The UIL cross-examination debate teams participated in district competition this week at Lindale High School. Out of the four teams  entered, Joshua Edwards and Odin Burks successfully qualified for the state competition. 

“We competed with four freshmen and four sophomores at district this year, and to have all of them place and earn a state qualification is a very big deal,” speech and debate teacher Rory McKenzie said. “Our students are learning so much and gaining so much valuable experience.”

Participating in the competition were four teams, with each team consisting of two people: Odin Burks and Joshua Edwards, Kylon Kincade and Haylie Maccalous, Ethan Barchak and Terry Yang, and Abigail Reeves and Atalie Thompson. Out of the competing pairs, Odin and Josh were the pair to advance to the state level, securing  2nd place in the competition.

“I am thrilled about qualifying for state in debate this year,” sophomore Odin Burks said. “My partner and I have put in a lot of time and effort to this goal, and now getting to see it all payoff is extremely fulfilling.”

For UIL, CX Debate advances straight from district to state. Kylon and Haylie secured the 4th position, while Ethan Barchak and Terry Yang claimed the 5th spot, and Abigail Reeves and Atalie Thompson placed 6th.

“It was a really tough experience but every team there put in their best effort and we worked really hard to get to where we are,” freshman Ethan Barchak said. “Terry and I did our best.”

State will held during Spring Break in March on the UT Austin campus. Lindale earned 30 points towards the UIL Speech Team and Overall District Championship, which will finish in April.

“Odin and I are excited to see that our work paid off after this season,” sophomore Joshua Edwards said. “It’s an opportunity I thought I’d never see in high school and I’m glad to see that we could make it, especially in a district like ours.”