TOWSON UNIVERSITY — TOWSON- Maryland’s largest speech and debate tournament in recent memory was quite a memorable one for the team from Maryland’s oldest public high school. On December 16th, Baltimore City College speakers and debaters made City the first place school at the Baltimore Urban Debate League and Baltimore Catholic Forensic League’s annual combination tournament, beating out dozens of Baltimore City, surrounding county, and Washington, DC-area schools for the honor. Said coach Patrick Daniels about the experience, “Our kids have worked so hard, and given so much time and effort, it’s great to see it pay off for them like this.”

And pay off it did: City boasted top speakers and teams in the events of Varsity Debate, Junior-varsity Debate, Dramatic Interpretation, and Original Oratory. In Varsity Policy Debate, against some of the toughest debate squads in the nation, City seniors Zachary Murray and Nicholas Brady went undefeated and came out as top team, with Brady winning top speaker. Murray, who was awarded sixth-place speaker, has recently won recognition on a larger scale as well, with early acceptances to Tulane and Cornell Universities.

City’s younger debaters were just as impressive. The teams of Calissa Randall ’09 and Elise Spenser ’09, and Kaine Cherry ‘10 and Marshall Troutner ’08 both went undefeated and ranked in the top ten teams in Junior-varsity debate. Elise Spenser won the day as that division’s top speaker. In the Novice division of Policy Debate, two City teams placed in the top ten after undefeated days:

City’s successes were not confined to debate; our speech team also excelled on Saturday. Newcomer Jasmine Thomas ’08 received a Certificate of Superiority in Dramatic Interpretation, winning first place in all three of her rounds of competition. Kristian Monroe ’07 earned Superiority in Original Oratory, with two first place ranks, and Excellence in Extemporaneous Speaking with first, second, and third place ranks. Monroe has been competing in Oratory for several years, but was attempting Extemporaneous Speaking for the first time.

All told, City had 59 competitors in seven events, and went home the champions after a strenuous day of competition. At the end of it, coach Rosemary Steck put the credit where it was due: “The hard work of our kids starting this summer is what amazes me. When this many students work this hard for this long, it’s going to be recognized.” Last Saturday, their work was recognized, and City’s work will no doubt continue to be recognized throughout this groundbreaking year.