The Moorpark College Forensics speech and debate team recently participated in a fierce competition at Orange Coast College. On Saturday and Sunday, Moorpark College competed against the toughest college speech teams in the nation.

Among these were the two reigning speech teams, University of Texas at Austin and Bradley University.

“They brought some of their best kids out,” said Rolland Petrello, the captain of forensics.

Even with this tough competition, Moorpark College achieved third place overall with impressive wins across the board.

Being a part of a team this impressive, however, can be very nerve wracking.

“I get super in my head and [I get] all nervous,” said 19 year-old returning forensics member Matthew Steck. “If you’re like me, you’re terrified until you open your book.”

A competition day starts early, with the bus usually leaving around 6 in the morning. The ride there is always tense, as everybody is preparing for the tournament to come.

Tensions keep rising as the speakers prepare for competition. The first step is checking who will be competing in the same events. Right before speaking, the competitors gather and wait for the judges to arrive. Tensions grow in the quiet room as the speakers anxiously prepare. As the judges enter, the students become professional.

All of the nerves dissipate when the speaker steps on stage. A student walks up, looking as best he can, and does what he does best. Speaking is the reason they compete, and the stage calms their nerves.

“Once you’re up there… you just have fun with it,” Steck said. The fun does not last long however, as the post speech nerves are quick to attack. “After the reads, you get nervous. [You ask yourself] did I do well, did I not do well?”

The most thrilling part, however, is finding the results. They are posted on a wall and every competitor checks if he or she broke (made) it to the finals.

“To see you broke is just amazing,” Steck explains.

This competition was Steck’s first try at impromptu speaking, but he still broke into finals, along with 19-year-old Sean Kolkey, and achieved 6th place. Kolkey received 3rd in the same competition.

The speech team requires a lot of time, during competitions as well as individual practices.

“It can be hard sometimes to manage everything, but the coaches are very accommodating and understanding of our schedules,” Kolkey said.

However, it’s not always serious business. The students often joke with each other and with the coaches. Even the tournaments provide a sense of humor. For example, Moorpark College received chickens as trophies for this competition.

“We have steel chickens now as trophies,” Steck said with a chuckle.

With a great start to the semester, the team is looking forward to many more successful competitions.

“It’s a good group of kids who work really hard,” Petrello said.