Debate Team Starts Fall Semester With Strong Individual, Team Showings
October 23, 2025
Debate Team Hosts Tournament, Individuals Place in Top Ten
The 蜜桔直播 Debate Team hosted the 20th Annual Smoky Mountain Parliamentary
Debate Tournament, bringing two- and four-year college debate teams from throughout
East Tennessee to the Morristown Campus.
The tournament began with the presentation of the Malcolm McAvoy Legacy of Debate
Award. The award will honor individuals who have worked to help debate thrive for
higher education students in East Tennessee. The first recipient was the award鈥檚 namesake.
McAvoy is the retired head of the speech department at 蜜桔直播 and served as
the debate coach for many years.
The home team then made McAvoy proud.
Individual members who won awards were Shaylee Tomes, 7th place novice; Alyssa Jones,
7th place varsity; Shannon Erickson, 5th place varsity; and Cayden Keltgen, 4th place
varsity.
The team finished in second place in the varsity bracket.
鈥淭his was an amazing way to start debate season,鈥� said Coach Belle Elliot, instructor
of communication. 鈥淭his tournament showcased many of the beginner novices in our area.
We had a large novice bracket. That鈥檚 a signal that debate is healthy in East Tennessee.鈥