NWC News Desk

NWC Forensics Team comes up with gold in California

Posted February 20, 2014
By NWC News Desk

POWELL, Wyo. - The Northwest College Forensics Team finished its regular season claiming gold at the Western States Forensics Association Tournament in Long Beach, Calif., Feb. 14-16.

The NWC Team bested all 12 teams at the tournament, both in the community college category and overall. NWC was able to take 10 students to the California competition; each one placed in at least one event, marking the first time this year that 100 percent of the squad placed.

“I am extremely pleased with our showing,” Duane Fish, NWC forensics co-director, said. “To beat the University of Utah by 12 points and San Jose State University by 25 points is a tremendous feat. While all of our students placed, we had a couple of folk who had their best tournament ever, placing in three events. Annamarie Victor and Josiah Hogan both had season best performances.”

In debate, the Montana duo of Quintin Brown (Billings) and Claire Garman (Townsend) took third in open parliamentary debate. Brown added a seventh place debate speaker award to his collection, as well as a fifth in junior impromptu.

The Park County team of Sean Meyers (Powell) and Alex Rumm (Cody) placed second in novice parliamentary debate. Meyers also placed first in poetry. Rumm paired his debate finish with two fifth place awards in persuasion and junior extemporaneous.

Also of Cody, Maddi George took second in duet, and Carter Reed placed fifth in informative speaking.

Powell’s Josiah Hogan claimed first place in duet and scored a fourth in junior prose and a second in drama.

Greybull speakers Matt Dillon and Josh Hopkin also earned their share of awards, with Dillon sharing Hogan’s first-place award in duet and adding a fourth in communication analysis and a third in junior prose; Hopkin placed second in after dinner speaking and sixth in communication analysis.

Anna Victor of Baltimore, Md., rounded out the team trophy haul with seconds in junior prose and duet and a fourth in program oral interpretation.

This was the NWC Forensics Team’s last regular-season tournament before competing in national tournaments in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Denver, Colo. Team members will showcase the pieces they’re working on for nationals in an April 1 program.

They started the semester Jan. 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Mile High Classic. Three colleges hosted the swing tournament, making it the largest tournament of the year for the NWC team. More than 90 competed in debate alone.

Ten Northwest students brought home individual events awards from Utah, placing as high as second in several events.

The team traveled Jan. 31 to the Fiesta Flatland Swing in Cheyenne where they claimed the top spot in debate and fourth overall. Brown topped the list of individual award winners with a first place in open parliamentary debate speaker awards. Reed followed immediately behind in second place. Seven NWC students placed in individual events and eight earned debate awards.