Talking T-Birds Start Spring with Impressive Results

The 2018-2019 Talking T-Birds team had impressive results in its first contest of the spring semester. Pictured l-r: Kaelan Rodriguez, Casper; Carter Dunn, Casper; Izzy Garcia, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Chloe Adkins, Box Elder, South Dakota; Hannah Arnold, Lander, Wyoming; Jae Fletcher, Box Elder, South Dakota; and Thayne Macy, Casper. Photo courtesy Doug Hall, Casper College.

The Casper College debate team, the Talking T-Birds, returned home from the College of DuPage’s “Frank-ly Speaking Forensics Tournament” with impressive results.

The two-day event featured 16 colleges and universities competing in both an international public debate tournament and an individual events tournament. “This tournament was our biggest of the season so far, and our debaters represented Casper College well,” said Doug Hall, forensics head coach and communications instructor.

According to Hall, the International Public Debate tournament consisted of four preliminary rounds. Eight slots were available for those debaters who “broke” to a quarterfinal round. Three Casper College debaters – Chloe Atkins and Jae Fletcher both from Boxelder, South Dakota, and Carter Dunn, Casper, – “broke” to the quarterfinal round and of those three, Atkins and Dunn went to the semifinal round. “Those two debaters won their semifinal debates which meant they both advanced to the final. Traditionally, debaters from the same team do not debate one another, so in this case, this is called a ‘close-out.’ It’s very impressive when a school can do this,” said Hall, adding, “The students also accumulate speaker points during their preliminary rounds, and Top Speakers were then awarded.” Top speakers in the International Public Debate were Dunn, first place; Adkins, second place; and Thayne Macy, Casper, third place.

The individual events featured both four-year and two-year schools competing alongside one another. “All competitors had the opportunity to ‘break’ into the open final, but community college students who didn’t break into the open final could ‘break’ into the community college final,” Hall said.

The individual results in the open division saw Dunn take fifth in informative speaking and third in impromptu speaking. In extemporaneous speaking, Fletcher took fifth, Carter third, and Adkins second.

The Talking T-Birds placed in six categories in the community college division for individual results: extemporaneous speaking, Macy fourth; Prose, Izzy Garcia, Cheyenne, Wyoming, sixth and Dunn fourth; impromptu speaking, Adkins fifth and Fletcher third; persuasive speaking, Fletcher fourth; program oral interpretation, Garcia second; and poetry interpretation, Kaelan Rodriguez, Casper, second.

The team placed fifth in the open division and third in the community college division. “Of the events we traveled to the tournament 65 percent of them ‘broke’ into finals and out rounds. This is a remarkable number. The coaching staff is very proud of these students, especially considering that we came off of a month-long hiatus and immediately got back into competition. We have an impressive group of young people,” noted Hall.