Newark Debaters Take Monticello

By Randy Mitchell

October 12, 2010 - Congratulations to the Newark Debate Community for their outstanding performances at the regional tournament in Monticello, NY, on October 8-9.

Against teams from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, Newark debaters dominated competition.

In the policy competition, sophomores Jaysen Bazile and Flavia Bortoleto were champions of the Junior Varsity division!! They won the final round on a 3-0 decision to take the championship over Newark East Side's Sherri Morell and Vaughn Akridge, who earned a place in the final round as well.

In the Varsity Policy division, several Newark Teams had winning records - Science Park's Luis Carrera and Julian Jimenez and East Side's Kevon Haughton and Vida Chiri both placed in the top ten teams.

University juniors Omer Bhatti and Sean Hammond went undefeated in 5 preliminary rounds and advanced to the semifinals. Sean Hammond was the 5th speaker of the tournament and Omer Bhatti was the 2nd speaker.

American History High School's juniors Jazir Beckford and Quamir Johnson won 4 out of 5 debates in preliminaries, with Jazir taking 10th speaker. They defeated University on a 2-1 decision to advance to final round. There, the American History debaters defeated Bronx Science on a 3-2 decision to win the Varsity Championship!! Congratulations to these well-deserved champions!!!!

In the Lincoln-Douglas division, Junior Kishan Nakrani was 15th seed and 9th speaker overall, advancing to the Octafinal round. Junior Norberto Romero was the 19th speaker of the tournament and Sophomore Eshani Way took 17th speaker.