THOMASVILLE -- Debate teams from Brookwood School won first and third place in the Georgia Independent School Association State Debate Tournament, and a Brookwood freshman won the first-place Speaker Award. 

At Mercer University in Macon on Jan. 14, the team of Rand Malone and Heeth Varnedoe won the State Championship. The team of Peyton Patterson and Paul Leonard took third place. Heeth Varnedoe, a Brookwood 9th grader, was named the number one speaker in the State Debate. Malone and Patterson are in the 11th grade, and Leonard is a senior at Brookwood. Madeleine Harrer in the 10th grade, was the team's alternate debater. All are from Thomasville, except Leonard, who is from Meigs.

Westminster School of Augusta took second place and Bethlehem Christian Academy came in fourth.

This year's debate topic was "Resolved: Direct popular vote should replace electoral vote in presidential elections."

"Brookwood debaters have always performed well, winning several region championships and coming in the runner-up position three times in recent years," said the debate Coach Phil Danner. "Our students this year did an outstanding job debating with skill, decorum and assertiveness."

Pictured are Peyton Patterson and Rand Malone holding Brookwood's State Debate trophies, with, standing, Paul Leonard, Debate Coach Phil Danner and Top Debate Speaker Heeth Varnedoe.