MC Forensic Team scores high in National Championship

The Moorpark College Forensic Team is number two in the United States after a weeklong competition at the National Championships in Chicago. Los Angeles Valley College won first place.

The team also earned the Sylvia Mariner Cumulative Sweepstakes Award for the seventh time at Nationals.

"This award is given for cumulative success over a period of years as each schools point total from the national tournament is added with their previous scores until they win the award, at which point they go back to zero," said coach Rolland Petrello. "Moorpark College became the first school to win the award for the seventh time. Only one other school in the country has even won it six times. "

Individual medals are as follows: Justin Harris and Chris Maciel, gold in Parliamentary Debate; Matt Strawbridge and Melissa Youngern, bronze in Parliamentary Debate; Jacob Crooks and Scott Leonard, bronze in Parliamentary Debate; Dave Norris, bronze in Parliamentary Debate with a partner from another college.

Annie Block-Weiss, Tiffanie Daniels and Rachel Borbas, silver in Reader's Theatre; Annie Block-Weiss, bronze in Prose Interpretation; Chris Maciel, gold in Lincoln Douglas Debate; Matt Strawbridge, gold in Impromptu and Extemporaneous Speaking, bronze in Lincoln Douglas Debate;

Scott Leonard, silver in Impromptu Speaking; Justin Harris, bronze in Lincoln Douglas Debate; Tiffanie Daniels, silver in Program Oral Interpretation, bronze in Poetry Interpretation; Jamie Maarten, silver in Informative Speaking, bronze in Persuasive Speaking and Communication Analysis.

Other team members who contributed to the win are Allison Searcy and Estevan Valdes.