KU Debate team wins University of Texas tournament

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas debaters John Marshall, Lawrence, and Graham Revare, Prairie Village, went 13-0 over three days to capture the championship at the University of Texas Tournament in Austin, Texas. It was the duo’s third consecutive tournament win in 2025, having previously won tournaments at Georgetown University and Dartmouth College.
The University of Texas hosted the last major national tournament of the season Feb. 1-4 with a field including teams from Arizona State University, Baylor University, Binghamton University, the University of California Berkeley, California State University Long Beach, Dartmouth College, Emory University, George Mason University, Harvard University, the University of Houston, Indiana University, the University of Iowa, James Madison University, Kansas State University, the University of Kentucky, Liberty University, Macalester College, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota, the Naval Academy, North Texas University, the University of Northern Iowa, Northwestern University, New York University, the University of Oklahoma, Purdue University, Samford University, the University of Southern California, Southern Nazarene, Stanford University, the University of Texas, the University of Texas Dallas, Wake Forest University, the University of West Georgia and Wichita State University.
Marshall and Revare went 8-0 in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the single elimination rounds as the top seed. Revare was the first-place individual speaker, and Marshall was the second-place speaker. They beat the University of Houston in the first elimination round, walked over a KU team in the octofinals and defeated Northwestern University in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals they won a close 3-2 debate over Binghamton University before winning the championship on a unanimous decision over Wake Forest University.
The KU pair end the regular season as the No. 1 team in the country, compiling a preliminary round record of 40-4 and an elimination round record of 23-3 on the season. They won four tournaments and finished second at two others.
Four other KU teams also qualified for the single elimination bracket at the University of Texas. The KU team of Rose Larson, Milwaukee, and Luna Schultz, Houston, were 7-1 in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the elimination rounds as the fifth seed. They walked over another KU team in the first elimination round but lost a 2-1 split decision to Georgetown in the octofinals. Larson was the 14th-place speaker, and Schultz was the 18th-place speaker.
The KU team of Claire Ain, Overland Park, and Jared Spiers, Pittsburg, were 6-2 in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the elimination rounds as the 17th seed. They defeated a team from Emory University to give KU three teams in the final 16, but they met the higher-seeded Marshall and Revare, who advanced to end their tournament run.
The KU team of Brooklynn Hato, Overland Park, and Nargis Suleman, Leawood, advanced to the elimination rounds with a 5-3 record but were knocked out of the tournament by Michigan State University.
The KU team of Ethan Harris and Jacob Wilkus, both of Lawrence, also qualified with a 5-3 record but met the higher seeded team of Larson and Schultz, who were advanced over them.
Brett Bricker, KU head coach said, “It takes a squad to raise a championship trophy. We are so grateful to all of the members of the team and the coaching staff for their hard work that made winning this tournament possible. We also want to thank Dr. Brendon Bankey and the University of Texas program for providing an outstanding tournament experience.”