by Julie Welker | BROWNWOOD –– HPU’s Student Speaker Bureau speech and debate team won their third consecutive Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association Championship debate sweepstakes and second place overall sweepstakes. This is the first time in the team’s history to earn back-to-back-to-back debate championships.
Devin Schurman, junior Guy D. Newman honors academy, strategic communication, and public policy major from San Antonio clinched both the IPDA debate individual championship and won NPDA team debate with partner Landon Chenault, sophomore Guy D. Newman honors academy and jurisprudence major from Denton. Chenault also notched the top NPDA debate speaker and third IPDA debate speaker.
Schurman had a perfect debate record in the tournament, winning every single round he competed in.
Dr. Julie Welker, professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication, coaches the team.
“Devin is our team captain and the driving force behind our team. He leads debate practices in the evening and pushes everyone to work harder. His intense work ethic has paid off. This is a first for team HPU, and I could not be more proud of him and the entire team,” said Welker.
In addition to Chenault, three HPU debaters were ranked speakers. Schurman was sixth in NPDA and fourth in IPDA speaking. Parker Brown, senior Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and jurisprudence major from Denton, and junior Rishona Raub, Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and strategic communication major from Celina, were seventh and eighth respectively in IPDA debate speaker ranks.
Additionally, Brown was named to the prestigious Texas All-State Forensics Squad. Brown has competed on the HPU speech and debate team for three years, has won multiple honors in both individual speaking and debate, and holds an overall winning record in debate competition.
Three team members competed in individual events, with senior Alex Mendoza, theatre major from Bangs, winning sixth place in programmed oral interpretation.
Also competing in the tournament were junior Ben Sartain, strategic communication major from San Antonio; Abigail Poling, sophomore theatre major from Bangs; and Jordan Sager, freshman kinesiology major from Norfolk, Neb.
HPU competed against 15 colleges and universities from Texas, and was the only Texas Baptist university earn top honors.
During the fall semester, the team won significant awards at both the Bayou City Swing tournament and the fall TIFA championship tournament.
The HPU speech and debate team will compete in the National Christian College Forensics Association national tournament at Liberty University in March, and the International Public Debate Association national tournament held at Abilene Christian University in April.
High school students interested in competing on the team should contact Dr. Welker at jwelker@hputx.edu. All members of the team must audition and receive a scholarship based on their previous speech and debate accomplishments.