The STH Speech & Debate team had great success at the Clear Brook High School Annual Wolverine Classic on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9.  Team members competed in a wide variety of Varsity and Novice categories with the following top results.

Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate – 1st place – Anton Joshy (’26)
Varsity Domestic Extemporaneous Speech – 2nd place – Peter Bryant (’25)
Novice Public Forum Debate – 2nd place – Nicholas Walcik (’28) & Jacob Boettcher (‘28)
Novice Public Forum Debate – 3rd place – Elliott Blessington (’28) & Alexander Bernal (‘28)

“Being on the STH Speech and Debate team has had a profound impact on my high school career,” Speech & Debate team member Craig O’Sullivan (’27) said. “I believe competing in debate has strongly enhanced my skills in all aspects of my life. It has greatly helped me as a student, communicator, and person.”

For information on what each of the above competitions entail, see the Texas Forensic Association (TFA) website. Texas Forensic Association is the governing body of many debate competitions throughout the school year, that culminate in a final tournament for all qualifying students. This school year’s final tournament, TFA State 2025, will be held at Prairie View A&M University from March 6th-8th.  To qualify, students must earn points at TFA-sanctioned debate events throughout the season, which the Eagles on the St. Thomas Speech & Debate team are well on their way to accumulating.

“Our results from Clear Brook were very encouraging,” the team’s coach Darrell Yarbrough said. “Especially the two novice Public Forum teams; both did very well. It was great to see them have that success.”

Yarbrough began his own Speech & Debate career in college, joining the university team as a beginner. Growing up in a small town that did not offer any debate teams, he instead participated in Future Farmers of America on the parliamentary team in high school, which included occasional debates. In college, he found a like-minded community of critical thinkers on the debate team and harnessed a passion for the endeavor of effectively communicating.

“I just fell in love with it,” he said. “I decided that it would be fun to teach it, too.”

At St. Thomas, the value of critical thought and effective communication is outlined in the school’s vision statement. Teachers and staff aim to prepare students to excel in college and life, equipped with these skills. The Speech & Debate team offers ample opportunities for them to grow along these paths.

“In debate, whatever your personal side is on any topic, you’ll have to debate both sides at every tournament,” Yarbrough said. “You have to argue the other side of what you believe a lot of the time. There’s a lot of value in that. I see it as something very integral to whatever these students end up doing.”

Looking forward to the rest of the school year, the team will compete in more tournaments to prepare for TFA State 2025. The students will also aim for TAPPS State and the National Qualifying Tournaments in April, and will be hosting a middle school debate tournament on December 14 at St. Thomas.

To get involved in volunteering at the Middle School tournament, or to learn more about the Speech & Debate team, please contact Mr. Yarbrough at Darrell.Yarbrough@sths.org.

Article by Sarah Jane Redding