Illinois State senior Raechel Zoellick (Elk Grove Village) won first in Persuasive at the American Forensics Association – National Speech Tournament District 5 Fall Qualifier on November 12th. They also won first in Duo alongside their partner junior Faith Hincapie (Northbrook). The tournament was hosted online, with Illinois State students competing from campus in Fell Hall.
At Districts:
- Sophomore Jedge Slothower (Ottawa) won first in Informational and third in Extemporaneous.
- Hincapie won sixth in Informational.
- Sophomore Henry Davenport (Elk Grove Village) won second in Persuasion and sixth in Impromptu.
- Senior Sarah Keller (Geneva) won third in After Dinner Speaking, fourth in (CA), and 6th in Prose.
- Sophomore Michelle Ryan (Chicago Heights) won third in (CA) and 4th in Impromptu.
- Freshman Braden Wall (Cary) won fourth in Informational.
- Junior Alyssa Conde (Joliet) won fifth in After Dinner Speaking and sixth in Dramatic Interpretation.
The tournament was hosted online with teammates competing together from various classrooms in Fell Hall. For many this was a return to the COVID-era of speech, when many competitions were forced to move online.
“I loved spending every second with my teammates. We all had so much fun and got so many chances to laugh and congratulate each other with (our) events.”
Michelle Ryan
“Competing online felt like a blast from the past after being in person this season,” said Keller.
“Returning back to districts again a year later is a lot of fun. I love the improvement I have made since then and the amount of fun and enjoyment I had at this one compared to last year’s,” said Ryan.
The team used the virtual tournament as another chance to bond and enjoy each other’s company. Being in the same space allowed them to relax and support one another as the competition continued.
“The team was able to meet up in between rounds and just hang out. We would talk about our performances and joke around with each other and overall grow closer,” said Zoellick, “We jingle our keys for all the events that qualify (for Nationals) and it brought me a childlike joy to hear everyone shake their keys as results were announced.”
“I loved spending every second with my teammates. We all had so much fun and got so many chances to laugh and congratulate each other with (our) events,” said Ryan.
Moving ahead, the team is settling into winter break and plans to use the time to improve and create new events.
“We don’t have any major tournaments planned until January so it will be nice to take a step back from competing to really refine my events and get some new slots done,” said Keller.
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.