Most Sacramento State students know about the basketball and the football team, but the dark horse that is starting to emerge from the shadows is Sac State’s debate team, currently ranked fifth in the Pacific Northwest Region.

The team credits its success to hard work, fun and newcomers, despite head coach Kristen Tudor absence for maternity leave, said team coach and graduate student Theresa Perry.

“The members of our team have a lot of prior engagements in their lives, but when they are in the practices, they give their all to be the best for the team,” said Perry, a political communications major.

The debate team is now relying on leadership from Perry and Ken Dandy to be their coach while Tudor is gone, Perry said.

Perry said the team balances participation in many clubs, organizations and jobs in addition to debate. Meeting time becomes precious.

The team meets from 3 to 5:50 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday for its practices.

Perry said they only meet two times a week, but they are so close. It seems like they are always together hanging out and having fun.

Phillip Person, a senior communications major graduating this December, balances the team, a job and three organizations he’s involved with, including Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.

“This is more than just work. It is also fun and exciting because we talk and learn about all types of different subjects, plus we kick it and play jokes on each other on the trips,” Person said.

The team recently returned from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on Nov. 11, placing second in the novice division for the California State Policy Debate Championship. Arizona State was the only team that beat them during this competition.

Chantel Crane, a senior government major and double minor in communications and economics, said of the five years she’s been at Sac State, this team has the best team so far.

Crane received second place for the varsity division during the recent competition at Cal Poly. Crane believes overnight trips to places like Cal Poly, allows members to bond. They have team dinners before the competitions and joke around with each other on trips, Crane said.

She said she believes all of that helped in the development of the strong team they have right now.

“Everybody works so hard on their debates and nobody is too proud to ask for help. It is also good that we are so close in age because it is easier to get advice and strategies from one another,” Crane said.

So far, the team has traveled to UC Berkeley, Santa Rosa Junior College, Diablo Valley College and Cal Poly. They received first place in the novice division at Diablo Valley.

“Being on the debate team is like working a full shift at a regular job,” Perry said. “It is hard work and takes a lot of energy.”

Perry said debate competitions usually run from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and team members have four debates in one day, with each debate lasting about two hours. She said that when the whole day is over, everybody is mentally and physically tired, but the team always musters up enough energy to get a laugh in by the end of the night.

Julia Wobbe, a third year criminal justice major, said what brings them closer are practices and tournaments. When they travel together, they are in a fun environment and surrounded by fun people.

Wobbe is a full-time student with a job and also is involved in Phi Alpha Delta, a pre-law fraternity at Sac State. This is Wobbe’s first year being a part of the debate team.

“I wish I joined the team earlier because everybody is so much fun. We are like a family,” Wobbe said.

“The team meshes good too. You have to have a nickname on this team as well,” Wobbe said, who is also known as Meatballs.

The debate team’s next tournament is at UC Berkeley for its Regional Championships in December.

David Green can be reached at [email protected]