Sophomore Omer Mehovic looks up from his notes with a smirk. From what he just heard, he knows he will have no trouble ripping apart his opponents in their debate. Taking the information presented earlier by his partner sophomore David Brunskole, Mehovic builds on it and finishes off his competitors to win that round. As first-year debaters Mehovic and Brunskole are already performing at a varsity level. They won their first tournament competing as a team and continued that streak into their second tournament as well.
The dynamic duo seems to have just the right mix for success, but the pair almost wasn’t. Originally, Brunskole was paired with fellow sophomore Armon Varmeziar, and Mehovic paired with sophomore J.T. Marke. By a stroke of luck, Brunskole and Mehovic were partnerless for the Warner Robbins tournament, so Debate coach Brandon Kendall decided to put them together, and the dream team was formed.
“David and Omer are extremely confident and very persuasive, but sometimes they can be a little aggressive,” Kendall said. “That can either hurt or help their case. It really depends on what the judge thinks.”
Brunskole and Mehovic should do well at the upcoming Grady Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 12. Grady is their toughest competitor, and they are glad they won’t have to compete against them. Grady is hosting the tournament and can’t participate. “I’m pretty happy we aren’t competing against Grady, but it’ll be a little edgy going up against St. Pius,” Mehovic said.
They have a system that serves them well. As first speaker, Brunskole introduces their topic and gives a well-written speech, stating their argument and the contentions that support it. Mehovic is the second speaker and does most of the arguing against the other team’s defense. Their ace in the hole may be that both are equally qualified for either position.
“Both Omer and I are good at arguing. We don’t take anything our opponents say as fact, and that’s key. We always check their statements for proof,” Brunskole said.