The Boise State University Pi Kappa Delta National Championship Speech and Debate team end the semester with wins at both the New York Off-Broadway Swing hosted by Hofstra University and Nassau Community College on Dec. 4 and 5, and the 91st annual Mahaffey Memorial hosted by Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon Nov. 12 – 14.
New York Off-Broadway Swing
Boise State repeated their 2018 inaugural tournament championship with their second appearance at the Off-Broadway Swing.
Parliamentary Debate
- Brian Del Toro (senior, Boise) and Dylan Pope (junior, Blackfoot): tournament champions
- Josh Young (senior, Boise) and Ethane Ricks (sophomore, Idaho Falls): finalists
- Izzy Ceja (junior, Hailey) and Brie Ellison (junior, Eagle): finalists
- Brie Ellison: tournament champion speaker
- Dylan Pope: second-place speaker award
- Izzy Ceja: third-place speaker award
Public Debate
- Sergio Sarmiento (senior, Nampa) and Madison Martin (senior, Oceanside, California): tournament champions with undefeated records in preliminary rounds
- Gabe Guerrero (senior, Shelly): finalist
- Zac Maggard (senior, Nampa): finalist
- Madison Martin: second-place speaker award
Individual Events Tournaments
- Edson Valdisimo (sophomore, Saipan, CNMI): first-place finish in duo interpretation, second-place in poetry, second-place in program oral interpretation
- Alma Ceja (senior, Hailey): first-place in duo interpretation, fifth-place in prose interpretation, sixth-place in program oral interpretation
- Sara Beck (sophomore, Idaho Falls): second-place in impromptu speaking
- Dylan Pope: third-place in communication analysis
- Alison Hurst (sophomore, Boise): fourth-place in impromptu speaking
- Sergio Sarmiento: fourth-place in persuasive speaking
- Julia Maas (senior, Meridian): fifth-place in persuasive speaking
- Ethan Romriell (senior, Mineola, New York): fifth-place in prose interpretation
- Izzy Ceja: fifth-place in communication analysis
- Ethane Ricks: fifth-place in duo interpretation
- Josh Young: fifth-place in duo interpretation
- Brie Ellison: sixth-place in poetry interpretation
91st Annual Mahaffey Memorial
- Edson Valdisimo: second-place finish duo interpretation, third-place finish program oral interpretation, fourth-place impromptu speaking
- Dylan Pope: first-place editorial commentary
- Ethane Ricks: first-place duo interpretation, fourth-place extemporaneous speaking
- Josh Young: first-place duo interpretation
- Julia Maas: second-place informative speaking, sixth-place extemporaneous speaking
- Alma Ceja: second-place duo interpretation, sixth-place program oral interpretation
- Sara Beck: second-place impromptu speaking, fifth-place extemporaneous speaking
- Brian Del Toro: third-place impromptu speaking, third-place informative speaking, fourth-place extemporaneous speaking
- Alison Hurst: third-place extemporaneous speaking, third-place impromptu speaking, sixth-place editorial commentary
- Ethan Romriell: third-place dramatic interpretation
- Madison Martin: fourth-place prose interpretation, fifth-place program oral interpretation
- Sergio Sarmiento: fifth-place impromptu speaking, fifth-place persuasive speaking
- Gabe Guerrero: fifth-place poetry interpretation
Junior division public debate
- Ethane Ricks: semi-finalist
- Kate Jacobson (junior, Boise): quarter-finalist
- Emma James (senior, Eagle): eighth-place speaker award
- Sara Beck: sixth-place speaker award
Open division Public Debate
- Zac Maggard: quarter-finalist
- Madison Martin: quarter-finalist
- Dylan Pope: octo-finalist
- Brian Del Toro: octo-finalist, tenth-place speaker award
- Julia Maas: octo-finalist
- Brie Ellison: octo-finalist, seventh-place speaker
- Sergio Sarmiento: sixth-place speaker award
- Josh Young: fifth-place speaker award
The Talkin’ Broncos are the 2019-2020 Pi Kappa Delta National Champions in Speech and Debate and are supported in part through the generosity of the Jeker Family Trust. For more information about the Talkin’ Broncos, contact Manda Hicks, director of forensics at Boise State at mandahicks@boisestate.edu.