Saddleback College Debaters Shine at Speech Tournament!

Last weekend Cerritos College hosted its annual Tabor-Venitsky Championship tournament and Saddleback made sure its presence was felt. Coach Shawn O’Rourke stated happily, “We are a smaller team this year, but we definitely demonstrated why dynamite sometimes comes in small packages. Two of the three debaters we brought to the tournament brought home medals.” He went on to state that, “The winning is nice, but the important thing is that the entire squad worked hard and represented our school with pride.”

Vincent Garduno, who is only in his second semester with the team but who has already made a name for himself in the community, walked away with a bronze medal in IPDA debate. Coach Dana-Jean Smith said of Vincent, “He’s an excellent student who works hard to always be better. This is only his second tournament competing in IPDA and we are thrilled with how swiftly he has taken to it.”

Joining Vincent on the awards stage was Joel Reise, a second year who is also the team’s vice-president. Joel has won numerous awards during his time with the team, and now has one more gold medal to add to his trophy case! Joel, whose finishes his time with the team this semester reflected, “The speech and debate team has, without a doubt, been the most important experience I have had at Saddleback. So being able to earn a gold medal was validation of the work I have put into developing debate skills and my ability to succeed in competition.”

Not wanting to rest too long a past successes, the team now turns its attention their next competition, the 2018 PSCFA Regional Championship Tournament. “This tournament is one of the largest tournaments in the nation,” wrote Coach Lucas Ochoa. “We are excited for what this weekend will bring. After that, it is time to focus on State and Nationals!”