As the first half of the debate season draws to a close, BPCC’s Jakob Volcheck is the #1 ranked junior varsity debater in the nation in the International Public Debate Association’s standings and the BPCC team is the #3 ranked community college team in the nation.
“Jakob has been both a great competitor and a great leader,” said BPCC Debate Team Coach Bob Alexander.
At the beginning of October, Volcheck stood at #18 in individual rankings and the team ranked 5th. At that point the team had notched only 4 victories to start the season, but by the November 1st rankings and having won the University of Arkansas-Monticello tournament, Volcheck catapulted to #2. Team members Shaletra Thomas and Ashalenia Graham entered their first competitions and the team notched 21 victories in October. 
The team’s October performance was enough to pass previous #3 Tulsa Community College and #4 Hutchinson Community College, but the team remained ranked at #5 to start November– having been leapfrogged by new #3 Mount Hood Community College and new #4 Lower Columbia College.
In the November/December stretch to finish the first half of the season, Volcheck advanced to his 3rd championship round of the season & combined with Thomas and Graham they notched another 23 wins.
Entering the Christmas break, Volcheck now stands as the #1 ranked junior varsity debater and the BPCC team ranks as the #3 community college team.
Alexander is extremely proud of the growth the team has made during the first half of the season.
“As the semester progressed, we saw the emergence of Shaletra and Ashalenia,” said Alexander. “We’re adding a couple of new competitors and are looking to build on this success in the second half of the season.”
The second half of the season will kick off in mid-January leading up to national competition in April.
The BPCC Debate Team is open to any student and no previous experience is required. For more information about the team, contact Bob Alexander at 678-6460.
