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黑暗爆料网's James M. and Sharon E. Rupp Debate Society brought home 14 awards from a weekend of competition at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, October 9–11, including six first-place finishes, a second-place finish in novice debate, and three team sweepstakes top 5 finishes.

At the Steve Hunt Classic, which drew 26 schools from as far away as Florida and Texas, Idaho State placed third in speech sweepstakes with six competitors and fifth in overall sweepstakes, combining speech and debate. The field included Boise State University, the University of Washington, Whitworth University, Oregon State University, Texas Tech University, Rice University and Western Kentucky University. The tournament drew 288 entries across 20 speech events in its novice, junior and senior divisions, and 86 entries across novice, junior and senior IPDA debate. At the Neil Sabin Speech Tournament, held alongside it on October 10, Idaho State placed third in team sweepstakes among seven schools.

Two first-year debaters, both competing in their first college tournament, reached the semifinals of Novice International Public Debate Association (IPDA) debate, giving Idaho State two of the final four competitors in a 25-entry field.

Maiya Niendorf won three straight elimination rounds, defeating opponents from Oregon State University, the University of Washington and Lower Columbia College, before finishing second in the championship round against Whitworth University. She was also named seventh-place speaker. “Incredible job! I have no notes on your speaking,” one judge wrote on her ballot.

Maxwell Kelley went undefeated (5-0) in preliminary rounds, defeated a University of Washington debater in the quarterfinals, and finished as a semifinalist. He was named fourth-place speaker. Kelley also won both of his novice speech events, taking first place in Extemporaneous Speaking and in Impromptu Speaking. “I really like your communication style — you have great cadence, structure, energy, and inflection,” one Extemporaneous Speaking judge wrote.

“We had a great weekend competitively, but I’m even more pleased with the team’s camaraderie and positive attitudes,” said Sarah T. Partlow Lefevre, Ph.D., director of the Rupp Debate Society. “We are so excited to have added Max, Maiya and Connor. I can’t wait to see what this year brings.”

Isaac Brambila won first place in Senior Poetry Interpretation and Senior Program Oral Interpretation at the Steve Hunt Classic, then won both events again at the Neil Sabin Speech Tournament. As Idaho State's only entry at Neil Sabin, Brambila earned the team's third-place sweepstakes trophy on his own. Judges singled out the emotional force of his program. “This whole performance just has a propulsive nature,” one final-round judge wrote.

Alex Kuyper placed sixth in Senior Extemporaneous Speaking at the Steve Hunt Classic. Lazarus Clark and Connor Woodworth also competed for Idaho State, and graduate student Chelsea Blanchard and assistant coaches Jack Quigley and Heather Gilmore judged for the team.

The team is directed by Sarah T. Partlow Lefevre, professor of communication, media, and persuasion, with assistant coaches Jack Quigley and Heather Gilmore, Ph.D. With the Lewis & Clark results, Idaho State has earned 18 awards in three tournaments this season: 14 individual awards and four top-five team sweepstakes finishes: Silver Sweepstakes (second) at the College of Southern Idaho's Fran Tanner Open in September, third in speech and fifth overall at the Steve Hunt Classic, and third at the Neil Sabin Speech Tournament. Isaac Brambila leads the team with six awards this season, including four first-place finishes in interpretation, and Maxwell Kelley has earned four in his first tournament. Idaho State competes next at the Weber State Classic in Ogden, Utah, October 24–25. Maiya Niendorf, Maxwell Kelley and Connor Woodworth all joined the team in the 10 days before the Lewis & Clark trip.

The team will also host its next public debate on campus on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. The location and topic will be announced. The public debate series is open to the campus and the Pocatello community.