by Alyssa Braver (’16)

EASTON, PA — It was the weekend of Fall Festival at Lafayette College, but the Lafayette debate team had other plans. It was also the weekend of Lafayette College’s annual debate tournament, The Ocho.  The tournament derives its name from the fact that originally there were eight preliminary rounds before the top 16 debaters advanced into Octo-finals. While enough teams haven’t competed for this to be the case in recent years, this weekend teams came from all across the country to compete (Shout out to University of Pacific for coming all the way from California!) allowing the tournament to be a true Ocho once again.

Four debaters competed for Lafayette College in the Open Division of the tournament. They were seniors Ryan Monahan (’15) and Justin Horn (’15), as well as juniors Vanessa Milan (’16) and Alyssa Braver (’16). There was also a novice division in which two Lafayette debaters also competed for their first time in college Lincoln Douglas debate. These debaters were freshman Andrew Ortiz (’18) and Emily Carter (’18).

In the Open Division, both Ryan Monahan and Justin Horn advanced past preliminary rounds. In an Octo-finals debate, Ryan Monahan defeated University of Pacific’s Reed Ramsey to advance to Quarter-finals. Lafayette’s Justin Horn defeated Western Kentucky University’s Nefertiti Dukes in a 3-0 decision. This is more impressive given the fact that Nefertiti Dukes was the only person to go 8-0 during the preliminary rounds this tournament.

In Quarter-finals, Justin Horn lost to Sterling’s Brandon Hoesli. However, Ryan Monahan defeated University of Pacific’s Jonathan Bruce in a 2-1 decision. He advanced to a semi-finals round against Otterbein’s Maggie Parsons, which he also picked up in a 3-0 decision. This led to a final round between Ryan Monahan and Brandon Hoesli.

The round for the tournament championship took place in Lafayette’s Limburg Theater for all to watch. It was an intense and exciting debate, and it came down to a 2-1 decision. However, Ryan Monahan emerged victorious by one vote and claimed the title as tournament champion. He also ended up winning the top speaker award for the Open Division of the tournament, which meant, in true Lafayette spirit, he received a leopard hat full of candy.

The tournament champion of the Novice Division was also one of Lafayette’s own. Emily Carter in a 3-0 decision defeated John Carroll University’s Austin Rivers. She also received the top speaker prize of the Novice Division and secured her qualification for this years NFA’s National Tournament.

Overall, it was a fun and rewarding tournament in addition to being the biggest tournament Lafayette has hosted in recent years. It is hopeful that the tournament will continue to grow next year. Until then, the next time the Lafayette Debate team will be competing will be at Marshall University from October 24-27.