Winner of the Cross-Examination Debate Association (CEDA) Junior College Division National Championship Award at the recent national meet in Louisville, Ky., the Blue Devil’s six-member team is participating this week at the Phi Rho Pi Junior College National Championships in Woodland Hills, Calif.

“We’re hoping,” said coach Darren Elliott. “We’ve competed against the other teams so much that everyone pretty well knows each other’s arguments so we may change some things. We’ve been advocating pulling nuclear weapons out of Europe all year, maybe we’ll change and advocate putting more of them in.”

KCKCC competed against both two- and four-year colleges and universities in the CEDA championships. Only junior college teams are competing in the Phi Rho Pi event. More than 100 two-person teams from 60 to 70 two-year colleges are participating in the California tourney in which teams debate in any of seven categories dealing with relations between the U.S. and Europe.

Elliott went with the same combinations that brought home the national championship.

Sophomore Austin Case, a transfer from Emporia State, and freshman John Bretthauer of Tonganoxie, finished third in the CEDA tournament while sophomore Dan Rundus of Basehor-Linwood and freshman Shannon Howard, a December graduate of Blue Valley High School, finished ninth.

Earlier this season, freshmen Peter Lawson of Leavenworth and Seth Paulson finished second in the novice division in the Augustana (Ill.) tournament with Lawson placing second and Paulson third in the individual overall competition. In overall competition at Augustana, Case finished ninth.