UK Debate members Jared Adam and Lauren McBlain.
University of Kentucky Debate Team members Jared Adam and Lauren McBlain led the team to first place at the University of Indiana Hoosier Invitational. Over three days, the partnership won with a perfect score of 10-0 against 20 universities across 16 states. The pair defeated University of Kansas, Macalester University and University of Michigan in the elimination rounds, and Northwestern University in the final round. Two other Kentucky partnerships also advanced to the elimination rounds.
"We are very proud of Jared and Lauren's accomplishments in winning both speaker awards and a championship in a very competitive tournament field,” Associate Debate Director Adrienne Brovero said. “We are also immensely proud that this was a product of a true team effort across the entire squad."
Following this tournament, the team competed in the University of Minnesota's online tournament, and both UK partnerships reached the elimination rounds — one a quarterfinalist and the other a semifinalist. For their next competition, the team will travel to Austin, Texas to represent UK at the University of Texas Invitational.