The Belmont University Speech and Debate team won first place Sunday at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational (NCCFI). This is the second year in a row Belmont has taken first place as the top team at this national tournament.
The 14th annual NCCFI tournament was held on the campus of Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California with 25 Universities competing. Other universities included fellow Tennessee schools Carson-Newman College and Bryan College as well as outside universities including Wheaton, Pepperdine, John Brown and Point Loma Nazarene. Coach Jason Stahl said, “It’s a tremendous honor to be named the top school among so many great teams. To receive this honor two years in a row is truly astounding. Our students should feel very proud.”
Not only was Belmont named first overall, but also was named the second place school in individual events. Assistant coach Ryan Greenawalt commented, “All the trophies that the students won are great, but their hard work goes much further. The skills these students are learning doing speech and debate not only make them critical thinkers while at Belmont but also will help them in their future careers and will make them more socially conscientious citizens for the years to come.”
Individually, of the 168 debaters competing over the weekend, Belmont’s Holly McKee placed 5th overall in the novice division and debaters Tim Smith and Eric Schoen placed 3rd and 2nd respectively in the varsity division. In individual events novices Nick Yacksich and Matthew Roberts placed 5th and 2nd in the novice division as well as Eric Schoen and Nicole Bright placing 5th and 1st in the open division.
The Belmont University speech and debate team is a group of students who debate global issues, perform speeches over complex topics, as well as present literature presentations centered on social causes.
A complete list of awards received are as follows:
Debate
Lincoln-Douglas Debate:
Sash Blevins – Novice Semi-Finalist
Emilie Lico – Novice Semi-Finalist
Parliamentary Debate:
Holly McKee & Will Calloway – Novice Semi-Finalists
Eric Schoen & Tim Smith – Open Octa-Finalists
Bethany Miller & Matthew Roberts – Open Octa-Finalists
Individual Debate Speakers:
Holly McKee: 5th Place Novice Speaker
Nick Yacksich: 19th Place JV Speaker
Bethany Miller: 19th Place Open Speaker
Tim Smith: 3rd Place Open Speaker
Eric Schoen: 2nd Place Open Speaker
Individual Events
Novice Informative: Emilie Lico, 5th place; Jaclyn Torrento, 4th place; Matthew Roberts, 1st place
Open After Dinner Speaking: Bethany Miller, 2nd place; Nicole Bright, 1st place
Novice Impromptu Speaking: Matthew Roberts 3rd place; Sash Blevins, 1st place
Novice Persuasion: Jaclyn Torrento, 5th place
Novice Rhetorical Criticism: Holly McKee, 2nd place; Matthew Roberts, 1st place
Novice Extemporaneous Speaking: Sash Blevins, Semi-Finalist; Matthew Roberts, 3rd place; Emilie Lico, 2nd place
Open Extemporaneous Speaking: Bethany Miller, 4th place
Novice Faith Literature: Keayana Robinson, 5th place
Novice Poetry Interpretation: Nick Yacksich, 3rd place; Keayana Robinson, 2nd place
Open Poetry Interpretation: Nicole Bright, 4th place; Eric Schoen, 1st place
Novice Dramatic Interpretation: Jaclyn Torrento, 5th place; Sash Blevins, 2nd place; Nick Yacksich, 1st place
Open Dramatic Interpretation: Nicole Bright, 3rd place
Open Duo Interpretation: Nicole Bright & Nick Yacksich, 1st place
Novice Programmed Oral Interpretation: Matthew Roberts, 1st place
Open Programmed Oral Interpretation: Nicole Bright, 2nd place; Eric Schoen, 1st place
Novice Prose Interpretation: Sash Blevins, Semi-Finalist; Keayana Robinson, Semi-Finalist
Open Prose Interpretation: Nicole Bright, Semi-Finalist; Eric Schoen, Semi-Finalist
