Spring Break
Forensics team tackles tournament
Students place first, third at two-day national competition Oct. 1 and 2 in Dekalb, Ill.
Katie Munk
Issue date: 10/17/05 Section: Campus News
For more than 50 years, Eau Claire has had a strong forensics team, and that reputation is quickly growing, said Kelly Jo Wright, assistant director of forensics.
The team, she said, demonstrated that strength at the Mid-American Forensics League Chicagoland Swing Tournament, where it took third on the first day, Oct. 1, and fourth on the second day, Oct. 2, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.
She said she is pleased with the team's performance and is excited for the season because of its returning and promising new students.
Karen Morris, director of forensics, said she also is excited about the team's potential.
"This year is exciting, because we are just beginning and doing well, just like last year and the year before and the year before," she said.
However, Wright said, this year will be challenging because of the reputation the students need to uphold.
Senior Chris Conklin, a forensics team member, hopes for big things this year and saw the competition in Illinois as a good opportunity.
"The competition in Illinois was a good-sized event, and it gave the team a chance to see new people," he said.
In Illinois, Conklin won the impromptu and after-dinner speaking competitions. He also took third place in extemporaneous speaking.
Conklin said the team is off to a good start and has been very successful in meeting team and individual goals.
Almost every weekend for seven months, the forensics team travels around the nation to compete individually and as a team.
Each competition has three categories: public speaking, interpreting and limited preparation.
As for individual season goals, Conklin hopes to make it to nationals in the American Forensic Association or National Forensics Association.
Sophomore Hilary Rasmussen, another team member, said she is aiming to improve. The first competitions were hard, she said, because of the expectations, but the season has improved greatly, she said.
In Illinois, Rasmussen placed third in a duo with junior Christine Zani. She also placed fifth in the final round of poetry and first in dramatic interpretation. Rasmussen and the rest of the team had another opportunity to compete this weekend in Mankato, Minn.
The Mankato competition is another two-day event, and the forensics team prepared for the competition by writing material, meeting with coaches and practicing.
That preparation will help the team develop its younger team members, Morris said.
"The freshmen will begin to compete more and we are very excited for them," she said.
The team, she said, demonstrated that strength at the Mid-American Forensics League Chicagoland Swing Tournament, where it took third on the first day, Oct. 1, and fourth on the second day, Oct. 2, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.
She said she is pleased with the team's performance and is excited for the season because of its returning and promising new students.
Karen Morris, director of forensics, said she also is excited about the team's potential.
"This year is exciting, because we are just beginning and doing well, just like last year and the year before and the year before," she said.
However, Wright said, this year will be challenging because of the reputation the students need to uphold.
Senior Chris Conklin, a forensics team member, hopes for big things this year and saw the competition in Illinois as a good opportunity.
"The competition in Illinois was a good-sized event, and it gave the team a chance to see new people," he said.
In Illinois, Conklin won the impromptu and after-dinner speaking competitions. He also took third place in extemporaneous speaking.
Conklin said the team is off to a good start and has been very successful in meeting team and individual goals.
Almost every weekend for seven months, the forensics team travels around the nation to compete individually and as a team.
Each competition has three categories: public speaking, interpreting and limited preparation.
As for individual season goals, Conklin hopes to make it to nationals in the American Forensic Association or National Forensics Association.
Sophomore Hilary Rasmussen, another team member, said she is aiming to improve. The first competitions were hard, she said, because of the expectations, but the season has improved greatly, she said.
In Illinois, Rasmussen placed third in a duo with junior Christine Zani. She also placed fifth in the final round of poetry and first in dramatic interpretation. Rasmussen and the rest of the team had another opportunity to compete this weekend in Mankato, Minn.
The Mankato competition is another two-day event, and the forensics team prepared for the competition by writing material, meeting with coaches and practicing.
That preparation will help the team develop its younger team members, Morris said.
"The freshmen will begin to compete more and we are very excited for them," she said.