Debate Team wins 14 Awards at Hurricane’s Tiger Takedown

Canyon View’s Speech and Debate Team continues to dominate at competitions, and the Tiger Takedown, held on January 27th, was no exception. 

Charlotte Pulica was the team’s double gold medalist at this competition. Her first place wins were in Original Oratory and Lincoln Douglas. Pulica is a long-time competitor on the Speech and Debate team and speaks highly of the experience. 

“I love debate because it gives me a chance to learn about what's happening around me, and I love to talk,” says Pulica. “My experience with debate is that, even if you're on different teams or competing with each other, people want to be friends and it's all pretty positive.”

Two other competitors ranked well in Original Oratory. Emily Templin received second place and Guilia Picci was a finalist.

Four different teams received awards at the tournament. Emily Templin and Conner Criswell received first place medals in the Public Forum debate event. Their team chemistry is unparalleled and they have consistently placed top three in all competitions. This tournament, however, was a special occasion as it was Templin and Criswell’s very first gold medal in Public Forum. 

Alivia Winzenried and Emily Templin placed second in the Combined Interpretations event. Their judges were impressed with their performance of their piece “The Giftbox,” a 10-minute scene that shows the difficulty of maintaining familial relationships. 

Cody Harward, a judge at the event, praised Templin and Winzenried’s performance, saying “You both were phenomenal at drawing us into the story and presenting the dramatic emotion in a real and relatable way. Your use of the stage, movements and vocal presentation was spot on.” 

Two teams from CV competed in Big Questions. The first was Conner Criswell and Giulia Picci, and the second was Noah Rock and Gideon Rock. This was a new experience for all the competitors and they had never competed in the event before the Tiger Takedown. Both teams were finalists in Big Questions and received certificates.

Taliyah Russell and Aunna Brinton were finalists in their events. Russell was a finalist in Combined Extemporaneous Speaking, an event that no one else on the team dares to try. Brinton is CV’s sole competitor in Informative Speaking and consistently receives high praise in her event. 

The debate team has one more competition before Region, but it's shaping up to be a great season for the competitors so far.

Emily Templin, Editor in Chief