The Pi Kappa Delta National Championship Boise State Speech and Debate team continued their 2021 national season with the second-place overall tournament win at the National Comprehensive Tournament (NCT) in Cincinnati. The tournament, hosted remotely March 18-21, included competitors from University of Alabama, Morehouse College, Texas State University, Minnesota State University – Mankato, Howard University, and Rice University.
“This is the best showing we’ve ever had at the NCT” said Manda Hicks, director of forensics. “Boise State has attended four times in the last 15 years and keeps getting better. To go from being a top 10 school in 2010 to fifth overall in 2014, fourth overall in 2016, and second overall in 2021 is a lovely trajectory that shows growth and an expanded presence across multiple national organizations and competitions.”
In Individual Events (IE), Alma Ceja (junior, Hailey) was the national champion in Spanish language interpretation and took fourth-place in program oral interpretation. Ceja was recognized as the tenth-best IE competitor out of a field of over one thousand entries.
In Public Forum (PF) Debate, the team of Bryce Funkhauser (senior, Meridian) and Zac Maggard (junior, Nampa) took third-place overall on a 1-2 decision in the semi-final round. Maggard received the tournament’s ninth-place speaker award.
Other top competitors included: Kevin Trombly (senior, Boise), who was a semi-finalist in after dinner speaking, impromptu speaking, and extemporaneous speaking and received an excellent in interviewing; Funkhauser, who was a semi-finalist in impromptu speaking and communication analysis and a quarter-finalist in after dinner speaking; Brian Del Toro (junior, Boise), who was a semi-finalist in both informative speaking and impromptu speaking and received an excellent in extemporaneous speaking; Edson Valdisimo (sophomore, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), who was a semi-finalist in both poetry interpretation and program oral interpretation and a quarter-finalist in dramatic interpretation; Alex Watt (senior, Boise), who was semi-finalist in duo interpretation and received the eighth-place speaker award in public forum debate; Josh Young (junior, Meridian), who was a semi-finalists in duo interpretation; Kate Jacobson (freshman, Boise), who was a quarter-finalist in both public forum debate and informative speaking; Brie Ellison (junior, Eagle), who was a quarter-finalist in both impromptu speaking and poetry interpretation; Sergio Sarmiento (junior, Nampa), who was a quarter-finalist in prose interpretation, an octo-finalist in International Public Debate, and received an excellent in impromptu speaking; Julia Maas (Junior, Meridian), who was a quarter-finalist in persuasive speaking and received an excellent in impromptu speaking; Dylan Pope (sophomore, Blackfoot), who was a quarter-finalist in public forum and received an excellent in extemporaneous speaking; Madison Martin (sophomore, Oceanside, California), who was a quarter-finalist in public forum debate and received an excellent in interviewing; Ethane Ricks (freshman, Idaho Falls), who was a quarter-finalist in public forum debate and received and excellent in interviewing; Zac Maggard (senior, Nampa), who was a quarter-finalist in extemporaneous speaking and received an excellent in extemporaneous commentary; and Porter Haux (junior, Meridian), who received an excellent in interviewing.
The Talkin’ Broncos continue their 2020-2021 season with their final national tournament, the International Public Debate Association Comprehensive Tournament. The Talkin’ Broncos are the 2019-2020 Pi Kappa Delta National Champions in Speech and Debate and are supported in part through the generosity of the Jeker Family Trust. For more information about the Talkin’ Broncos, contact Manda Hicks, director of forensics at Boise State at mandahicks@boisestate.edu