Junior Joshua Hansen and sophomore William Aepli—both among 11 Jackson qualifiers for nationals—had strong showings at the Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Debate Series Midwest Qualifier, which took place last Sunday. While the Midwest Qualifier was intended to be held in Independence, Missouri, its online nature meant registration was open to the entire nation, attracting some 93 competitors from a total of 19 states. All spent the day debating the resolution: “States are more effective at legislating to improve the environment than the federal government.” Students prepared themselves to defend either side of the resolution, not knowing which they would have to argue until minutes before competition. After five preliminary rounds, the field was whittled to 32. Both Aepli and Hansen made the cut with four wins to one loss each. From there, having already debated for six hours straight, the top 32 competed in a single elimination bracket. Aepli finished in round six as the 19th seed coming out of prelims. Hansen continued on for five more hours to round nine, losing to ventual winner Zachary Heintz in semi-finals. It was a 3rd place finish for Hansen, just missing qualifying final tournament in July.
