SPEECH TEAM IN TENTH AT NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Central Wyoming College speech and debate team placed tenth in the nation among community colleges at the National Individual Events Tournament at Arizona State University on the strength of a graduating student’s performance.

Riley Moore, Daryon Baumberger, and Jordon Barthel competed against students from 85 other colleges and universities. “The process for even qualifying to attend the tournament is daunting,” said Coach Josh House, explaining that students must reach the final round of at least three regular season tournaments and be ranked at or near the top of those final rounds.

CWC wasn’t satisfied just to make it to the tournament, House said. On the strength of graduating team member Riley Moore’s performance in the persuasive speaking event the team finished as the tenth place community college team.

“Moore has been a standout performer for the team during her time at CWC and she earned her strong finish at nationals with countless hours of work on her skills and her speeches,” House said. “Her leadership will be missed next year, but it’s very satisfying to see her go out on such a high note.”

Baumberger and Barthel represented CWC well as first-year collegiate competitors, he said, adding each received high praise on ballots from judges from across the country. The two, who are both from Lead-Deadwood, S.D., excelled all year in several events.

“The diverse skill sets they developed surely helped them qualify for and perform well at nationals,” House said. “We are incredibly lucky to have such talented and hardworking students on our team.”