WSU debate team is heading to national tournament...

Wayne State University's debate team qualified two duos to the nation's most prestigious competitive college debate tournament, the 68th annual National Debate Tournament (NDT), hosted at Indiana University, March 28-31, 2014.

Jacob Justice, a senior from Dexter, and Talya Slaw, a junior from Grand Rapids, advanced competing in a regional qualifying tournament against top debate programs like Indiana University, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern University. The team of Michael Leap, senior from East Lansing, and Kristen Messina, senior from Shelby Township, missed qualifying by the narrowest of margins at that tournament but later qualified through a second-round application process. 80 teams from universities and colleges across the country qualify to the NDT each year.

Throughout the season, both teams were regularly ranked in the top 25 in the nation in a coaches' ranking poll.

According to WSU Director of Forensics, Dr. Kelly Young, who oversees the university's competitive speech and debate teams, "While Wayne State has enjoyed a long tradition of competitive success on the national level, it has been a while since we had two outstanding teams compete at such a high level for the entire season. The students worked all summer to prepare for this season and their continued work throughout the year really paid off."

With these two duos, Wayne State University has qualified 81 teams to the NDT since 1961. That feat places Wayne State seventh in the nation for qualifying teams to this tournament. In addition, Wayne State has qualified teams to 49 NDT tournaments in the last 53 years, ranking WSU eleventh in the nation for most years in attendance at the tournament.