Mowad, Carney qualify for national tournament

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Neighbors | Submitted .Lidia Mowad (left) and Catie Carney, members of the Poland High speech and debate team, take home 10th place in Public Forum debate at the state championship tournament. The pair will compete in the national championship this June.

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

Lidia Mowad and Catie Carney are like any athletes at Poland Seminary High School. They log countless hours of practice, work hard on developing team dynamics, and fuel a rivalry with their opponents at Canfield High School.

But when Mowad and Carney put on their game faces, they get ready to battle with their minds.

Mowad, a junior, and Carney, a senior, compete in Public Forum debate for the Poland High Speech and Debate Team. The successful duo has earned a ride to the national debate tournament in Kansas City, Mo., in June.

They are the first team from Poland High to qualify for the Public Forum debate at the national tournament.

Mowad and Carney have competed together since the state qualifying tournament last season, when both of their partners dropped out of competition.

The pairing was successful, and they went on to compete together in the 2009 state tournament.

This year, they placed 10th in the state championship tournament.

Mowad and Carney — or Squid and Catcar, as they are known in the high school debating world — have perfected their teamwork this season.

“I think there is a good team dynamic,” Carney said. “It helps that we spend time together outside of debate — we kind of balance each other out.”

In Public Forum debate, teams nationwide are given a topic to debate each month, generally relating to a current issue. The teams then do research on the subject and prepare both sides of the argument.

“We are on Google as much as we are on Facebook,” Carney said. “You learn a lot about current events.”

In competition, Mowad first presents written case. Carney then attacks the opposing team’s argument. Both must present evidence supporting their arguments.

The duo attributes their success to their support for one another.

“The better teams have good team dynamics,” Mowad said. “We decide together what we like and don’t like.”

The pair spends the majority of their spare time researching, writing cases and memorizing sources and statistics, they said.

The time commitment is worth it, though, if it helps them to defeat their rivals, a Public Forum team from Canfield High School.

“It is a constant battle between us,” Mowad said. “It sometimes gets really aggressive.”

Mowad and Carney have been leaders for all 40 members of the school’s speech and debate team, West said. Carney is the team president and Mowad is the vice president-elect.

“They call the team their debate family,” West said. “They like to get the team together and have worked on team dynamic. They go and support their teammates.”

They also help the school’s other Public Forum debaters with their research and preparation, West said.

“We all research together,” Carney said. “If another team wants our input, we are going to help them.”

Both Mowad and Carney see debate as early preparation for careers in law. Carney plans to attend college next year, although she has not yet decided where she will enroll.

And what will Squid do when Catcar graduates?

She is vetting potential partners but it will hard to replace Catie, she said.