HELENA – Seven members of the Carroll College Talking Saints forensics team have been named to the Northwest Forensics Conference All Conference Teams, and the Carroll team picked up 12 additional NFC awards, in the year-end announcements.
The Talking Saints were named a Gold Medal program for the 31st consecutive year, and the squad received the Presidential Award as the top debate program in the region, and runner up in speech. Boise State, coached by Carroll alum Manda Hicks ’97, also received Division I Gold Medal recognition.
Senior Josh Mansfield of Pocatello, Idaho, and sophomore Hellie Badaruddin of Missoula were named First Team All Conference. Earning second team recognition were senior Teigen Tremper of Whitefish, Montana, and sophomores Roisin O’Neill of Lake Oswego, Oregon, and Vinny Gallardo of Butte.
Two first-year Talking Saints were named Honorable Mention All Conference: Josephine Howlett of Bigfork, and Matt Glimm of Kalispell.
The conference announced the Best in the Northwest awards, honoring top competitors in each genre. In BP debate, only four were honored, all from Carroll: Mansfield, Badaruddin, O’Neill and Gallardo. Junior Eleanor Ferrone from Hastings, Nebraska, and David Lange of Ferndale, Washington, were second team in BP debate.
Teigen Tremper was named Best in the Northwest in Limited Preparation, for her year-long success in Impromptu Speaking. First-year Howlett placed fifth in the Rookie of the Year competition.
“The awards are welcome in a year where we put safety above competition,” said coach Brent Northup. “We cut back on our events to let students focus on challenging classes, many online. We also dropped our competitive acting events in favor of performing children’s literature at Broadwater School instead.”
Northup says that athletes weren’t the only Carroll competitors who missed the crowds.
“Our students performed on laptops in empty classrooms, or in their own dorm rooms,” said Northup. “There was no direct interaction with judges or with speakers from other schools. Championship rounds usually have crowded rooms of spectators, with students and coaches watching the finals. Not this year. We really missed the human interaction, which is why we took our show to Broadwater – to see kids smile.”
The NFC also announced that the fall forensics season will be largely online. Colleges are moving cautiously towards live tournament competition. The NFC hopes that spring semester 2022 will include live in-person competition. Pandemic willing, fall 2022 may see a return to “normal.”