Moorpark College Forensics Continues to Thrive in Virtual Competitions
The Californer/10132179

MOORPARK, Calif. - Californer -- The nationally recognized Moorpark College Forensics team has once again won the team championship in its division at the Phi Rho Pi National Championships, held April 6-11. This is the college's 11th national championship in forensics, or speech and debate. The team also competed at the California Community College Forensics Association State Championships in March.

"Of the 12 students who represented Moorpark College at the national championships, eight are new to the team this year, and to speech competitions of any kind," said Rolland Petrello, chair of the Communications and Media Arts Department and head forensics coach. "Six of those students are new to the team this semester. We have not met most of the team members in person, as everything we are doing--from recruiting and coaching to competitions--has taken place virtually. However, I think these students are a testament to how excellence can be achieved even under the most trying of conditions."

Due to the pandemic, all forensics completions for Moorpark College students have been conducted over Zoom. The results of the competitions are as follows:

More on The Californer

• Geyser Partners with Carolina Cloud on Low-Cost Cold Storage for Genomics & Finance Workloads
• SteelTree Announces Launch of Its Operational Decision Intelligence Service
• Advanced AI Capabilities Reflected by Upcoming Company Name and Stock Symbol Change for Evolving Pre-Owned Boat Dealer: Off The Hook YS: N Y S E: OTH
• AI-Driven Defense Expansion, Autonomous Systems and Israeli Aerospace Manufacturing Platform: VisionWave Holdings (N A S D A Q: VWAV)
• San Diego REALTOR Dominic Jabro Launches Neighborhood Guide Series on DominicJabro.com

Phi Rho Pi National Championships: Individual National Champions:
Alexandra Claunch (1st semester) – Gold medal in Dramatic Interpretation (also won a silver medal)
Annie Dilsizian (2nd year) – Gold medal in Informative Speaking (also won two bronze medals)
Jane Walgren (1st year) – Gold medal in Informative Speaking (also won two bronze medals)
Nicole Castro (2nd year) – Gold medal in Impromptu Speaking (also won two bronze medals)

Other national medalists include:
Christine Chragian (2nd year) – Two bronze medals
Kate Soto Gisler (2nd year) –Bronze medal
Maya Van Dien (1st semester) – Bronze medal
Samantha Endres (1st semester) – Bronze medal

California Community College Forensics Association State Championships: Individual State Champions:
Nicole Castro (2nd year) – Gold medal in Impromptu Speaking (also won a bronze medal)
Christine Chragian (2nd year) – Gold medal in International Public Debate
Jane Walgren (1st year) – Gold medal in Informative Speaking (also won a bronze medal)

More on The Californer

• AI Predicts the Most Likely 2026 FIFA World Cup Winner
• The AI Production Shift: Why Game Development Is Entering Its Most Accelerated Phase
• California secures federal assistance to support response to Sandy Fire in Ventura County
• World-First AI Humanoid Robot Debuts on Cherie Barber's Ground-breaking Australian Reno Show
• Serelora Launches Pilot to Bring Multi-Agent Clinical AI to High-Risk Obstetrics

Natalie Esposito (1st semester) – Gold medal in Dramatic Interpretation

Other state medalists and team members include:
Annie Dilsizian (2nd year) – Silver and bronze medals
Erin Van Vuren (1st year) – Silver and bronze medals
Alexandra Claunch (1st semester) – Silver and bronze medals
Kate Soto Gisler (2nd year) Silver medal
Maya Van Dien (1st semester) – Silver medal
Alia Leavitt (1st semester) – Bronze medal
Alexis Sapon (1st semester)
Samantha Endres (1st semester)
Christopher Ojeda (1st semester)

A showcase performance of the Moorpark College Forensics team will be livestreamed on YouTube--https://youtu.be/x6dU0SaFoa8--at 6 p.m. on May 7.



For more information on the team, or Communication Studies program, contact Petrello at (805) 553-4689 or rpetrello@vcccd.edu.