Congratulations to West High School's Kathy Liu for winning the 2014 Young Lawyers Debate Tournament. On a 2-1 decision, Kathy defeated Logan High School's Calen Smith to win the tournament. Kathy is coached by Mark Middleton and Calen is coached by Liz Letak. In the novice division, Alta High School's Ashlyn Jack defeated Logan High School's Piper Christian on a 3-0 decision to win the tournament. The tournament marks the beginning of the competitive season for debaters from the state of Utah, and had some excellent and rigorous competition. Congratulations to all involved!
Quarterfinals:Rowland Hall-St. Marks DB (David Bernstein) def. Alta CS (Conner Seal)Logan CS (Calen Smith) def. Karl J. Maesar Prep JH (Jeremy Hadfield)West KL (Kathy Liu) def. Skyview CW (Ciera White)Hillcrest SB (Sam Bemis) over Hillcrest KB (Kaira Bird) Semifinals:Logan CS (Calen Smith) def. Rowland Hall-St. Marks DB (David Bernstein)West KL (Kathy Liu) def. Hillcrest SB (Sam Bemis) Finals:West KL (Kathy Liu) def. Logan CS (Calen Smith) Fun fact 1: East High School was the filming location for all three installments of "High School Musical."Fun fact 2: The major national tournament in Utah at Alta is commonly mispronounced by out-of-state debaters. The correct pronunciation is "AL-tuh," like the name "Al," while many pronounce it "ALL-tuh."Fun fact 3: The debaters in Utah have an awesome sense of community, calling themselves "Team Utah" rather than by their individual schools at tournaments.Fun fact 4: Last year, Utah LD debaters advanced to elimination rounds at Meadows, Damus, Alta, Golden Desert, and Berkeley. Thanks to Liz Letak for pictures and updates!