Rising Star ISD Superintendent Dr. Max Thompson and coach of the RHS debate team is proud to be missing the 2011 graduation ceremony along with his son, the top graduate at Rising Star High School, as the pair travel with the debate team to the NCFL national meet to compete in Washington DC May 28th.
With a little help from technology, Kevin Thompson, who is the Valedictorian, along with senior teammate Stephanie Lowther will still be able to enjoy the commencement exercises Friday night, May 27th.
Dr. Thompson stated that he has had winning years before, but this one was like no other. With each meet the team traveled to, they kept collecting more and more wins.
“It’s been a great year. We are excited about where things are headed,” stated Dr. Thompson. “It’s been one of those years where it just happens.”
Lowther and Thompson earned a 7-0 record in the Tall Cotton NFL District Meet held in Lubbock on February 17-19, 2011 which resulted in their recognition as the 1st place debate team from 19 teams at the event. They were the only undefeated team earning winning ballots from 9 judges including nationally recognized collegiate debaters. Lowther and Thompson beat teams from Abilene, Friendship, Midland, San Angelo and Seminole. The team of Koonce and Luna advanced to elimination rounds at the tournament, but were defeated before the third day of competition.
Twenty-four schools, with the majority being 4A-5A schools, participated in the 3-day speech and debate tournament. Also participating from RSHS were Marla Cummings, Miguel Luna, Jessica Koonce, and Frank Pendergrast, all previous NCFL nationals qualifiers.
Lowther and Thompson earned bids to two state meets: Texas Forensics Association, March 10-12 in Lewisville and the UIL State Meet, March 13-15 in Austin, which were stepping stones to their qualifying for the national meets scheduled in May and June.
Lowther and Kevin Thompson were named the top Texas 1A team in Texas at the state UIL meet in Austin where a total of 57 teams participated the rigorous competition held on the University of Texas campus. Debating a total of eight rounds, Lowther and Thompson earned a perfect 8-0 record. They debated approximately six hours each day in front of sixteen different judges. Thompson was also award an Outstanding Speaking Award for ranking 5th out of 114 speakers at the contest.
Due to their performance at the state UIL meet, Lowther and Thompson are now able to apply for a UIL scholarship and hope to receive some college funds. Lowther will attend San Angelo State in the fall, and Thompson will attend Texas Tech University.
Also participating in the UIL State Debate contests were junior Jessica Koonce and freshman Miguel Luna. They earned two wins and received promising comments from judges. Koonce and Luna look forward earning another state appearance next year.
Koonce, and Luna, along with Marla Cummings and Frank Pendergrast have also earned trips to this national debate contest in Washington, DC.
The whole team spent tireless hours traveling across the state and fundraising to be able to make these meets which were held usually on Saturdays after late returns from Friday night football games with which they were also involved. Dedication and a “never say never” spirit helped them achieve not only the victories but also the funds needed to travel to the National event in Washington, D.C. The debate team was able to raise over $6000 in funds in just a few months. The Rising Star school board contributed the remaining $11,000 needed for the Washington, D.C. trip. Funds for the state meet in Dallas are currently being raised. To support the debate team in their efforts, please contact Dr. Thompson at Rising Star ISD by calling 325-643-1981.
In the United States, two national speech and debate tournaments are held each year: NFL and NCFL. To participate, teams must qualify by their win-loss records. Currently, Lowther and Thompson have a 40-9 win-loss. They will participate at the national level at Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day weekend and in Dallas on June 13-18.
Pictured above is the nationally qualifying team which will compete May 28th in Washington, D.C. Pictured below are Lowther and Thompson with their National Qualifier awards. Photos contributed by RSISD.
