NEWS

NEWBERRY, S.C. — The Newberry College Speech and Debate Team has started the 2025–2026 season with an outstanding series of performances, earning a total of 51 awards in just four weeks of competition at tournaments across the country.

Throughout the week of October 13, 2025, the team competed virtually in two tournaments—the Chicago Swing Tournament and the Northeast Alliance Tournament #2—hosted by the University of Illinois–Chicago and Queens College/Baruch College, respectively.

Newberry students competed against teams from institutions such as Cornell University, University of Florida, University of Illinois, and Eastern Michigan University. The team consisted of Denim Morrison, Jorgia Weaver, Heather Ray, Riley Lobash, Ashley Peterson, and Wilfredo Lopez-Hernandez.

Chicago Swing Tournament

• Denim Morrison – 4th Place in Communication Analysis and 4th Place in Persuasive Speaking
• Heather Ray – 7th Place in Poetry Interpretation
• Jorgia Weaver – 6th Place in Poetry Interpretation
• Riley Lobash – 5th Place in Poetry Interpretation

Northeast Alliance Tournament #2

• Denim Morrison – 3rd Place in Communication Analysis and 2nd Place in Persuasive Speaking
• Jorgia Weaver – 7th Place in Poetry Interpretation
• Riley Lobash – 6th Place in Poetry Interpretation
• Heather Ray – 4th Place in Poetry Interpretation

During the weekend of October 24–26, 2025, the Newberry Speech and Debate Team competed at the Point Loma Nazarene University Sunset Cliffs Classic and the Berry College Autumn in the Mountains Invitational Tournament, competing in two separate tournaments on both the East and West coasts.

At Berry College, Newberry students competed against students from institutions like University of Alabama, University of North Carolina–Charlotte, and University of Florida. At Point Loma, the team competed against University of California–San Diego, San Diego State University, and Concordia University–Irvine, among other regional institutions in the San Diego area.

The Berry College team consisted of Zy’Tavien Abrams, Jose Ferrer, Heaven Mack, Jorgia Weaver, Desiray Montgomery, and Tanaejah Odom.
The Point Loma team consisted of Paul Fisher, Denim Morrison, Nia Quimby, Riley Lobash, Wilfredo Lopez-Perez, and Juliana Hernandez.

Autumn in the Mountains Invitational

• Zy’Tavien Abrams – 7th Place in Dramatic Interpretation and 6th Place in Public Narrative
• Desiray Montgomery – 4th Place in Slam Poetry

Sunset Cliffs Classic

• Team Awards – 4th Place Overall Sweepstakes
• Denim Morrison – Tournament Champion in Informative Speaking, Tournament Champion in Communication Analysis, 2nd Place in Persuasive Speaking, Tournament Champion in Individual Sweepstakes, 2nd Place Novice IPDA Speaker, and Octafinalist in Novice IPDA Debate
• Paul Fisher – Tournament Champion Senior IPDA Speaker Award, Semi-Finalist in Extemporaneous Speaking, Octafinalist in Senior IPDA Debate, and 5th Place Junior NPDA Speaker Award
• Riley Lobash – 6th Place in Poetry Interpretation
• Juliana Hernandez – 5th Place in After Dinner Speaking
• Nia Quimby – 6th Place in After Dinner Speaking

In total, the Newberry Speech and Debate Team won 17 awards this past weekend. Since the start of their season in late September, the team has now won 51 awards, competing against national championship teams from some of the best programs in the nation.

“The dedication, creativity, and resilience these students have shown so early in the season is incredible,” said John Wallis, interim director of Speech and Debate at Newberry College. “They are consistently proving that the size of a college doesn’t determine its strength — Newberry can compete and win at the highest levels. I couldn’t be prouder of their effort, teamwork, and growth.”

The team looks forward to continuing its success throughout the remainder of the semester as it gears up for the national tournament season in Spring 2026.