The team traveled to Detroit for the NFA Championship, held at Wayne State University from April 17 to April 21. Photo courtesy of Butte College 

OROVILLE, CA (MPG) - The Butte College speech and debate team recently returned from two national tournaments with record-setting results, demonstrating remarkable skill, preparation, and teamwork on the national stage.

From April 7 to 12, the team competed at the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in Norfolk, Virginia, where they faced 51 community colleges from across the country. Nine Butte College students brought home 12 gold, two silver, and five bronze medals, marking the college’s most successful performance at a national tournament to date.

Julia Irvine tied for first place in the Bovero-Tabor Top Speaker Award, earning four gold medals in individual events.

The team competed in the Wyman Division, which includes schools with a large number of entries, and earned silver in individual events sweepstakes and bronze in overall team sweepstakes.

For many students, the tournament was about more than competition.

“I went into nationals thinking I wasn’t capable enough. Thanks to my coaches and my team, I proved myself wrong,” said student competitor Grace Muster, who earned a Gold and a Bronze at the event.

Award highlights include:

Julia Irvine – Bovero-Tabor first place top speaker and gold in poetry interpretation, prose interpretation, program oral interpretation, and duo interpretation.

Kyle Landrum – Gold in persuasive speaking, impromptu speaking, extemporaneous speaking.

Abel Chavez – Gold in prose interpretation and program oral interpretation; bronze in dramatic interpretation.

Ginger Nichols – Gold in dramatic interpretation and program oral interpretation.

Grace Muster – Gold in duo interpretation; bronze in speech to entertain.

Madi Weiland – Silver in prose interpretation and extemporaneous speaking.

David Thorwaldson – Bronze in dramatic interpretation, program oral interpretation, and speech to entertain.

 

From April 7 to April 12, the team competed at the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in Norfolk, Virginia, where they faced 51 community colleges from across the country. Photo courtesy of Butte College

The team also traveled to Detroit for the NFA Championship, held at Wayne State University from April 17 to 21. This is the country’s largest speech and debate tournament, with most competitors representing four-year institutions. Butte College was one of only a few community colleges in attendance, earning first place among community colleges, fifth in the medium entry division, and 14th overall, surpassing teams from major universities, including Arizona State, Louisiana State, and Illinois State.

Individual Recognitions at NFA included:

Grace Muster – National semifinalist, speech to entertain (7th in the nation); duo interpretation semifinalist.

Julia Irvine – Semifinalist in program oral interpretation and duo interpretation.

Ginger Nichols – Top novice in dramatic interpretation and program oral interpretation; second place novice in speech to entertain.

Madi Weiland – Octa finalist, poetry interpretation.

Abel Chavez – Octa finalist in prose interpretation, poetry interpretation, and program oral interpretation.

David Thorwaldson – Octa finalist, dramatic interpretation.

These accomplishments are a culmination of months of dedication, research, and rehearsal by students and their coaches. The experience had a lasting impact on many of the students.

“Being at these national tournaments these past three weeks reminds me that my voice is a tool to advocate for greater change in society,” said Chavez. “This is more than an academic event but a platform for students to put social issues in the spotlight and inspire others to fight for the same issues we're advocating for in speech.”