The Barking Bulldogs Debate Team traveled to Long Beach last weekend (Feb. 2 to Feb. 4) to participate in the Winter at the Beach Speech and Debate Tournament held on the campus of CSU Long Beach. Director Tom Boroujeni reports that Primavera Leal Martinez and Hunter Sansom, our Varsity team, won four of their six preliminary rounds and advanced to the elimination portion of the tournament. They defeated Arizona State University in the quarterfinals and moved on to debate in the Semifinals against Weber State University. They ended their streak in the Semifinal round and placed 3rd in the Varsity division of the tournament. Additionally, Primavera Leal Martinez received the 8th speaker award and Hunter Sansom received the 12th speaker award in the Varsity division. Congratulations to both of them!

Fresno State took three Novice teams to the tournament. For many of them, this was the first time they have ever participated in a debate tournament. Unfortunately, the tournament officials decided to merge the Novice and Junior Varsity (JV) division which led to some tough competitions for all of our teams in the Novice division. Against all odds, Aaron Lowe and Nick Mirza received the 8th and 14th speaker awards respectively in the JV division. This is a significant achievement for both of them.

"I am very proud of their hard work and dedication," said Tom. "We are quickly running out of space in our trophy case as we represent Fresno State in the speech and debate community."

He would like to thank Quinten Levin, who has been an invaluable asset to the team by helping with coaching and other responsibilities.

Next, they will travel back to Long Beach to participate in the Pacific Champs Debate Tournament from Feb 23 to Feb 2.