Five of the 59 tournament debaters entered in the annual Air Force Academy Classic represented Missouri Southern during the Feb. 8-11 tournament.

Debater Cody Snyder, freshman economics and finance major, qualified for the national octi-final and won recognition as an individual speaker.

Team members look forward to the competition this season.

“I think we have a really strong team this year, even though there are some young debaters,” said Valerie Melton, freshman public relation major.

Each tournament debaters are assigned a topic which they will argue both pros and cons three times each, in an effort to see who produces the most convincing argument.

“It’s very much a marathon,” said Melton. “You could lose your first three rounds and you could use that as motivation to make it to your next three.”

Debaters say the team is prepared with new, better strategies to help them in the next debate. Last year the Southern team brought home the fifth place trophy from the National Forensic Association competition.

“We have a lot of motivation to do well, because we have done well in the past.” Melton said.

The next event for the debate team is the Missouri Area Forensics Association state competition Feb. 16-17 at William Jewell College.