HELENA – The Carroll College Talking Saints forensics team won their 35th consecutive regional title at the Northwest Forensics Conference championship at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington, January 31 – February 2. The team shared the crown this year with Boise State University and Lewis & Clark College.
“What’s amazing about this strong showing is that we probably had half the team really sick this weekend,” said coach Brent Northup. “Ashlynne Jeffries dropped out before it started, another had to quit during the competition – a lot of them felt lousy, but just kept on talking. Ashlynne only lived an hour from the tournament in Vancouver, Washington, so her parents took her home and tucked her into her own bed for the weekend. Ashlynne’s dad brought the whole team pizza and snacks, which was the perfect prescription. I’m not quite sure how Ashlynne’s teammates held it together, but somehow, they stayed vertical.”
For the second straight tournament, junior Catherine Dudley of Pendleton, Indiana, won top speaker, with her partner Charlie Said of Seattle in second. Carroll seniors June LePage of Lewistown, Montana, and Spencer McDonald of Missoula, finished second in Open BP debate, losing to Lewis & Clark in the finals.
Anna Brown, a senior from Olympia, Washington, and her duo partner, junior Olivia Smith of Bozeman, again reached finals in duo. Both also placed in persuasive speaking, with Smith finishing second.
First-year debaters Leah Melvin of Kimberly, Idaho, and Aurora Salinas of Butte won the junior BP championship.
Eight Carroll debate teams won awards. Twenty different team members brought home recognition.
The first-year Talking Saints, once again, missed the memo that they were newcomers and piled up awards. Twenty of the team trophies went home with “rookies.” Kaylee Little of Boise finished in a tie for first in prose, along with Alaura Olszewski from Kalispell and a competitor from Lewis & Clark. Little and partner Kate Wilkins of Holladay, Utah, reached finals of junior debate, won by Melvin and Salinas. Brad Tomasovic, a sophomore from Great Falls, won awards in both extemp and impromptu.
Kate Wilkins won junior extemp and was named top junior debater; Melvin won novice extemp, and junior debate. Wilkins scored a perfect “picket fence” in finals, receiving first from all judges.
“One of the nicest moments in the tournament came when one of the competitors from Lewis & Clark came to me to tell me that they loved competing against Carroll because our students were both good and nice,” said Northup. “This year’s team has a warm culture, that lifts each other up when they win, and comforts friends who are disappointed. The Carroll community should be proud of these kids. They are good ambassadors.”
The NFC championship is the final full squad event of the year. The juniors honor the seniors, and the seniors turn a bit nostalgic.
Team president June LePage, a senior from Lewistown, Montana, is ending an eight-year run in speech and debate – four in high school, four at Carroll. After climbing off the bus at 6:45 am Monday, June began preparing for her Zoom interview for med school that afternoon.
“This final tournament was a beautiful culmination of the team’s hard work this year,” said LePage. “Seeing each individual member grow and succeed fills me with an immense amount of pride. It’s beautiful to end this season having competed with such a wonderful team that feels much more like a family. We’re always there to celebrate each other’s victories and support wounds after losses.”
LePage is excited about what’s ahead, but sentimental about closing this chapter.
“Finishing four years in this wonderful community has me reflecting on how much growth and maturity I have gained from being a Talking Saint. It was an honor to be part of a long legacy of dedicated and passionate people. I enter my next stage of life with skills and attributes I can only praise my teammates for encouraging in me.”
And how did that med school interview go?
“I’ll find out this weekend,” LePage said.
LePage’s partner Spencer McDonald is applying to law school, as is Anna Brown.
LePage admits to thinking back to her first speech in high school, when she was carrying “a binder full of news articles around” to use for research in extemporaneous speaking.
The team now turns its focus to three year-ending championships at Berkeley on March 8–9, at Cal Poly on March 28–30 and in North Carolina on April 4–7.
The Talking Saints have won or shared the Northwest Forensics Conference championship every year since spring of 1991.
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