Sophomore Henry Davenport (Elk Grove Village) won individual sweeps at the Chicago Swing Part 1 (Virtual Asynchronous) Tournament hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago on October 24th. Senior Sarah Sanders (Marion) took first in After Dinner Speaking at both the second Online Asynchronous Tournament Series (OATS), also taking place on October 24th, and the Chicago Swing Part 1. The team participated in three tournaments over the past weekend, taking second at the Chicago Swing Part 1, 4th at the OATS, and 6th at the Chicago Swing Part 2 Tournament, which was hosted in-person at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
At the OATS:
- Sophomore Michelle Ryan (Chicago Heights) won second in Poetry.
- Davenport won fifth in Communication Analysis and sixth in Impromptu.
- Sophomore Jedge Slothower (Ottowa) won seventh in Informative.
At the Chicago Swing Part 1:
- Davenport won second in Impromptu, third in Persuasive, and fourth in Communication Analysis.
- Ryan won fifth in Poetry.
- Slothower won fifth in Informative.
At the Chicago Swing Part 2:
- Junior Faith Hincapie (Northbrook) won third in Communication Analysis.
- Freshman Braden Wall (Cary) won third in Extemporaneous.
- Senior Sarah Keller (Geneva) won fourth in Persuasive, fifth in Communication Analysis, and sixth in Prose.
- Slothower won sixth in Informative.
The team also participated in the third Mid-America Forensics League asynchronous tournament on October 17th. Keller took third in Persuasive and fourth in Prose. Davenport took sixth in Communication Analysis.
“We were a small but mighty squad this weekend which is always a lot of fun.”
Sarah Keller
The asynchronous tournaments allowed team members to participate in events by submitting videos of their pieces rather than doing a live performance. The team is long-acquainted with asynchronous tournaments, which became available as an alternative mode of competition during Covid.
“I like getting to compete asynchronously because it’s very convenient when you only have one new event out…it’s nice to be able to compete with a new event without having to travel,” said Sanders.
The team traveled to Chicago for a day to compete, riding together in the team van. They woke up early and stayed up late to participate fully in the tournament.
“It was honestly super fun because we all just talked and laughed or slept,” said Hincapie.
“We left Illinois State at 6:30 a.m. and made it home just before midnight. Travel days like this are always hard but we work to make the best of it by taking naps in the van and drinking lots of coffee,” said Keller.
Despite the stress of traveling, the team was able to come together and support one another through the tournament. They also had the opportunity to connect with other familiar faces on the circuit.
“We were a small but mighty squad this weekend which is always a lot of fun,” said Keller, “I got to see a lot of ISU alumni this weekend. I love seeing old team members still involved in this activity.”
“It was so good to spend a day with the team doing what we love most and making amazing memories in the process,” said Wall, “I got to meet a lot of people from across the country and had really good and entertaining conversations with people from other teams.”
Looking ahead, the team is approaching the biggest tournament of their fall season, the L.E. Norton Tournament hosted by Bradley University in Peoria over November 5-6.
“This is always such a beautiful tournament where schools get to showcase all of their events,” said Keller.
The Debate team is also hosting their biggest tournament of the season, the Redbird LD, taking place on the Illinois State campus over November 5-6.
The ISU Forensics Union, the oldest and most successful registered student organization on campus, boasts over 80 individual national champions and 10 team national championships. The team competes at tournaments in Lincoln-Douglas debate, public speaking, and oral interpretation events.