Yesterday, Comet Speech competitors Tyler Crivella and Charles Yelderman engaged the University of North Texas in a public debate on the question of whether “Texas should legalize recreational marijuana use for adults age 21 and over.” Tyler and Charles were on the affirmative side during an event that was part of UNT’s “COMM Day.” The two represented both Comet Speech and UTD with distinction, and the debate was a major success. Many thanks to Dr. Brian Lain and the UNT Comm Studies department for hosting. And kudos Ty and Chuck! Whoosh!!!
Comet Speech just finished the National Forensic Association (NFA) National Championship Tournament hosted this year on the Tennessee State University campus in Nashville. This year, six competitors qualified for this tournament — Tyler Crivella, Arzoo Daredia, Aylin Masiga, Cory Owens, Samhitha Palla, and Robert Tantiado — and they competed against over 500 students from 70 universities and colleges. Big congrats to Aylin who advanced to octofinals in persuasive speaking! And huge congrats to Tyler who made the quarterfinals of extemporaneous speaking! This tournament marks the end of our competitive season. I can’t even to express how proud I am of our team and their successes this academic year. Whoosh!!!
Six members of Comet Speech competed in multiple events at the American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament at Lewis and Clark University in Portland, Oregon, April 3–6.
Tyler Crivella performed phenomenally, earning a spot as a quarterfinalist in extemporaneous speaking.
We are so incredibly proud of every member who competed. everyone did an amazing job these past few days.
Go comet ☄️
So proud of this team and the work everyone put in this weekend at D3!!! So excited to see so many of our speakers punching their ticket to nationals!!!
🏆 Tyler Crivella: Champion - After Dinner Speaking (Qualified for Nationals)
🏆Samhitha Palla: 4th Place - Communication Analysis (Qualified for Nationals); 5th Place - Informational Speaking (Qualified for Nationals)
🏆Arzoo Daredia: 2nd Place - Persuasive Speaking (Qualified for Nationals)
🏆 Cory Owens: Champion - Informational Speaking (Qualified for Nationals); 5th Place - Extemporaneous Speaking
🏆Robert Tantiado: 2nd Place - Extemporaneous Speaking (Qualified for Nationals); 4th Place - Informational Speaking (Qualified for Nationals)
BIG WHOOOOSHHHHHH ☄️☄️
So proud of our team at the Louisiana State University Mardi Gras Tournament this weekend 🧡💚
Hard work showed up in every round, and the results speak for themselves:
🏅 Arzoo Daredia – 2nd in Persuasive Speaking!!
🏅 Charles Yelderman – 4th place in After dinner speaking & 6th in Extemporaneous Speaking!!
🏅 Cory Owens – 5th in Informational Speaking!!
🏅 Gracie Saucedo – 4th in Program Oral Interpretation!!
🏅 Robert Tantiado – 3rd in Extemporaneous Speaking & 6th in Informational Speaking!!
🏅 Samhitha Palla – 4th in Communication Analysis!!
GO COMETS ☄️
So proud of our Comet Speech team for an incredible showing at TIFA this past weekend! ⭐️💚
Day 1 – 5th Place Overall Sweeps!
🏅 Tyler Crivella – TIFA All-State & 3rd Place NFA LD Debate
🏅 Aylin Masiga – 4th Place Communication Analysis & 5th Place Informative
🏅 Robert Tantiado – 7th Place Extemporaneous Speaking
🏅 Cory Owens – 6th Place Informative Speaking
Day 2
🏆 Aylin Masiga – Communication Analysis Champion & 3rd Place Persuasive
🏅 Samhitha Palla – 5th Place Communication Analysis
🏅 Arzoo Daredia – 5th Place Extemporaneous Speaking & 6th Place Persuasive
🏅 Cory Owens – 5th Place Informative Speaking
🏅 Robert Tantiado – 3rd Place Informative Speaking
We’re beyond grateful for everyone who supported us and so proud of every competitor!!
Go comets ☄️
This weekend, Comet Speech competed at the Battle of the Bulldogs tournament and delivered an outstanding performance across every event:
⭐️Tyler Crivella:
After-Dinner Speaking Tournament Champion
Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament Champion
⭐️Charles Yelderman
2nd place After-Dinner Speaking
3rd place Extemporaneous Speaking
2nd place Impromptu Speaking
⭐️Robert Tantiado 3rd Place Broadcasting
⭐️Arzoo Daredia
5th Place Extemporaneous Speaking
5th Place Persuasive Speaking
🏆Team IPDA
3rd Place - Arzoo Daredia and Charles Yelderman
☄️☄️☄️
Comet Speech had an incredible showing at today’s D3 Qualifier.
🎖️Arzoo Daredia: 1st Place Extemporaneous Speaker (national qualifier)!
🎖️Charles Yelderman: 5th in ADS and 8th in Impromptu!
Whoosh☄️☄️
The Comets wrapped up State with another incredible day of success
💚🧡
🥈 Aylin Masiga - Persuasive Speaking - 2nd, Qualified for Nationals!
🥉 Aylin Masiga - Informative Speaking - 3rd
🥈 Charles Yelderman - Extemporaneous Speaking - 2nd, Qualified for Nationals!
⭐ Charles Yelderman - Impromptu Speaking - 5th,
Semis.
An incredible finish for UT Dallas 💚🧡
That’s a wrap for DFW Swing part 2 hosted by @tcuspeechdebate and UTD🎉🎉
🏆: Cory “punch” Owens placed 1st becoming the tournament champion for Informative Speaking and gained a leg for the nationals!!
🏆: Charles “chuck” Yelderman placed 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking, and gained a leg for the nationals!!
Thank you so much to @tcuspeechdebate for running this whole tournament so smoothly. Thank you for getting us in and out before sun down!
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to come out and judge for us! We are so incredibly grateful for you guys! We hope y’all had a fun time judging.
Thank you, especially, to Dr. Gooch, Ms. Spikeston, and Mr. Moss. This team truly knows what it’s doing, thanks to the time, dedication, and effort you’ve all invested in coaching, training, and guiding us through competitions. You’ve inspired us to keep improving and given us the confidence to perform our best every time.
Lastly, we are so thankful for all the teams for coming out and competing in DFW swing. We had an incredible time hosting y’all and we look forward to it next year at UTD campus
