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                         May 3, 2002

West Point speech team takes 5th in the nation

By Jim Fox
Staff Writer

The U.S. Military Academy’s Speech Team’s Lincoln-Douglas team earned their best finish ever by taking 5th in the nation in the Lincoln-Douglas National Championships at the National Forensics Association Championships at Berry College in Rome, Ga. April 17-23, according to team officer in charge Capt. Ken Tauke.

The topic of debate was international terrorism.

The team earned points as they competed through different rounds posting 54 points, only six points out of first place.

Lincoln-Douglas debaters Jeff Silverman, Jason Kim, Justin Hilderbrandt and Jacob White competed.

White, a senior, went 6-0 in the preliminaries, while sophomore Hilderbrandt was 5-1. Silverman, a junior, was 4-2 in the opening round.

Hilderbrandt was named the 10th best Lincoln-Douglas speaker in the Nation with Silverman rated 13th.

White was named one of the top 30 debaters in the country.