The Mount Pleasant High School Cross-Examination debate team of Connelly Cowan and Taryn Thurman competed in the online 5A State CX Debate tournament on March 19-20. Cowan and Thurman, nicknamed TarCon, claimed their 3rd District Championship in February, earning them the right to compete at State.

On day one, the field began with 27 teams entered from across the state of Texas, a significant drop from prior years. Due to the pandemic, the UIL only allowed the 1st place team in each district to advance to state creating a more difficult challenge as all teams were the champions of their districts. Mount Pleasant CT debated teams from Pflugerville Hendrickson, Dripping Springs, Mansfield Legacy, and Frisco Independence. That evening, the teams gathered on a zoom call 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. Thurman was awarded the Gold Gavel for having the highest speaker points among all 54 contestants in 5A. She was the first MPHS student to ever receive this prestigious award in 2019 and is the first to repeat the award in 2021. Cowan was awarded the Silver Gavel for having the second highest speaker points, just 1 point behind Thurman’s perfect score, making them the top two 5A speakers in the state of Texas, the highest individual awards given at UIL State.

After speaker awards are presented, the advancing teams in each division are announced in alphabetical order. In a normal, in-person year, 16 teams advance to day 2, but this year would see only the top 11. Mount Pleasant CT learned that they advanced to the top eleven and would debate for state medals the next day.

Day 2 started with Octofinals where MPHS earned a bye due to their winning record from day 1 and high speaker points. MPHS was finally defeated on a close 2-1 decision in the quarterfinal round by A&M Consolidated. They earned 5th place medals, ranking them the #5 CX Debate team in all of 5A in the state of Texas for the 2020-21 school year. After being denied the chance at state in 2020 due to the pandemic, the medals would mark the end of their UIL career together, solidifying them as the most decorated CX Debate team in MPHS school history with 2 state medals and 3 state speaker awards. They will debate at Nationals this June in their last tournament as a team.

“It has been a wonderful experience guiding these talented students,” said MPHS Debate Coach, Enrique Martinez. “These two have done so much work to continue our debate program’s growth for the last few months. This year is the third consecutive year that Mount Pleasant has brought home UIL state medals in CX debate, with Thurman and Cowan bringing them home two of the three years. These girls adapted to every situation they faced, whether working through a transition period or competing online instead of in Austin. It is hard to convey to the community the obstacles these girls have had to overcome.”

Martinez continued, “Individually, both Taryn and Connelly received the Gold and Silver gavel awards, awarded to the best and second-best speaker, respectively. It is rare for the two best speakers in any UIL division to come from the same team. This historic achievement couldn’t have been possible without the drive and dedication that these two girls have for success. Taryn’s willingness to work has allowed her to continue performing at the highest level during her senior year. Since their last competition, Connelly has continued to work hard, receiving the silver gavel due to her drive to improve. It has been such an honor to guide these two on this successful journey. They have continued to build on their successes, creating opportunity and growth for future students.”

Thurman will attend Texas A&M University in the fall and is the daughter of Tris and Stephanie Thurman. Cowan will return for her senior year with a new partner in the fall and is the daughter of Collin and Kelly Cowan.