KU Debate qualifies 3rd team for National Debate Tournament


LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has qualified a third team for the National Debate Tournament later this month. 

Mickey McMahon, a sophomore from Leawood, and Michael Scott, a sophomore from Glenview, Illinois, have received an at-large qualification for the NDT. KU is one of only six schools to qualify three teams to the national tournament. The other five schools are Dartmouth College, Emory University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wake Forest University. 

This is the sixth consecutive year that KU has qualified three teams for the NDT.  

McMahon and Scott qualified for the NDT based on an excellent performance in the regular season, which ended with the duo ranked in the top 25 teams in the country. It is the second time that they have qualified for the National Debate Tournament. They were unable to compete at the NDT as freshmen when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. 

McMahon and Scott will join the KU teams of Azja Butler, Lansing, and Ross Fitzpatrick, Leawood, as well as Nathan Martin, Lansing, and Graham Revare, Shawnee, who had previously qualified for the national tournament. The NDT will be hosted online March 26-30 by Harvard University. 

Last week KU had four additional teams compete at the American Debate Association National Championship tournament. Three of the KU teams qualified for the elimination rounds at the tournament. The team of senior Jon Mantis, Glenview, Illinois, and sophomore Jimin Park, Topeka, defeated Georgetown University in the first elimination round and advanced to the final 16 where they lost a 2-1 split decision to the University of Michigan. 

The team of first-year student Raina Peter, Topeka, and sophomore Jet Semrick, Prairie Village, and the team of freshmen Zaki Mansoor, Overland Park, and Will Soper, Overland Park, were defeated in the first elimination round with close losses to Michigan State and Michigan. 

Tue, 03/16/2021

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Scott Harris

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Scott Harris

KU Debate and Department of Communication Studies

785-864-9878