Concordia speech and debate placed third at the Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association (PSCFA) tournament that took place on Fri., Dec. 2 through Dec. 4 at Cerritos College. The team also strengthened their bonds of friendship with one another.

Benjamin Wagner, junior debater, found Concordia’s placement at this tournament to be “extraordinary because this is one of the biggest tournaments of the year; there were nearly double the competitors at this tournament as compared to others.”

Laura Gibson, freshman on the speech team, agreed with Wagner’s statement. She said, “The competition was very fierce and inspired me to move forward with some changes to my own speech so it can be even more competitive and well-rounded.” She added, “Everyone I competed against was very talented.”

Despite the strong competition, Concordia worked hard to finish their final tournament of the semester well. Sean Nowlan, director of debate, was proud of his students for “performing consistently well throughout the semester, managing to fight through both sickness and schoolwork to debate well.”

The PSCFA tournament showcased plenty of strong performances from Concordia’s forensics team. Nowlan highlighted some of the more notable performances. He said, “Brody Rezen earned Bronze in Open-LD, and Benjamin Wagner earned Bronze in Open-IPDA. Ellie Harris is a superstar freshman, who has earned her fourth gold medal in Open IPDA for the fourth time in a row. Benjamin Wagner and Brody Rezen made a comeback as a partnership after a period of sickness, taking an undefeated gold medal in Open NPDA.”

Concordia’s forensics team looks forward to the national season in the spring semester as competition heats up. Nowlan said that the team’s goals include “qualification and competition for national championships. We have some new teams we are going to be trying out in NPDA, and we hope to get them to qualify for Nationals. We also are shooting for winning first place in NPDA and gold in IPDA at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational tournament this year.”

Wagner also has high hopes. He said, “I think we could easily get in the top three at Christian College Nationals and place in the top five for all colleges.” Wagner added, “Due to the massive success the team experienced this semester, I don't think shooting for the moon is that unreasonable.”

“I cannot wait to see where the spring semester takes us! I know we will accomplish great things,” said Gibson.

However, the most important part of the tournament and the fall semester were the relationships that those on the forensics team made with each other. Hope Yonehara, a freshman on both the speech and debate team, said, “I think I definitely connected with the Concordia team here a lot. Everyone here is really nice and very supportive no matter how bad or good you do, which is something I really appreciate.”

Gibson said, “I love this team so much. Forensics is literally the best thing that could have happened to me here at Concordia!” She added, “I highly recommend anyone who is thinking about joining speech and debate to take that initial step!”

Wagner said, “Forensics is a second family to me. It's full of a bunch of goofballs, geniuses, and nerds... I love them all! If you're considering joining, I can't recommend joining the team enough–you won't regret it!”

The Concordia speech and debate team encourages students to join the team to learn important advocacy skills and build life-long relationships. If you are interested in being a part of the speech and debate team, connect with Professor Konrad Hack, director of forensics, at konrad.hack@cui.edu.

 

Benjamin Wagner, junior debater, found Concordia’s placement at this tournament to be “extraordinary because this is one of the biggest tournaments of the year; there were nearly double the competitors at this tournament as compared to others.”

Laura Gibson, freshman on the speech team, agreed with Wagner’s statement. She said, “The competition was very fierce and inspired me to move forward with some changes to my own speech so it can be even more competitive and well-rounded.” She added, “Everyone I competed against was very talented.”

Despite the strong competition, Concordia worked hard to finish their final tournament of the semester well. Sean Nowlan, director of debate, was proud of his students for “performing consistently well throughout the semester, managing to fight through both sickness and schoolwork to debate well.”

The PSCFA tournament showcased plenty of strong performances from Concordia’s forensics team. Nowlan highlighted some of the more notable performances. He said, “Brody Rezen earned Bronze in Open-LD, and Benjamin Wagner earned Bronze in Open-IPDA. Ellie Harris is a superstar freshman, who has earned her fourth gold medal in Open IPDA for the fourth time in a row. Benjamin Wagner and Brody Rezen made a comeback as a partnership after a period of sickness, taking an undefeated gold medal in Open NPDA.”

Concordia’s forensics team looks forward to the national season in the spring semester as competition heats up. Nowlan said that the team’s goals include “qualification and competition for national championships. We have some new teams we are going to be trying out in NPDA, and we hope to get them to qualify for Nationals. We also are shooting for winning first place in NPDA and gold in IPDA at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational tournament this year.”

Wagner also has high hopes. He said, “I think we could easily get in the top three at Christian College Nationals and place in the top five for all colleges.” Wagner added, “Due to the massive success the team experienced this semester, I don't think shooting for the moon is that unreasonable.”

“I cannot wait to see where the spring semester takes us! I know we will accomplish great things,” said Gibson.

However, the most important part of the tournament and the fall semester were the relationships that those on the forensics team made with each other. Hope Yonehara, a freshman on both the speech and debate team, said, “I think I definitely connected with the Concordia team here a lot. Everyone here is really nice and very supportive no matter how bad or good you do, which is something I really appreciate.”

Gibson said, “I love this team so much. Forensics is literally the best thing that could have happened to me here at Concordia!” She added, “I highly recommend anyone who is thinking about joining speech and debate to take that initial step!”

Wagner said, “Forensics is a second family to me. It's full of a bunch of goofballs, geniuses, and nerds... I love them all! If you're considering joining, I can't recommend joining the team enough–you won't regret it!”

The Concordia speech and debate team encourages students to join the team to learn important advocacy skills and build life-long relationships. If you are interested in being a part of the speech and debate team, connect with Professor Konrad Hack, director of forensics, at konrad.hack@cui.edu.

 

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