinals. Defending the affirmative, we were bested on a 3-0 decision to end our weekend. Despite the loss, Joe and Ben became the first team from Marquette to clear at the NDCA National Championship and Joe earned the highest speaker award of any Hilltopper (Gaurav Bhatnagar was 15th speaker in 2007).

The trip home was much less eventful but equally draining. After staying through the conclusion of the tournament (which was won by Damien over Bishop Guertin), we trekked to the airport in time for our 11:59PM red-eye back to Milwaukee via Chicago. When we finally arrived in Milwaukee, the weather had turned very cold and we drove directly to school just in time for second period.

It was an exhausting trip—but all three of us would do it again in a heartbeat.

After losing in the quarterfinals as freshmen, Michael and Jack entered this year’s tournament as one of the favorites in the second year division. Hoping to better their semifinals appearance at the St. Mark’s Sophomore Hoe Down in October, the duo advanced to the elimination rounds as the top seed with a perfect 6-0 record, boasting wins over teams from St. Mark’s (TX, twice), Alpharetta (GA), Chattahoochee (GA), Pine Crest (FL), and Oak Park-River Forest (IL). Wins over Henry W. Grady (GA) in the octafinals and Pine Crest in the quarterfinals set up a showdown with the fourth-seeded Westminster (GA) on Sunday morning. Defending the negative, Michael and Jack earned another victory and advanced to the final round to debate Mountain Brook (AL). On a 2-1 decision, Kevin Jiang and Lee Quinn were awarded the championship with the Hilltoppers forced to settle for second place.

Despite the loss, Michael and Jack advanced farther at this year’s Second Year National Championship than any team in Marquette’s history. In addition to their second place finish, Michael was named the tournament’s top individual speaker with Jack finishing twelfth. Michael joins a small and very elite list of sophomores to win the top speaker award at both the Sophomore Hoe Down and Second Year National Championship in the same season.

The Webster Club’s freshmen team of Tom Herrmann and Tyler Thur also acquitted themselves well despite limited national circuit experience. A mix of tough competition and bad luck left them with a disappointing 2-4 preliminary round record, but both debaters learned a lot from the experience and are poised to have outstanding sophomore campaigns.

As has become tradition, the squad also made a much-anticipated visit to Mary Mac’s Tea Room, the greatest restaurant in the world. Despite the rainy weekend, the entire squad—Michael, Jack, Tom, Tyler, and senior Joe Balistreri, who fulfilled our judging commitment and provided invaluable coaching throughout the tournament while Mr. Batterman directed tabulation—had a fantastic time and again confirmed that the future of the Marquette program is incredibly bright.

Webster Club Update - March 2009

It includes extensive coverage of this year’s debate season.

Thanks for supporting the Webster Club!

While many Webster Club students were serving as volunteers, a relatively small squad made their season debut by competing at the tournament. The Hilltoppers were represented in the Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and Novice Policy fields and were very successful in all three.

In Public Forum, the team of Robert Schlaeger and Jacob Sirus posted a 4-2 record in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the semifinals as the tournament’s fourth seed where they were defeated by the eventual champions from Appleton East. John O’Neill and Matthew Waldoch also opened their season with a solid performance, notching the same 4-2 record but missing the break to semifinals based on speaker points.

In Lincoln-Douglas, five Hilltoppers vied for the title including our top two competitors. Junior Sam Hope, fresh off a rewarding summer institute experience at the National Symposium for Debate, breezed through the prelims with a 5-1 record, dropping only his first round to Chris Conway of New Trier. Advancing to elimination rounds as the second seed, Sam managed to exact revenge as he defeated Conway on a split decision in the semifinals. In the final round, Sam was defeated by Appleton West’s Stephanie Gill. He was also named the tournament’s fifth-best speaker.

Team Captain Jacob Swan had a rough first appearance, managing only a 3-3 record, but his leadership was nonetheless vital to the success of the squad. Despite his record, Jacob finished as the tournament’s third speaker and is sure to bounce back at Nicolet. Making their debuts at the Hilltopper Classic were Nick Nassif and Ryan Welsh, each of whom posted a 2-4 record while gaining valuable experience against more advanced competition; Nassif was also recognized as the ninth speaker. Rounding out the squad was junior Tom Matusiak who made a strong return to debate after a one-year hiatus, managing only one win but very respectable speaker points.

