The MHCC Forensics Team was split last week as four experienced competitors went to Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif., finishing fourth among community colleges and sixth overall out of a total of 22 teams.

Schools finishing ahead of the MHCC team had, “two to three times the people we did,” said coach Shannon Valdivia. Considering the competition, “that’s not too shabby.”

Dave Childers finished first in open extemporary, third in open persuasion, and third in open impromptu, also coming out with top speaker honors for open parliamentary debate.

Team member Shane Hinton finished third in open persuasion, and Eon LaJoie finished third in open poetry and ninth overall for parliamentary debate.
Childers and Sean Partch teamed up to finish as quarter finalists in parliamentary debate, dropping a close 3-0 decision to San Jose State.

“Considering the kind of schools we were up against, for us to come out sixth overall was quite a showing,” said Valdivia.

The team will leave Friday morning for San Diego to Point Loma Nazarene University for the Sunset Cliffs Classic tournament. “We call it the bloodbath on the beach,” said Valdivia. There will be 70 to 80 schools in attendance from all over the country.

Close to 200 teams are registered said Valdivia, “Competition is going to be brutal. We go to see where we’re at as far as nationals.”

In two weeks, the MHCC debate team will be sponsoring an annual high school tournament on Feb. 18 and 19. The forensics team is looking for volunteers to help judge this competition. Interested parties should contact Shannon Valdivia at (503) 491-7634 or by email at [email protected].

“This time of year takes a lot out of the competitors and a lot out of me,” said Valdivia. “But it makes it worth it when they’re successful.”