Speech team brings home title

The MHCC speech team brought home first place for community colleges and fourth place in the overall sweepstakes from the Lower Columbia College Smelt Classic, held in Longview, Wash., on Nov. 1-2.

“I was a very proud coach. They’ve been through a lot this term,” said Shannon Valdivia, forensics program director. “And for a group of mostly novices, they’ve just rallied around each other, supported each other, practiced really hard and their hard work paid off.

“This was the first tournament where pretty much everybody brought something home,” Valdivia said of her student competitors.

The team practices six hours a week and is meeting for an eight-hour workshop this weekend in preparation for the Second Greater Portland Parliamentary League Tournament on Dec. 3 at Lewis & Clark College.

Next will come the Orv Iverson/Krista Bacon Memorial Tournament at Vancouver’s Clark College, on Dec. 7-8.

“They really want to do well and that’s one of the things that sets this team apart. They’re willing to put in the extra time,” said Valdivia.

Some awards from the Lower Columbia event included: Tyler Garcia, first place, novice prose; first place, novice programmed oral interpretation; Karasalla Fale, first place, novice communication; second place, novice prose; and third place, novice programmed oral interpretation; Chris Losi, first place, novice impromptu; and Jennifer Sewell, first place, novice dramatic interpretation.