Carroll College Talking Saints member Teigen Tremper of Whitefish was part of a winning team during a recent collegiate debate event.

The Carroll College Talking Saints forensics team won two awards at the 2018 United States University Western Debate Championships hosted by Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, in March.

Tremper, a Whitefish High School 2017 graduate, is part of the first-year team with Josh Mansfield of Pocatello, Idaho. The pair won the novice division during the event.

More than 60 teams from eight states and two countries competed at a tournament designed to provide top competition for teams prior to the national championships at Stanford University in April. The teams completed eight preliminary rounds before heading to single-elimination playoffs.

For the first-year Carroll team, this marked one of their first adventures into deep water.

“It was certainly a challenging roller coaster,” said Tremper. “There were a lot of great teams and some very deep and thought-provoking topics. By the end it left me both exhausted and very glad to have been a part of it, and to have had such an amazing team surrounding me and competing beside me to represent.”

Four Carroll teams will compete at debate nationals.