The Pi Kappa Delta National Championship Boise State Speech and Debate team won first-place in Overall Sweepstakes at the Coyote Howl hosted by the College of Idaho. The tournament included students from the University of Utah, Oregon State University and Northwest College, among others.
In Junior Public Debate, Boise State advanced six of the tournament’s eight finalists, with both Sergio Sarmiento (sophomore, Nampa) and Julia Maas (sophomore, Meridian) winning their quarter-final rounds to close out the tournament for Boise State. Other finalists included: Gabe Guerrero (sophomore, Shelley), Brie Ellison (sophomore, Eagle), Dylan Pope (freshman, Blackfoot) and Madison Martin (freshman, Oceanside, California).
“This is their third tournament in a row with a close out,” said Manda Hicks, director of forensics. “It’s a special achievement and just goes to show the depth of debate talent we have on the team.”
In Open Public Debate, Boise State advanced two of the tournament’s four finalists, with Zach Hill (senior, Kuna) winning second-place overall and Connor Johnson (senior, Billings, Montana) finishing as a semi-finalist.
In Open Parliamentary Debate, the team of Ximena Bustillo (senior, Nampa) and Brian Del Toro (sophomore, Boise) finished as tournament semi-finalists, with Bustillo receiving the fourth-place speaker award.
In Individual Events, Kevin Trombly (junior, Boise) led the Talkin’ Broncos with two first-place finishes in prose interpretation and impromptu speaking. Hill took first place in persuasive speaking, second place in extemporaneous speaking, and third place in prose interpretation. Martin took first place in dramatic interpretation, second place in prose interpretation, and fourth place in duo interpretation. Bustillo took first place in program oral interpretation, third place in duo interpretation, and fifth place in extemporaneous speaking. Bryce Funkhauser (junior, Meridian) took first place in extemporaneous speaking and third place in communication analysis. Kaelee Novich (senior, Nampa) took first place in informative speaking and fifth place in both prose interpretation and persuasive speaking.
Other top competitors included: Johnson, who took second place in impromptu speaking, third place in duo interpretation, fourth place in program oral interpretation, and sixth place in extemporaneous speaking; Tate Volbrecht (senior, Billings, Montana), who took second place in communication analysis and third place in persuasive speaking; Ellison, who took second place in persuasive speaking; Edson Valdisimo (sophomore, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), who took third place in poetry interpretation; Del Toro, who took third place in informative speaking; Alma Ceja (junior, Hailey), who took fourth place in both prose interpretation and duo interpretation; Israel Ceja (sophomore, Hailey), who took fourth place in informative speaking; Maas, who took fifth place in impromptu speaking; and Guerrero, who took sixth place in program oral interpretation.