The Mount Pleasant High School Cross-Examination Debate team of seniors Anthony Orellana and Eli Rider competed in the UIL 5A State CX Debate tournament on March 17-18 at the University of Texas at Austin. It would be the first appearance at CX State for Rider and the second for Orellana.

On day one, the field began with 53 teams entered from across the state of Texas. Mount Pleasant OR debated teams from the South Texas ISD Science Academy, El Paso, Argyle, and Smithson Valley. That evening, the teams gathered in the University Teaching Center to learn if they had advanced to the second day. Scores are determined by a combination of wins and losses as well as the speaker points given to each team member.

The first awards given are to the top six speakers in each division. Orellana was awarded the Gold Gavel for having the highest speaker points among all 106 contestants in 5A. It is the second year in a row for Orellana to earn this honor and the fourth year in a row that the UIL 5A State Top Speaker is from Mount Pleasant High School. After speaker awards are presented, the top 16 advancing teams in each division are announced in alphabetical order. Mount Pleasant OR learned that they had advanced to the top sixteen and would debate for state medals the next day.

Day 2 started with octofinals where MPHS would defeat Barbers Hill on a 2-1 decision. In quarterfinals, MPHS would face Pine Tree in a district rematch and were defeated on a close 2-1 decision to earn quarterfinalist medals. It was the second UIL State medal and second state speaker award for Orellana and the first state medal for Rider.

Orellana and Rider will both turn their attention toward extemporaneous speaking and other UIL academic events with the district meet set for this weekend. Orellana is currently deciding which university he will attend in the fall and is the son of Vicente Arroyo and Onelia Orellana. Rider will attend Texas A&M University and is the son of Nathan and Lisa Rider.

Photos:

Eli Rider and Anthony Orellana with their UIL State quarterfinal medals

Anthony Orellana and his UIL State Top Speaker plaque