Pacific Lutheran University has excelled in various sports divisions, but now it’s time to take this legacy off the field and bring it behind the podium.
PLU’s newly formed debate team ranked 10th out of the 64 teams in the primary debate rounds at the Lewis & Clark Debate Tournament in Portland last weekend. Debate members Andrew Tinker and Brendan Stanton, both sophomores, represented PLU in the quarterfinal round.
The Lewis & Clark Debate Tournament is a national tournament and the largest in the Pacific Northwest region. The PLU team beat out several rival teams, including Willamette, Linfield, Seattle University and Whitworth.
The team’s new director, Professor Justin Eckstein of the communication department, said he was proud of the way PLU performed. “The 10th seed at a tournament this size is a huge accomplishment,” Eckstein said. “It looks like PLU forensics is off to a strong start.”
Stanton said he was delighted with the success of the first tournament of the year and that “it was especially awesome to place 10th out of a massive 64 teams with my partner Andrew Tinker.”
The next stop for the PLU debate team will be the Lower Columbia College tournament in Longview, Nov. 1-2.
PLU sophomores Andrew Tinker and Brendan Stanton at the Lewis & Clark debate tournament Saturday.
[photo courtesy of Kellie Beauvelt]
