Members of the forensics team took home gold, silver and bronze awards after succeeding in a tournament in Concord this past weekend.
Aside from medals and plaques awarded to individuals, they were also presented to the entire team.
The forensics team was given the Jim Miller Award, a perpetual sweepstakes award honoring EC for participating in the competition for nearly three decades.
“We’ve been doing well as a team for more than thirty years and the coaches have been phenomenal since the beginning,” coach Francesca Bishop said.
John Suzuki single-handedly won two competitions, receiving gold awards in the extemporaneous and impromptu speaking categories, as well as a silver award in the one-speaker category.
Suzuki’s gold in the extemporaneous category involved a seven-minute speech on a current event with only 30 minutes to prepare.
Of all the competitions, Suzuki said his favorite involved a quote to the effect of, “Doing something for the good of the many should not be an excuse.”
“It felt good to pick up all of the judges’ votes on it,” Suzuki said.
Because of Suzuki’s peformance at Concord, he is now ranked the second best speaker in California.
Suzuki won another gold award with his partner Hassani Milad, when the two competed in the team speaking category.
“I think it reflects more on the great coaching staff than myself. My partner John was phenomenal. We work very well together, it’s great,” Milad said.
Corey Turpin and Jason Ellefson, partners, won a bronze award in parliamentary debate, defeating five other teams.
“I wish I had taken gold, but the competition is going to get a lot harder so I need to step it up,” Ellefson said.”But I’m proud of the team and how Corey and I did.”
Ellefson also won a silver award for an interpretation of the play “Normal” by Anthony Neilson.
Turpin won a silver award in a one-on-one ‘Lincoln-Douglas’ debate and a bronze award in impromptu speaking.
The team believes because of such powerful performances over the year, it will be able to end the season successfully at the two national tournaments remaining this season.
“I think we had a wonderful tournament and it was a great set up for nationals,” Bishop said.
“John Suzuki is peaking just when we want him to peak for nationals, and everyone else is doing really well, too,” he said.
The next tournament will be hosted by the National Parliamentary Debate Association and will include hundreds of two and four-year colleges from across the country. Cal State Northridge will host it April 8-11.
