Anthony Ogbuli

UT Dallas debate team member Anthony Ogbuli (right) gets ready before competing against the University of Kansas. Ogbuli and teammate Jacob Loehr (left) made it to the finals in the first tournament of the Texas Two-Step last month.

The UT Dallas debate team has started the new year with strong results against a slew of competition. 

In the first tournament of the Texas Two-Step held last month at UT Dallas, juniors Jacob Loehr and Anthony Ogbuli advanced to the final round before losing 2-1 to a team from The University of Texas at Austin. 

Despite falling short, Ogbuli was named ninth overall speaker, and Loehr earned 14th. The duo had blazed through the preliminary rounds with a 5-2 record. 

“The results weren’t unexpected. Jacob and Anthony have had a very solid season, but we’ve been waiting for a breakout performance. We finally got it. Now, we need to build on the momentum. We can’t take any days off as we head into the second-semester tournaments,” said Scott Herndon, director of the UT Dallas debate program. 

The Texas Two-Step, which included more than 50 teams from across the country, consisted of two tournaments held back to back. 

Another UT Dallas team also performed well in the first tournament of the event. 

Kyle Ballard and Thomas Flanagan, both freshmen, had a record of 4-3 in the preliminaries, good enough to advance to the elimination rounds. Ballard and Flanagan defeated a team from The University of Texas at San Antonio before losing in the round of 16. 

“Kyle and Thomas continue to improve and position themselves to qualify for the National Debate Tournament in April, but they have a long way to go before that’s a lock. Qualifying as first-year debaters is a challenge, but it’s possible if they focus on that goal,” Herndon said.

In the second tournament of the Two-Step held at the University of North Texas, Loehr and Ogbuli started strong again with a 6-1 record and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to New York University. Individually, Loehr was named fourth speaker and Ogbuli claimed fifth.  

Last week, the debate squad continued its quest toward the National Debate Tournament by competing at the Moorehouse Classic at Wichita State University. 

Ballard and Flanagan finished in the top 16, and two other teams also advanced to the elimination rounds. 

In college debate, two teams, each composed of two students, face off on a general topic — one taking the affirmative position, the other the negative side. 

The topic for this season is “Resolved: The United States should legalize one or more of the following: marijuana, organ sales, online gambling, physician assisted suicide and/or prostitution.”