NEWARK'S UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL WINS NATIONAL DEBATE CHAMPIONSHIP

By Brent Farrand
Published April 19, 2011

NEWARK, NJ - At 6:15pm on Sunday, April 17 the executive director of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues stepped to the podium to announce the judge's decision in the championship final round for high school urban debate. For more than an hour and a half University High School was locked in intellectual combat with a team from Metropolitan Corporate Academy from New York City. On a unanimous decision, the three judges declared University High School national champions.

University's team - Shagun Kukreja and Amna Tariq, both seniors - is coached by Mr. Kurt Shelton. Kukreja and Tariq have been on a "success march" for the past three months, winning state championship in debate, qualifying to represent New Jersey at the National Forensic League national tournament in Dallas and reaching elimination rounds at a prestigious national invitational tournament among a field representing some of the nation's wealthiest school districts and private schools. Kukreja was the top speaker at the 2010 national urban debate finals and was invited last July to an Oval Office visit with President Obama and was recently named as a Bank of America scholar.

A second team from Newark was also highly successful at this year's national debate tournament. Jazir Beckford and Quamir Johnson representing American History High School reached quarterfinals before losing a 2-1 decision to the same team that University later defeated in the final championship round. The American History team is coached by Ms. Celia Laricchia. Beckford and Johnson are being courted by some of the nation's most powerful collegiate debate teams including Stanford University in California.

The road to national urban debate championship began early this year as more than 2,000 debaters competed locally for the right to represent their leagues at the national tournament. Seventy-six (76) of the very best debaters comprising 38 team representing 19 cities (see list below) qualified for the national tournament held at Hunter College in New York City from April 16 through 17.

Kukreja and Tariq got off to a shaky start dropping consecutive decisions to Atlanta and Chicago in the first two rounds. By noon on April 17 they had a 0 - 2 record and faced early elimination. Regrouping, propelled by motivated coaching and reaching deep into their inner strength, they began their march from the basement. In the next 18 hours they won 7 straight decisions during a 15 - 0 ballot run defeating in succession, Saint Louis, Providence, Milwaukee, Los Angles and Houston. In the semifinal round Kukreja and Tariq faced again the same Chicago team they lost to in round 2. This time University won on a 3 - 0 ballot eliminating Chicago from a final round appearance for the first time in 4 years. In the final round University on the negative was pitted against Metropolitan Corporate Academy on the affirmative. University prevailed on a 3 - 0 decision. University won all of their elimination rounds against teams with higher seeding.

While University cleared to the elimination rounds with a 3 - 2 preliminary round record and seeded 12th, American History massed a 4 - 1 prelim record and cleared 11th. American History won their octofinal round against Houston on a 3 - 0 ballot and then lost to New York City in the quarterfinal on a 2 - 1 ballot.

Cities represented at the 2011 Urban Debate National Championship Tournament