USC Debate Team Ranked Fifth After National Competition

The USC Trojan debate team, which entered the national debate championships ranked No. 1 for the first time in the school’s history, finished as the nation’s fifth-ranked team, officials announced Tuesday.

The young team, which sent two pairs to the finals three weeks ago at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, was pleased about being ranked in the top five by the American Forensics Assn. At the end of last year, the Trojans were 12th.

Out of about 400 schools, 72 teams qualified to compete at the national tournament, in which USC took seventh. For sophomores Marc Aquino and Greg Bevan and freshmen Armands Revelins and Andy Weitz, it was their first time at the final competition.