Your future, our focus
P O W E L L, W y o. - The Northwest College Forensics Team notched its 19th consecutive tournament win Oct. 11 at the Pioneer Trails Tournament in Casper.
The last tournament Northwest competed in but didn't take community college sweepstakes was in February 2006. By claiming the top spot in Casper, the NWC team added to a winning streak that's almost three years long. Making the record even sweeter, NWC placed second overall among all two- and four-year schools at the Casper tournament, outdone only by Carroll College of Montana.
Northwest made its strongest showing in individual events with Montana well represented in the winners' circle by Pam Garman and Tiffani Kennedy, both of Townsend. Garman placed first in communication analysis and sixth in persuasive speaking. Kennedy picked up two second place awards in persuasive and informative speaking, along with a fourth in after-dinner speaking.
Powell's Ben Norberg and Danyon Satterlee teamed up to place sixth in duet interpretation, with Satterlee adding a sixth in prose. Norberg matched that with a sixth in extemporaneous speaking and a second in communication analysis.
Cali Christensen of Moroni, Utah, took fourth in communication analysis. Adam Albert of Laramie and Andrew Sisk of Colstrip, Mont., both made it into the prose semifinals but couldn't grab a medal.
In individual sweepstakes awards, Kennedy, Norberg, Garman and Satterlee claimed fourth, seventh, 12th and 15th place, respectively.
Of the four novice debate teams NWC fielded at Casper, only one advanced to semifinals - Tracy Lewis of Powell and Jake Short of Jackson Hole made a strong showing but lost to an Air Force Academy team just before the medal round. Even though the Northwest novice teams didn't claim any medals, three individual speakers did. Michael Lechner of Star Valley, along with Davis Bonner of Powell and Heather Ogle of Wright, placed second, fourth and seventh, respectively.
Both junior debate teams were eliminated in semifinal rounds, but once again NWC individual debaters claimed awards. Kennedy, Norberg and Garman made another trip to the podium to collect fourth, sixth and eighth place speaker awards.
The NWC Forensics Team is on the road again Oct. 24-26 for the James 'Al' Johnson Invitational at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.