CWC forensics team takes first place in two events

Central Wyoming College Forensics competitors Riley Moore and Daryon Baumberger improved on their season opening performances by taking first place in two events at the Casper College Pioneer Trails.

Moore took home top honors in the persuasive speaking event, improving from a third place finish at the season opening tournament at the Air Force Academy. It is the second time in her two semesters on the team that Moore has won this event. In the preliminary rounds she received two first place votes and one second place vote.

Coach Josh House said in Moore’s final round, against the “best competition the tournament had to offer,” she was ranked first by each of the round’s three critics.

“Not only am I thankful for the opportunity to represent CWC well, but also for the chance to get to know the wonderful people I get to call my teammates,” Moore said after the tournament.

Teammate Baumberger, a first-year speech team member, not only took first place overall in the “Speech to Entertain” event but was ranked first by every judge that saw her speech, House said.

“She has put in a lot of hard work to come in as a freshman and put up perfect scores against students that have been doing this event for up to four years,” he explained. “Although she’s making it look easy with these early wins, I assure you that this kind of early success is not typical and it is a credit both to the coaching she received in high school and to her personal work ethic.”

Baumberger was also recognized as the tournament’s eighth place novice speaker in Parliamentary debate. Along with her debate partner Rachel Hofer she defeated two teams from Northwest College and showed off her versatility as a competitor by excelling in both the speech and the debate components of forensics this weekend, House said.