Six other Webster Club students also made their debuts at the Hilltopper Classic as the exciting novice policy squad was unveiled for the first time. With a deep, smart, and dedicated group of young men on-board, this year’s novice policy team promises to be one of the best in Marquette’s distinguished history and they got off to a wonderful start at their home tournament. After five preliminary rounds, the teams of Alex Kendall and Sam Scheurell and Alex Beck and Cameron Graff both accumulated 4-1 records and were seeded first and second, respectively. They advanced to semifinals without debating and were each victorious in the semis, defeating teams from Rufus King and Appleton East to close-out the championship.

The other two teams also debated very well, with Michael Hoffmann and Jack Mackay posting a 2-3 mark while Austin O’Dea and Ander Stanton went 1-5. Marquette also laid claim to four of the top ten speaker awards: Jack Mackay was second, Michael Hoffmann was fifth, Alex Kendall was sixth, and Cameron Graff was ninth.

All things considered, it was a very successful weekend. Next week the team will travel to Nicolet before beginning its split-squad schedule the following week with trips to New Trier (Illinois) and Rufus King. Photos from the Hilltopper Classic will be posted soon; if you took any photos while at the tournament, please email them to Mr. Batterman. Full results in all divisions are available at Wisconsin Forensics Daily.

You are cordially invited to attend the 2007 Hilltopper Classic at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, WI. After a one-year hiatus, the MUHS Webster Club is proud to return to the state and national calendar with a top-notch invitational tournament offering fine hospitality and excellent competition and judging.

The 8th Annual Hilltopper Classic will take place on Friday, September 21st and Saturday, September 22nd with competition offered in Varsity and Novice Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Public Forum Debate. For the first time, finalists in Varsity Policy Debate will earn a bid to the National Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky.

On behalf of the Webster Club and the entire Marquette University High School community, I look forward to hosting you here in beautiful Milwaukee.

Sincerely,

Bill Batterman Director of Debate & Forensics, Tournament Director Marquette University High School

The complete invitation is available on cross-x.com.

• Grapevine
• Wake Forest
• Iowa Valley
• New Trier and Rufus King
• West Bend
• Iowa Caucus
• Michigan and Brookfield Central
• Janesville

The accomplishments section of the site has also been updated with the squad’s feats from the fall semester of the 2006-2007 season. With the Hilltoppers’ last tournament of 2006 in the books, the team is enjoying a well-deserved respite from debate competition while they complete their first semester exams and celebrate the Holiday season.

The debate team will be back in action the first weekend in January for the prestigious Southern Bell Forum at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. The calendar’s turn to 2007 will also mark the beginning of the forensics and mock trial seasons as the full Webster Club prepares for an exciting few months of intense competition.

On behalf of the entire coaching staff, I would like to personally wish each and every student, parent, alumni, and supporter of Marquette University High School’s Webster Club a safe and happy holiday season. Merry Christmas!

• Kevin Thom - 2000
• Manav Bhatnagar - 2002
• Brian Stepp - 2003

Established to recognize outstanding forensic competitors who represent the values of the organization both inside and outside of debates, the official description of the scholarship is as follows:

The WDCA Scholarship is a $300 award presented to two 12th grade debaters of WDCA member schools who have demonstrated expertise in Policy, Lincoln-Douglas or Public Forum Debate, sportsmanship, scholarship, and leadership in school and community activities. Our recipients have shown integrity through action.

Gaurav was selected from a pool of outstanding applicants on the basis of his competitive success, community service, and good citizenship within the debate community. The following excerpt from Mr. Batterman’s recommendation letter summarizes his qualifications:

Both inside and outside of the debate round, Gaurav has proven to be an exceptionally talented young man with a love and respect for his peers and a passion for the activity that makes him a deserving candidate for recognition by the WDCA. … Despite his competitive success, Gaurav remains humble. He is respectful of his peers and is a model citizen of the debate community, unwilling to succumb to the temptations of arrogance and elitism. One of the most popular debaters on the national circuit, he is always willing to share his time with other students, coaches, and judges. … I can think of no more deserving candidate for recognition by the Wisconsin Debate Coaches’ Association than Gaurav Bhatnagar.

Congratulations to this most deserving young man on behalf of the entire Webster Club!