West Des Moines Student Debates His Way to the Top

From West Des Moines school district:

Indian Hills eighth grader Trent Gilbert is the national champion in the junior high Lincoln-Douglas debate division, becoming the first Iowan to win the junior high division of the National Forensic League.

He competed at the NFL National Championship Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., where he defeated a debater from Ridge Crest Intermediate School in Los Angeles in the final round. The topic of the Lincoln-Douglas competition was “Resolved: Oppressive government is more desirable than no government.”

Also at the tournament, the policy debate team of Alex Carther and Meta Miller, also of Indian Hills, were national semifinalists. TJ Foley of Indian Hills and Conal Thomas-McGinnis of Western Hills both placed in the top 24 in junior high Lincoln-Douglas debate. Results can be found here: http://nflnationals.org/2013-national-junior-forensic-league-results/

Gilbert will be a freshman at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School in the fall.