The Mt. Hood Community College Forensics Team has done it again, returning from a tournament in Longview, Wash., with many individual wins and a staggering team win.

The MHCC team took top honors with first place for community colleges and a first-place win overall. Each tournament is based on overall team performance, so individual scores are added to debate scores, culminating in sweepstakes points. The MHCC team earned 150 points, whereas the second place winner, Portland State University, had 60 points.

The mostly novice team has only a few members who have competed at the college level. Veteran debater Sean Partch is joined by Laurel Lawson and Nikki Fisher as returning students. Everyone else, with the exception of two students, was recruited from Forensics director Shannon Valdivia’s public speaking classes.

The team is still growing. Three more students are expected to join the team in the next few weeks. Partch, however, will be leaving the team before the end of the school year.
The team is preparing for their first out-of-region trip. Four members — Tori Zanzalari, Lawrence Behmer, Laurel Lawson,and Sean Robinson — will represent Mt. Hood at the San Joaquin Delta/University of the Pacific tournament to be held in Stockton, Calif., this weekend. The traveling team is an elite group hand-picked by Valdivia. “They fight for those seats,” she said. “At this stage, they are the ones who have risen to the top.”

The Forensics Team travels throughout the region. The costs associated with travel have been a concern as Valdivia attempts to “stretch the budget as far as possible.” Taking the whole team to Longview cost $1,300.

In the long run, Valdivia is not too concerned about money, stating, “I think we’re fine.” As the team watches its spending, some comforts may have to be given up.

“That’s why we’re driving this weekend instead of flying.” But,Valdivia feels travel is necessary. “It is imperative that we travel out of the region” in order to prepare for nationals.

Valdivia is confident of this weekend’s tournament. “We have the potential to do very well.”

The challenge lies in an inexperienced travel team, as none of the members has been to a tournament out of the region, but Valdivia said, “I think it’s going to be a great learning experience. I think we can hang with everybody.”

Valdivia doesn’t expect a first-place win this weekend because of the small team, and would be happy with fifth or sixth place.

The win in Washington marked the third first-place win for the team, and Valdivia’s outlook is positive.

“We are just starting to see what they can do,” she said.

The whole squad will compete Dec. 2 and 3 in the University of Portland Dugaw/Iverson Invitational.