Debate Tournament: January 2022

Photo: Front row (L to R): Sophie Christensen, Clarissa Hernandez, and Camryn Garrett
Back row (L to R): Chantelle Gossner, Richard Mulholland, Ethan Garrett, and Bryant Saunders

The Aggie speech and debate team claimed a number of victories at their final conference tournament over the weekend. The Fred Scheller Memorial is hosted by Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, but this year it took place online January 28-30 due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. The small team excelled in half a dozen different speech and debate events. Additionally, with the wrap-up of the conference season, Utah State University was named a silver program for overall performance this year.

 

The team’s specialty, a one-on-one format of debate called IPDA, was a point of pride at the competition. Six of the seven students USU entered made it past preliminary rounds, advancing to bracket-style elimination rounds. Freshman Camryn Garrett, junior Ethan Garrett, and sophomore Richard Mulholland advanced to octofinals; freshmen Clarissa Hernandez and Sophie Christensen made it as far as quarterfinals; and junior Bryant Saunders made it to the final round, with a judge split naming him 2^nd place in the tournament.

 

The Aggies’ performance in speech events was also admirable. Junior Amrutha Obulasetty placed in three different events, winning 2^nd in editorial commentary, 5^th in program oral interpretation, and 5^th in dramatic interpretation. Also earning honors were Christensen, claiming 6^th in persuasive speaking, and Hernandez, receiving 6^th in poetry interpretation and 4^thin program oral interpretation.

 

Both speech and debate offer opportunities for students to grow and develop vital skills. Obulasetty, an English teaching major, explains that the activity makes her “much more confident…to give a presentation or enact a lesson plan.” Saunders, who is studying computer science, agrees, saying debate is “the perfect activity to hone both communication and logic skills. The people that you meet and the topics you discuss [push] you to think of interesting ways to solve problems.”

 

While both students appreciate the opportunity to enhance their capabilities, they say the most important component is the feeling of community. Obulasetty remarks that the team is “a group that always supports your successes, no matter how big or small.”

 

Chantelle Gossner, the team’s coach, says she has “loved watching the intensely supportive atmosphere the team has developed this year,” and that the strength of their bond shines through in competition. “Despite having a young team, over half of whom are brand-new to speech and debate, and a relatively small one, we were recognized as a silver program in the conference this year, which goes to show how much they have helped each other learn and how hard they have worked.”

 

Due to current concerns over COVID, the team is unsure whether they will attend nationals in Orlando. Regardless, though, they’re not ready to wrap up their competitive season yet. “It’s been a tough couple of years with nationals either not taking place or being uncertain and unpredictable, but that has created a wealth of opportunities for competing online, which we are grateful to take full advantage of,” states Gossner. With a roster that doesn’t currently include any senior students, it’s clear this Aggie team is positioned for growth and success this spring and beyond.