Laird Lewis Invitational announces winners

East Chapel Hill's Dania Toth and Aaron Rogoff defeated North Mecklenburg's Glen Dawson and Joey Heffner to win the inaugural PFDebate.com National Public Forum Challenge.

Myers Park High School hosted the event, which drew debaters from as far away as Arizona and Massachusetts to Charlotte, North Carolina. The format allowed teams to pick their opponents in elimination rounds. Finalists in the tournament shared $1200 in scholarships courtesy of PFDebate.com.

The main tournament reached its largest size ever, with over 500 competitors from 12 states. Tournament Director Jason Kline explains that the forensic community can expect an even larger tournament next year, January 9-10, 2009.

The following teams were selected to participate in the tournament from a strong, diverse field of applicants:

Leigha Mataosky & Graeme Crews from Academic Magnet High in N. Charleston, SC
Mikey Rooney & Andrew Copland from Cary Academy in Cary, NC
Riley Roberts & Max Ullman from Chapparal High in Paradise Valley, AZ
Jay O'Brien & Alex Henderson from Charlotte Latin School in Charlotte, NC
Grade Wallack & Dede Pless from Durham Academy in Durham, NC
Aaron Rogoff & Dania Toth from East Chapel Hill High in Chapel Hill, NC
Ashley Artmann & Brittany Russo from Green Valley High in Henderson, NV
Alex Loomis & Alexander Stubbs from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High in Sudbury, MA
Rob Longcor & James Pates from Manchester Essex Regional High in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
John Byrne & Max Elder from Manchester Essex Regional High in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
Claire Kairys & Nazih El-Khatib from North Allegheny High in Pittsburgh, PA
Joey Heffner & Glen Dawson from North Mecklenburg High in Huntersville, NC
Meredith Potter & Caleb Frye from Pinecrest High in Southern Pines, NC
Brennan Morris & Tommy Forte from Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, VA
Colin Joseph Cole & Eric Hare from Snohomish High in Snohomish, WA
Scott Eisner & Dominic Peters from Stoneman-Douglas High in Parkland, FL