As he stood at the podium he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His rock solid argument bounced off his lips and hit the opposing team like a brick wall. By the time he finished speaking he glanced at the triumphant smile on his partner’s face and knew that this debate round had just been dominated.

Senior Colten Cowart and junior Brett Howard qualified to attend the CX Debate state meet March 15-18. Juniors Connor Lawrence and Ephraim Lorenz have qualified as the alternate team and will be joining Cowart and Howard to state.

“I didn’t think we were going to make it but I’m excited,” Cowart said. “If we really work hard then we can do really well.”

The meet will be held in Austin where more than 60 different teams will compete for the top three places.

“I’m kind of nervous,” Howard said.” It’s going to be hard”

In preparation for the competition, both debaters are putting in several hours of work each week.

“We work at least 2 or 3 hours a day or up to 15 hours a week,” both Cowart and Howard said.

Howard said both debate partners bring individual advantages that aid in their success as a team.

“Brett is really good at research, he knows what he is talking about and I make strong arguments to go with that,” Cowart said.

Team members said they appreciate the practical experience that debate has given them.

“It gives you life skills that you can’t get anywhere else in high school,” Cowart said. “It teaches you that keeping up with current events is beneficial to your life.”