Speech and Debate Wins Another National Championship
May 06, 2025 - 11:46 AM
The Mt. SAC Speech and Debate Team won first place for the second year in a row at the 2025 Phi Rho Pi Community College Speech and Debate National Championships on April 7-12 in Norfolk, Virginia.
Competing against 51 other colleges and more than 345 competitors from around the country, Mt. SAC (262.5 points) finished ahead of perennial rival Orange Coast College (237.5 points).
The team won the first place award in Individual Event Sweepstakes, sixth place in Debate Sweepstakes, 13 gold medals, 15 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals. All fourteen students earned at least one medal at the tournament for a rare and prestigious “team break” to elimination rounds.
Here is the complete list of awards won by Mounties:
| Award | Winner |
| Gold, Overall Sweepstakes (First Place) | Mt. SAC |
| Gold, Individual Event Sweepstakes (First Place) | Mt. SAC |
| Bronze, Debate Sweepstakes (Sixth Place) | Mt. SAC |
| Collie-Taylor Coach Fellowship | Prof. Alissa Duong |
| Lynch-Grossman Debate Fellowship | Rachel Alarcon |
| Bovero-Tabor Top Speaker (Fourth Place) | Clay Miller |
| Bovero-Tabor Top Speaker (Fifth Place) | Rachel Kwak |
| Gold, Persuasive | Caroline Dergazarian |
| Gold, IPDA Debate | Clay Miller |
| Gold, Persuasive | Ericka Delgado-Gameros |
| Gold, Persuasive | Jacob Salas |
| Gold, Programmed Oral Interp | Jacob Salas |
| Gold, Informative | Nomar Villa |
| Gold, IPDA Debate | Rachel Kwak |
| Gold, Communication Analysis | Rachel Kwak |
| Gold, Extemporaneous | Rachel Kwak |
| Gold, Poetry | Riese Ili |
| Gold. Prose | Riese Ili |
| Gold, Speech to Entertain | Sofia Escalante |
| Gold, Programmed Oral Interp | Wisam Hagsaleh |
| Silver, Prose | Asha Longsworth |
| Silver, Informative | Asha Longsworth |
| Silver, Programmed Oral Interp | Caroline Dergazarian |
| Silver, Impromptu | Clay Miller |
| Silver, Dramatic Interp | Clay Miller |
| Silver, Interp Theater | Clay Miller, Riese Ili, Meagan Aguilar |
| Silver, Interp Theater | Ericka Delgado-Gameros, Jacob Salas, Sofia Escalante |
| Silver, Communication Analysis | Jonathan Cole |
| Silver, Poetry | Meagan Aguilar |
| Silver, Speech to Entertain | Meagan Aguilar |
| Silver, Speech to Entertain | Rachel Alarcon |
| Bronze, Programmed Oral Interp | Ericka Delgado-Gameros |
| Bronze, IPDA Debate | Jack Lewis |
| Bronze, Speech to Entertain | Jonathan Cole |
| Bronze, IPDA Debate | Rachel Alarcon |
This is the 12th Phi Rho Pi National Championship the team has won since 1994.
The team is coached by Communication Professors Thuy Pham, Alix Lopez, Jedi Curva, Alissa Duong, Sarina Wang, Danny Cantrell and alumni coach Mohamad Almouazzen. For more information about the speech and debate team, contact Pham at tpham91@mtsac.edu.
