Debate team at state tournament

Three competitors compete at state tournament

Debate team members competed at the Tri-County Forensic League State Tournament in Long Beach, May 3-5.

For Lincoln Douglas debate, the TCFL league has six competitors advance to state. Among them, senior Chase Bezonsky, junior Logan Prince and sophomore Charlie Nicks qualified for state.

“The topic for this tournament was the same as it was for state qualifiers, so I really worked with Charlie Nicks and Logan Prince on perfecting our cases,” Bezonsky wrote to the Talon. “By the time state came, Logan and I had rewritten our negative case, and found support evidence for our affirmative contentions.”

This year’s topic was surrounding the idea of treating illegal usage of drugs as a matter of health, not criminal justice.

Bezonsky joined OPHS debate two years ago, and credits her success to the support from her team and coach Audrey Israel.

“This tournament really helped me perfect the skills that Lincoln-Douglas debate demands,” Bezonsky wrote. “For every piece of evidence I used, I had four more pieces to support it. For almost every argument I faced, I was able to provide a mix logical reasoning and evidence to rebut it. I joined the team less than two years ago, knowing absolutely nothing about how competitive and demanding debate is, but through the support of the team and Audrey Israel, I have seen great success.”

Israel wrote to the Talon that she looks forward to what next year’s team can do.

“I have enjoyed and cherished the relationships I have formed with many founding member of OPHS Debate,” Israel wrote. “I am excited about working with seniors Logan Prince and Kristyn Zhang as well as many sophomores, including Charlie Nicks, Beshane Bans, Krisha Thakur, and many others, who devote hours and hours to debate.”