Patriot Debate Team Finishes Record-Breaking Season, Sets Sights on 2025–2026

As the 2024-2025 IPDA competitive season ended in April, the DBU Patriot Debate Team came home with 129 awards after competing at 10 tournaments in the Fall and Spring. From start to finish, the Patriots competed in a full season of tournaments, producing standout moments that reflect the program's excellence this year. DBU took home various division titles, never failing to rank in the top five for both Team (TIPDA) and Individual (IPDA) sweepstakes for the season.

• 2nd Place Season-Long Professional Program Sweepstakes
• 5th Place Season-Long Junior Varsity Program Sweepstakes
• 5th Place Season-Long TIPDA Program Sweepstakes
• 4th Place Founders National Sweepstakes Award

The Patriot Debate Team opened the competition season with a strong performance at the University of Central Missouri, capturing 1st Place Overall Sweepstakes and 1st Place IPDA Sweepstakes. Leading the way was Daniel Murrah, a second-year competitor, who became the Professional Division Champion with an outstanding overall 8-1 record and earned 4th Place Speaker. Carly Wells immediately impacted as a first-time Patriot Debate Team competitor, earning 3rd Place Speaker, while veteran Katelyn Ah-Puck secured 5th Place Speaker. In the Junior Varsity Division, Gabriel Serna topped the field as Champion JV Speaker. Newcomer Travis Varner impressed with a Finalist finish and 2nd Place Speaker Award after an 8-2 run in the Varsity Division.

The team carried that momentum to Middle Tennessee State University. Brennan Schiltz and James Wood dominated the team division, emerging as TIPDA Champions after eliminating teams from Mississippi State University and Union University. Catherine Dixon, second-year competitor and Patriot Debate Team Captain for the 2024-2025 season, added to the success with 5th Place Speaker in the TIPDA division. Brett Jarboe advanced to finals with an overall 8-2 record.

The team continued with their success at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, where DBU's Brett Jarboe took the 1st Place Speaker Award and was named TIPDA Division Speaker Champion. In the Junior Varsity Division, Serna remained a force, earning 3rd Place Speaker, and Brett Jarboe followed closely behind, earning 4th Place Speaker at the tournament. Moving up into the Varsity Division, Travis Varner had a flawless preliminary record of 6-0 before finishing as a Quarterfinalist and earning 5th Place Speaker in the Varsity Division. Lastly, in the Professional division, Valerie Colbert, competing in her first tournament of the 2024-2025 season and a fourth-year competitor on the Patriot Debate team, had a 5-1 preliminary record. At LSUS, she finished the tournament as a finalist in the Professional Division.

Dallas Baptist University welcomed ten schools from five states to University Hill for the DBU Invitational, where more than 100 debaters competed. DBU earned 3rd Place Overall, 3rd Place IPDA, and 3rd Place TIPDA Sweepstakes. Colbert had a flawless 6-0 preliminary record and ended the tournament as a Finalist.

The team's dominance continued at Bossier Parish Community College. The overall program won 2nd Place TIPDA Sweepstakes and 3rd Place Overall Sweepstakes. Murrah and Varner teamed up for a commanding run in the Team Division, claiming 1st Place TIPDA Champions, while Murrah also claimed 3rd Place TIPDA Speaker. In the JV Division, Brett Jarboe earned 1st Place Speaker. Moving up into the Professional Division, Valerie Colbert notched a 5-1 preliminary record, Finalist finish, and earned 4th Place Speaker.

At Union University's Online tournament, DBU added another strong finish by winning 3rd Place Overall, 3rd Place IPDA, and 3rd Place TIPDA Sweepstakes. In the Team division, Gabriel Serna earned 2nd Place Speaker. In the Varsity division, Brennan Schiltz earned 2nd Place Speaker, and Travis Varner earned 3rd Place Speaker, respectively. Finally, in the Professional Division, Dayton Thomas earned 5th Place Speaker.

All of these tournaments led up to the IPDA National Championship held at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. In the Junior Varsity Division, Brett Jarboe capped his debut season as the 1st-Place IPDA National Speaker (National Champion). He also earned the 8th-Place Junior Varsity IPDA Season Long Award and the 3rd-Place Junior Varsity IPDA Season Long Speaker Award. Catherine Dixon followed closely, taking 9th Place Season-Long JV Award, while Gabriel Serna secured 2nd Place Season-Long JV Speaker Award.

In the Professional Division, Daniel Murrah finished his season as the Professional Division National Champion. In addition to being the National Champion, Murrah earned the 8th Place Professional IPDA Season Long Award. Teammate Valerie Colbert, a four-year competitor and three-time finalist this season, placed 5th Overall in Season-Long Professional Rankings out of 58 competitors. Collectively, DBU's Professional Division team earned 2nd Place in the Season-Long Professional Program Sweepstakes.

This year, Coach Greyson Goebel was nominated for the Bennett Strange Coach of the Year Award. This recognition highlights excellence in leadership, mentorship, dedication to debate, and student success. Coach Goebel launched the Debate Team in 2021 and under his outstanding leadership, has produced national champions each year. The team has seen incredible growth since 2021, with outstanding students gaining valuable experience in public speaking and rhetorical skills.

Looking ahead, the Patriot Debate Team is thrilled to begin the 2025–2026 season with the largest Patriot Debate Team ever assembled. This year, the team will return again to Lee College in Baytown, Texas, for the first tournament of the season, eager to build on their momentum and make this another record-setting season.