Pacific Speech & Debate Team Earns Multiple Honors at Smelt Classic Tournament

Pacific University’s Speech & Debate Team finished the first half of the year strong, winning 15 awards and honors at the 45^th annual Smelt Classic, held Dec. 2-3 at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash. Led by freshmen and sophomores, the Boxers earned a third-place team sweepstakes award.

Here are some highlights from the event:

• Freshman Hunter Buen ’21 earned four awards and honors. Buen placed second in the Novice International Public Debate Association (IPDA) debate and was also the Top IPDA Speaker in both the Novice and Open divisions. In addition, he competed in Prose, placing third in Open Prose and was the Top Novice in the event.
• Sophomore Tera Cafro ’20 was a semifinalist in Open IPDA, falling in a split two-one decision in a debate about whether presidential candidates should be required to release their tax returns. Cafro also placed sixth in Open Impromptu and was recognized as the Top Junior in Open Prose.
• Sophomore Kia Addison ’20 won first place in Open Poetry and fourth in Open Informative. Her poetry program examines how identity is strengthened by intersectionality.
• Freshman Avery Beckius ’21 placed fourth in Open Persuasive with a speech about taking women’s sports seriously. Beckius was also Top Novice in Informative Speaking.
• Freshman Olivia Rockwood ’21 placed second with her humorous After Dinner Speech (ADS) and placed fifth in Open Prose with the short story Vigilance by Julian Barnes. Rockwood was also Top Novice in ADS.
• Freshman Megan Ng ’21 competed in Prose and Persuasive.

After a successful string of tournaments this fall, the Boxers will take a short break before resuming competition in January. The team will host a high school competition January 12-13. Later, it will host and compete in the Fred Scheller Invitational, January 26-28. Anyone interested in helping at the tournaments should email Assistant Professor Dan Broyles — dsbroyles@pacificu.edu.