Speech and Debate Shines at National Tournaments

From Carolina to California, Lewis & Clark’s speech and debate squad are champions coast to coast.

At the YODL championship tournament, held March 28-30 at California Polytechnic State University, the team of Maltin Tocani BA ’25 and Isabella Moore BA ’26 became the first L&C British Parliamentary debate team to win a title at a national tournament as champions of the Honors Division at the tournament. They were joined in the Honors semifinals by the teams of Tanvi Shukla BA ’27/Na’ama Shuall BA ’28 and Miriana Mason BA ’25/Gray Stacy BA ’28.

The L&C team and coaches at the National Speech tournament.
Front row: Director of Speech/Debate Joe Gantt, Sol Camper BA ’26, Director of Speech Alyx Dickson. Second row: Miriana Mason BA ’25, Assistant Coach Syl Knauss. Third Row: Lewis Eibner BA ’26 and Katie Jo Furrer BA ’26. Back Row: Sullivan Moore BA ’28 and Alana O'Grady BA ’27.
Credit: Alyx DicksonTocani and Moore advanced to the final. Debating the topic, “This House Believes that the urban-rural divide is more about cultural identity than economic disparities”, Tocani and Moore defeated teams from the University of Kansas, University of Miami, and The College of Idaho to take the title. Tocani was also named the 9th best individual speaker at the tournament out of 128 speakers.

One week later at the American Forensic Association’s National Speech Tournament, held April 4-7 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Lewis & Clark speech contingent was named the first place team in the limited entry category for programs with fifteen or fewer entries. It was the first ever team championship for L&C at the National Speech Tournament, an event that the program has attended 41 times.

The performances that powered the first place finish included that of Lewis Eibner BA ’26, whose Communication Analysis exploring the rhetorical implications of conservative influencer Josh Seiter’s gender journey earned a semifinal appearance. Also advancing to elimination rounds were Alana O’Grady BA ’27 and Sullivan Moore BA ’28 who qualified for quarterfinal rounds in After Dinner Speaking and Poetry Interpretation, respectively.

Adding to the awards for the Lewis & Clark squad, two debaters advanced to elimination rounds at the IPDA Championship tournament, held April 5-7 at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. Jayden Steinberg BA ’26 was an octofinalist in the junior division, while Mia McGauley BA ’28 finished as a double octofinalist.

L&C's honors champions Maltin Tocani BA ’25 and Isabella Moore BA ’26.
Credit: Kelly WelchDirector of speech/debate Joe Gantt said of the squad’s performances, “This was an incredible stretch of competition for our program. One of our points of emphasis is the fact that we offer opportunities for students in a variety of contexts, from speech to three formats of debate. The fact that we were able to thrive in both speech and debate is a testament to that philosophy. Additionally, these honors were won by students ranging from first year students to seniors. I could not be more proud of what our team accomplished, not only at national tournaments but throughout the season.”

The L&C squad has one tournament remaining, the National Forensics Association Championship tournament, to be held April 17-21 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Speech and Debate