Forensics wins California Tourney

By Jason White

Mt. Hood Community College’s forensics team competed last weekend in Diablo Valley College’s Kevin Twohy Invitational Tournament – taking to the road with another set of wins, including the overall sweepstakes title and a top-speaker award.

“It was very long trip and competition was hard,” said Shannon Valdivia, the team’s coach. The Saints fought in Pleasant Hills, Calif., competing 12 to 14 hours each day of the tournament. “We were wiped out.”

The competition was host to 21 college forensics teams, but San Francisco State University and Salano Community College proved the Saints’ toughest opponents.
“You go down to Northern California schools and they’re all competitive,” said Valdivia, adding that she felt like the team was going to have its hands full.

Until the team’s final-round loss, they were undefeated at the tournament, and though Valdivia feels MHCC’s debaters should’ve “broke” – forensics-speak for won – in certain events, she said what the team brought home spoke for itself.

Natalie Fetsch, the top speaker, took home a cash prize of $100, and, according to Valdivia, a trophy that’s “big, huge and shiny.” But their wins had some downsides. The Saints need to continue to focus, said Valdivia, and warned that the team shouldn’t feel content to simply “rest on [its] laurels,” or the next tournament “will be a wakeup call for those who are deciding to slack.”

“I think this lit a fire under the whole group to push us to get ready for the upcoming weekend,” said Valdivia.

The Saints received praise from opponents’ coaches. “It’s a real compliment to us when a lot of Northern California coaches will come and tell us what a good team we have,” Valdivia said, “and how we add a different kind of competitive dynamic to the region.”

The troupe will fly to San Diego this weekend for Point Loma Nazarine University’s “Bloodbath at the Beach.” Once there, they’ll compete against at least 69 colleges and more than 200 debate teams. “It is brutal,” Valdivia said of Bloodbath. “A lot of teams go there and use it as a way to measure what they need to work on to get competitive for Nationals.”

Saints’ forensics teammates have mixed feelings concerning the next run of competitions.

Nikki Fisher, who placed second with teammate Tori Zanzalari against Bethany College in novice parliamentary debate, said she hopes to take first place at the next competition and doesn’t want to “lose to commie bastards.” Fetsch offered in jest, “We’re going to be ground beef, but that’s okay.”

The Kevin Twohy Invitational is named after a debate instructor who taught at Diablo Valley College before dying prematurely almost six years ago.

Twohy served as interim director of speech communications at MHCC during the ’80s, and was trained in the Northwest.

“He was a good, good, good man,” said Valdivia.

The troupe had previously competed in the Clackamas Speech and Debate Invitational, bringing home a first-place standing among Northwest community colleges, with first-year debater Tori Zanzalari earning the Orv Iverson trophy.