If one were to posit the statement “Catholic school students are great debaters,” there would be no arguments from two local schools which once again garnered top scores in the Garden State Debate League Tournament. Teams of young wordsmiths from Mother Teresa Regional School, Atlantic Highlands, and Our Lady of Sorrows School, Hamilton, took first and third places respectively at the second debate of the season held Jan. 27 in Clifton T. Barkalow Middle School, Freehold.

Two of the five MTRS debate teams competing were undefeated and earned the top two slots in the contest, delayed from its original December matchup due to Hurricane Sandy. Steven Clagett, Shane Dolan and Grace Molloy ranked first, while the team of Gabriela Compagni, Tabitha LaRocca and Valicia Stoeckel placed second among their fellow middle school students.

The high team scores enabled MTRS to win the tournament award for highest percentage of wins; they tied for second place in the school award contest, which tallied the total number of wins, with fellow competitor Stone Bridge Middle School, Allentown.

Our Lady of Sorrows School sent just three debate teams due to student illnesses but, nonetheless, excelled in the debate format. The team of Evan Prendergast, Sophia Albanese and Juliana Kite ranked third among their peers from MTRS and four other public and charter schools from central New Jersey. Prendergast and Albanese were two of the nine Catholic school students ranking in the top 20 individual speaker slots.

Topics debated during the Jan. 26 tournament were: ban energy drinks; the U.S. should not expand drilling off the east coast; Wikipedia does more harm than good; the Indian caste system was good for society; and FEMA’s responsibilities should be turned over to the state. All teams had a month to prepare their positions and were informed of their position for or against 20 minutes before the round.

MTRS teacher and debate coach Kathleen Patrizio noted, “Debate is such a great experience for our students to hone their public speaking skills, as well as learn how to research a topic and present opposing points of view.” OLS teacher and debate coach Tom Prendergast concurred. “We were excited about this one, and we can’t wait for the next debate at Mother Teresa Regional on March 16,” he said.

Students participating in the upcoming contest will debate the topics: N.J. drivers should be able to pump their own gas; video games cause more harm than good; students should not have to pay to participate in extra-curricular activities; the U.S. should guarantee a free college education to all citizens; and the Olympic Games do more good than harm. A league judge training workshop will precede the event, and MTRS principal Melissa Whelan Wisk extended an invitation to other schools’ teachers and students who might wish to join the league next year.