Moorpark College debate team wins its 5th straight state championship
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

The Moorpark College forensics team won its fifth straight state championship with a narrow victory margin of 3.75 points over longtime rival Orange Coast College at a recent competition in Concord, Calif.

The latest triumph continues a long-standing tradition for the local team that has a record unequalled by any other community college in the country for the past three decades, said Rolland Petrello, one of the team's four coaches.

"But there is still much misunderstanding about what the team really does," Petrello said. Most people have only heard the word "forensics" associated with coroners or with scientists who work in police labs. The activities of the forensics team have nothing to do with autopsy competitions, the coach said.

"The word 'forensics' actually comes from ancient Greece," Petrello said, "where the term was applied to speeches made to convince a group of people who would make a judgment based on the arguments and evidence presented in the speech."

This is where local students excel, Petrello said, adding that many graduates go on to perform on Broadway, act in TV shows or become successful attorneys.

The dozen students who competed this year put in a lot of hard work and have a lot of talent, Petrello said.

"The experience in public speaking will serve them well for the rest of their lives," he said.

Standout performances came from the pair of debate teams that tied for the gold medal. Team members included Matthew Strawbridge, Jacob Crooks, Justin Harris and Chris Maciel.

Strawbridge also won gold in Lincoln Douglas debate. Other gold medals went to Harris in Impromptu Speaking and Jamie Maarten in Persuasive Speaking, marking the 14th time in the past 16 years that a Moorpark College student has been tops in the state in that event.

Strawbridge is the lone returning member from the team that placed third in the nation last year.

"He is an excellent and quick-witted speaker who is able to do a debate with limited preparation," Petrello said.

Other team members were Annie Block-Weiss, Tiffanie Daniels, Scott Leonard, Dave Norris, Allison Searcy, Estevan Valdes and Melissa Youngern.

The local team has won several national contests and in 32 years never finished lower than eighth in the nation, the coach said.

In 27 of those years they've been in the top three. In addition to demonstrating the acumen of the students, the high scores help to establish a reputation of academic excellence for Moorpark College.

Petrello, who's been at the college for 16 years, teaches several speech classes and sometimes theater. He is a graduate of Moorpark College who competed with the forensics speech team under the supervision of Coach Wyman.

The team will host its annual Night Before Nationals fundraising performance at 7:30 p.m. Fri., April 4 at the Moorpark College Performing Arts Center.