Abilene ISD -

Lainey Marz has quickly made a name for herself in the world of competitive debate. In less than two years, the Abilene High School sophomore has risen to become one of the top debate students in Texas and recently earned a spot in the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, this coming June.

Since joining the Abilene High debate team, Marz has quickly risen through the regional and state ranks as a formidable competitor. Though she dabbled in UIL impromptu speaking in middle school, it wasn’t until she arrived at AHS that she fully embraced debate. Encouraged by friends of her older sister, Belle Marz – the class of 2024 valedictorian – talked her into joining a debate class taught by her English teacher, Scott Stephens, who is also the AHS speech and debate coach.

She showed promise early on, placing seventh in Congressional Debate at her first competition in October 2023. That experience ignited her passion, and she quickly found her niche in Extemporaneous Speaking – or "extemp", as it’s known in the speech and debate world. From there, she went to work on mastering some of the parts of the competition that would propel her to what she’s accomplished since that first meet.

“In extemp, the judges look for many different things, and one of the crazy things about extemp is that it's a regional thing,” Marz said. “Generally, they're looking for fluency, so you're not saying 'um' or 'uh-huh' a lot. I’ve also worked a lot on engaging with the judges, maintaining eye contact, and being aware of my movements.”

Another key challenge is memorization. Once competitors reach the semifinals, they are not allowed to use notes. Marz recalled a memorable moment when Coach Stephens tricked the team into believing they had already reached the semifinals.

“After that, we started calling it Operation: No Note Card,” Marz said. “It’s hard to go into the room with the judges and make your argument without a note, but that’s what I do now from the start of each competition. I remember getting a perfect score the first time I did it without notes.”

The winning topic centered on President Donald Trump and the U.S. Supreme Court, and Marz found a way to seamlessly tie in references to the ‘Twilight’ book series.

“Most judges like humor and references to pop culture,” Marz said. “That was the first time I did that.”

Since those beginnings, she’s gone on to become a two-time state qualifier in the Texas Forensic Association (TFA) state tournament in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, a state qualifier in UIL Congressional Debate, a state qualifier in UIL Policy Debate with her partner Syler Richardson, a qualifier for the National Individual Event Tournament of Champions, and a qualifier for the NSDA National Tournament.

But even with those accolades, she’s continually striving to improve.

“Last year in extemp speaking, I had an issue with ‘um-ing’ and clicking,” she said. “I made a slight clicking noise with my mouth when I would speak, and I couldn’t get rid of it. We worked a lot last year to eliminate those fluency issues and ensure my delivery was smooth."

That work has paid off for Marz, who has accumulated an impressive amount of awards: one gavel, five trophies, 11 medals or ribbons, and 65 perfect ballots in two years. Winning a gavel signifies being named “Best Delegate” at a competition, while a perfect ballot means a judge ranked her first or gave her a perfect speaker score.

Her success continued at the UIL Cross-Examination (CX) Debate state meet in Austin, where she and Richardson finished one win shy of advancing to the octo-finals. More recently, she won the Persuasive Speaking competition at the UIL district tournament, securing a spot in the upcoming regional competition in late April.

Marz and Richardson have developed a “Good Cop, Bad Cop” dynamic that plays to their strengths.

“I’m nice and bubbly and he flips a switch when we get into the room with the judges and other competitors,” Marz said. “He’s good at thinking of questions that trip people up in the cross-examination. And that’s how we’ve won a lot of our rounds.”

Then came the call that sealed her latest achievement: Marz had qualified for the NSDA National Tournament in two events — Extemporaneous Speaking and Congressional Debate. Since NSDA rules allow competitors to enter only one event at nationals, she chose to focus on her specialty: U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking.

It’s a discipline she continues to perfect, and she approaches every competition with high expectations.

“As I’m doing better, now it’s an expectation that I’ll get at least one perfect card ballot,” Marz said. “And I want competitors to think, ‘Oh, no. She’s good.’

“But I don’t want that just for me; I want that for our team,” she said. “We have a smaller team, and my goal over the next couple of years is for Abilene High to become better known in the debate world. My ambition isn’t just personal, but for the entire team, and I want to see it through.”