John R. Park Debate Society Hosts Spring Season Opener

The John R. Park Debate Society opened its Spring 2023 competitive season at home by hosting the Great Salt Lake Invitational and the UTEP Classic with tournament cohosts, the University of Texas-El Paso. The "swing" tournament allows schools attending to compete in two tournaments on the same weekend, doubling opportunities for students.  At the tournament, the team kicked off the Spring season with a strong competitive showing, including 25 final-round appearances across 2 days of competition, with 100% of competing University of Utah students winning at least one award. Additionally, junior Meredith Jenkins won the prestigious Royal R. Garff Individual Events Sweepstakes award and Sophomore Madeleine Felix won the Richard Rieke Top Speaker in NPDA award. Although every team member enjoyed individual success, host institutions are not allowed to win team sweepstakes awards. The team will look to build on this strong start to the Spring season on January 27-29 at the Jannese Davidson Memorial Tournament at Concordia University-Irvine. 

COMPLETE RESULTS

Overall (Sweepstakes) Awards

Meredith Jenkins – Royal R. Garff Individual Events Sweepstakes winner

Madeleine Felix - Richard Rieke NPDA Top Speaker

Debate Awards

Great Salt Lake

1^st place NPDA Speaker – Madeleine Felix

2^nd Place NPDA  - Madeleine Felix and Merrin Maughan

2^nd Place NPDA Speaker – Ryan Knippel

3^rd Place NPDA – Ryan Knippel and Javier Tejeda

3^rd place NPDA Speaker – Merrin Maughan

 

Individual Event Awards

Great Salt Lake Invitational

1^st Place After Dinner Speaking – Ryan Knippel

1^st Place Dramatic Interpretation – Javier Tejeda

1^st Place Persuasive Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

1^st Place Extemporaneous Speaking – Ryan Knippel

2^nd Place Extemporaneous Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

2^nd Place Impromptu Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

2^nd Place Persuasive Speaking – Adelyn Kobe

2^nd Place Duet – Javier Tejeda and Willow Wilson

2^nd Place Program Oral Interpretation – Meredith Jenkins

2^nd Place Communication Analysis – Willow Wilson

3^rd Place Extemporaneous Speaking – Madeleine Felix

3^rd Place Informative Speaking – Merrin Maughan

4^th Place Persuasive Speaking – Merrin Maughan

4^th Place Informative Speaking – Adelyn Kobe

4^th Place Poetry – Willow Wilson

5^th Place Informative Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

5^th Place Poetry – Javier Tejeda

6^th Place Impromptu Speaking – Adelyn Kobe

UTEP Classic

1^st Place Impromptu Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

1^st Place Persuasive Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

1^st Place Informative Speaking – Meredith Jenkins

3^rd Place Program Oral Interpretation – Meredith Jenkins

3^rd Place Extemporaneous Speaking – Meredith Jenkins