St. Louis Park senior wins national debate crown

As stressful as the final day of the Tournament of Champions was for Catherine Tarsney, the most anxious moments for the St. Louis Park High School senior came after she finished debating the merits of using economic sanctions as a legitimate foreign policy tool in the championship round of the nation's premier high school debate event.

While nine judges huddled to fill out their scorecards, Tarsney hoped she had presented an argument cogent enough to capture a dream she'd been chasing since she started competing in debate as a seventh-grader.

"It was really stressful ... realizing that each round could have been my last," said Tarsney, who squeaked out a one-point win in the semifinals.

"I would have been content if I'd been eliminated in the quarterfinals, but you get more attached to the goal as you near the finish line. My goal was always to win it."

She did, and in convincing fashion, with a 9-0 decision over Ross Brown of West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley High School, a feat that has rarely occurred in the 32-year history of the tournament held May 1-3 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

"To cause nine debate judges to agree on anything is unusual," said tournament co-director Jon Sharp. "Getting a unanimous decision in the final is beyond belief."

Her win marked the third straight year a Minnesotan has captured top honors in the Tournament of Champions' Lincoln-Douglas debate competition. Chris Theis of Apple Valley won in 2008 and 2009.

Things fell into place for her as a ninth-grader, when she became one of a handful of freshmen to ever qualify for the highly competitive Tournament of Champions. From there she established herself as one of the top debaters in the nation, both as a speaker and in presenting and defending her arguments.

On the way to this year's championship, she picked up 12 qualifying bids, which Sharp believes is a record.

She spent many late nights at the library doing research with her brother, who was one of her coaches, and learning to deliver her findings efficiently and strategically.

That was on top of twice-weekly practices with her high school debate team and long car rides to tournaments in places such as New York, California, Texas and around the Midwest. She also took extra classes at the University of Minnesota.

"I'm proud of her," Christian said. "It was a lot of fun to work with her over the years."

"Catherine is a record-shattering competitor whose greatest victory has been maintaining her humble, caring personality even when amassing tournament titles from across America," Cruz said.

Tarsney said she will study linguistics at the University of Chicago this fall, and would like to one day coach a high school debate team.