Forensics team leaves for nationals

By JILL AHO

The MHCC Forensics Team returned from a weekend event in Tacoma, Wash. with 20 individual event awards and multiple debate and Sweepstakes honors. This was their last tournament before they headed off on Wednesday for the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Lawrence Behmer and Sean Robinson were the only team to be undefeated, with a score of 8-0, in Parliamentary Debate. As they accepted their award, they were given a standing ovation.

“I didn’t expect it,” said Robinson.

Forensics coach Shannon Valdivia said the team is geared up for nationals. “We’ve got a lot of great momentum coming out of this tournament,” she said.

Robinson said going out of the region might bring different challenges. Every region approaches debate differently, and at the national tournament, the MHCC team will need to be able to defend against these different styles.

“It’s going to be the biggest tournament we’ve been to,” he said. “Hopefully we communicate well.”

Valdivia said she was “feeling pretty good” about the team’s outlook for nationals.
Many of the team’s top scorers will be participating in the national tournament. Behmer, who won a superior award last weekend for Open Persuasion, Robinson, who brought home a superior award in Open Informative and Open Extemp., Natalie Fetsch, who returned from last weekend with a superior award in both Open Prose and Open Extemp., Nikki Fisher, who earned excellent awards in Novice Impromptu and Novice Prose and Tori Zanzalari, who earned a superior award for Open Drama.

Two tournaments are left for the forensics team. The whole team will defend their NFC Community College Title at Clark College in April, and the MHCC team holds an annual event for local forensics teams called the Spring Fling. This event has become more popular with other college teams, said Robinson. Many refer to the tournament as the “joke tournament” because it is not formal and meant to be light-hearted. Robinson looks forward to the event.

“We’re always competing against our friends at different schools. It’s a nice, easy-going time,” he said.