A parliamentary debate team from Missouri Western State University won first place in the Novice Division of the first tournament the Griffon Debate and Forensics team entered this fall.

Freshmen Graham Deckard of Kansas City, Mo., and Eli Dodge of Stewartsville, Mo., brought home the first place award in the Parliamentary Debate Novice Division at the Missouri Mule tournament at the University of Central Missouri. Also in the novice division, two other Missouri Western freshmen won individual awards. Brad Stanton of Savannah, Mo., was the third place speaker and Haden McDonald of Rosendale, Mo., was fourth place.

Competitive debate and forensics was revived this fall after an absence of about a dozen years from the Missouri Western campus. The Missouri Mule was the first of four tournaments the team is scheduled to compete in this year. The next is the Loper/Dragon Rodeo at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas on Nov. 1 and 2.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.