2017 edition of Midwest Great Debate a win for “Legacy”

Luis Jauregui was a Midwest Great Debate participant five years ago, and it changed his life — so much so that it’s why he’s currently a student at Augustana College.

This year, on his home campus, he got to lead a team of students from the Chicago and Kansas City metro areas to victory in the latest version of the Midwest Great Debate — one of the National Hispanic Institute’s flagship programs.

“The National Hispanic Institute wasn’t founded around the idea of winning,” said Jauregui, who coached The Legacy during last week’s six-day tournament. “I believe it was founded and thrives off of the thirst for knowledge by the Latino Community. This past week I believe my kids won not because they were super competitive. Rather because they wanted to continue learning and improving their own abilities for the people around them. Our team name was The Legacy and these students definitely left their legacy not only on myself but the Midwest as a whole and I am honored to have been their head coach.”

The 2017 Midwest Great Debate winning team members included:

J.J. Ballesteros, Grayslake Central High School, Grayslake, Illinois
Arian De La Torre, Argo Community High School, Summit, Illinois
Amanda Garcia, Lake Community High School, Lindenhurst, Illinois
Lydia Garcia, Argo Community High School, Summit, Illinois
Maria Garcia, Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, Chicago, Illinois
Lizbeth Gutierrez, Grayslake North High School, Grayslake, Illinois
Natalie Guzman, Waukegan High School, Waukegan, Illinois
Timothy Lona, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, Missouri
Carina Martinez, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, Missouri
Daniel Mendoza, Storm Lake High School, Storm Lake, Illinois
Andrea Morales, Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois
Oscar Reyes, Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois
Evan Ruvalcaba, Argo Community High School, Summit, Illinois

The winners in individual categories at this year’s Midwest Great Debate (including Legacy members atop the Cross-X and Mock Trial categories) included:

Oratory
1st Place: Manuela Chavez, Moline High School, Moline, Illinois
2nd Place: Rebecca Juarez, Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois
All-State: Natalia Ocampo, Waukegan High School, Waukegan, Illinois

Extemp
1st Place: Itxel Limon, Highland Park High School, Highland Park, Illinois
2nd Place: Anayeli Ocampo, Round Lake High School, Round Lake, Illinois
All-State: Marisol Perez, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Cross Examination
1st Place: Carina Martinez, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, Missouri, and Evan Ruvalcaba, Argo Community High School, Summit, Illinois
2nd Place: Taylor Puglisi, Moline High School, Moline, Illinois, and Leticia Hernandez, Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois
All-State Leader: Anjelica Rodriguez, Grayslake North High School, Grayslake, Illinois
All-State Member: Carlos Hernandez, King High School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Mock Trial
1st Place: Oscar Reyes, Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois, and Timothy Lona, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, Missouri
2nd Place: Teresa Godinez, Riverside Brookfield High School, Riverside, Illinois, and Danna Blancas, Highland Park High School, Highland Park, Illinois
All-State Attorney: Brena Hernandez, Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois
All-state Witness: Dariana Fajardo, Warren Township High School, Gurnee, Illinois

Athenaeum
1st Place: Jonathan Hernandez, Warren Township High School, Gurnee, Illinois
2nd Place: Benjamin Castillo, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
3rd Place: Valerie Silva, Hubbard High School, Chicago, Illinois

In addition, Alejandra Pecina (Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, Missouri) won the Hall of Fame Award, and Arian De La Torre (Argo Community High School, Summit, Illinois) won the Chris Pluta Community Award.

This program was made possible in part by sponsorship from the Roy G. Kerr Foundation, State Farm and Union Pacific.