Illinois State Forensics Union came out swinging at the 2023 Illinois Intercollegiate Forensic Association (IIFA) State Championships which took place Feb. 24-March 4 at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The Debate team was declared State Champions after several rounds of competition, and the Speech team earned 2nd place. Speech and Debate earned 2nd place in combined sweepstakes, with the University of Illinois Chicago taking first and Bradley University taking third overall.
- Junior Connor Rada (Lakemoor) earned a State Championship in IPDA Debate and 3rd in Speaker Awards.
- Senior Doniven Hill-Bush (Peoria) earned State Championships in After Dinner Speaking and Duo Interpretation (with Mayfield), 5th in Poetry, 6th in Impromptu, and 3rd in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Senior Terrence Mayfield (Richton Park) earned a State Championship in Duo Interpretation (with Hill-Bush), 2nd in Poetry, and 6th in Informative.
- Sophomore Henry Davenport (Elk Grove Village) earned 2nd in Communication Analysis and 5th in Extemporaneous speaking.
- Senior Sarah Sanders (Marion) earned 3rd in Extemporaneous speaking, 4th in After Dinner Speaking, and 6th in Persuasion.
- Junior Faith Hincapie (Northbrook) earned 3rd in After Dinner Speaking, 4th in Persuasion, and 6th in Duo Interpretation.
- Freshman Braden Wall (Cary) earned 4th in speaker awards and 5th in Impromptu.
- Senior Raechel Zoellick (Elk Grove Village) earned 4th in Informative and 6th in Duo Interpretation.
- Junior Brayden Bobowski (Des Plaines) earned quarterfinals in IPDA Debate.
- Sophomore Jedge Slothower (Ottawa) earned 4th in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Senior Sarah Keller (Geneva) earned 6th in Dramatic Interpretation.
State is an annually held tournament that hosts exclusively Illinois schools and is the first big competition of the spring running up to Nationals.
“I got to meet a lot of cool people from the community college circuit. I love seeing what the next generation of speech is doing and what the future of this activity looks like.”
Sarah Keller
The return to State also marks the return of a longstanding Redbird Forensics tradition: “What I Like About You’s” or “WILAY’s” for short. WILAY’s are notes of encouragement and appreciation the team writes to each other to create a support boost just before the competition.
“My WILAYs made me very sentimental. I love this team so much and it was nice to be reminded exactly why,” said Sanders.
Preparing for State was an individual and team effort. Both students and coaches put in long hours to perfect their performances, from memorization sessions to peer coaching.
“To prepare for IPDA debate, we spent time as a team learning the best way to structure our speeches to make an effective argument,” said Rada.
“We as a team did a lot to prepare for State. We were running speeches for each other, memorizing rewrites, and really working through pieces,” said Keller.
State was also an opportunity to reconnect with other local teams on the circuit. As the only tournament of the season to run exclusively with Illinois schools, the tournament provides an important benchmark for colleges that are unable to travel to nationwide competitions.
“I got to meet a lot of cool people from the community college circuit. I love seeing what the next generation of speech is doing and what the future of this activity looks like,” said Keller.
The team worked hard to shape up their events for State. Many pieces have been carried from the fall and have been improved by audience and judge feedback. Team members were satisfied with the results of their efforts.
“I’m very happy with how I did. I was able to break into finals, which I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do, and I was able to have a great time in those rounds,” said Wall.
“I’m super proud of my team for just doing super well and killing their events. Breaks or not, the events we got are solid,” said sophomore Michelle Ryan (Chicago Heights).
During the tournament, the team came together to support each other. They cheered one another on between events and clapped enthusiastically during them. Time between rounds also allowed teammates to discuss minor changes they might make during their performances.
“Connor, Henry, Braden, and I talked about what arguments we came across and what points we made against them. We also discussed the various different strategies we could potentially use if we came across similar rounds in the future,” said Bobowski.
This competition saw a few new fresh faces from the team stepping up to experience their first State tournament.
“My first state was a lot of fun! In the future, I’m looking forward to meeting new people, talking to my existing friends, and performing,” said Wall.
“I didn’t go to state last year so it was really exciting to test out a different form of debate and to meet people from a different circuit. I am most looking forward to seeing how improvements in my delivery and my word economy will improve my overall performance in round,” said Bobowski.
This was also the last State for senior members of the team. As a landmark tournament for the season, it was bittersweet for many who took this time to begin their goodbyes.
“State to me has always felt like a regular seasonal tournament before nationals… I will definitely miss seeing the community college performances,” said Zoellick.
With a powerful performance at State behind them, the team is looking forward to preparing for the end of their 2023 season and the National Tournaments up ahead.
“The team and I are getting ready for future tournaments by improving our speeches and researching new arguments to make our debate stronger,” said Rada.
“We are really focusing on cleanliness going to the end of the season. Perfect memorization and blocking while still being in the moment is key to a strong run at nationals,” said Keller, “We have set high goals going into the end of the season and we are super excited to show the nation what we can do… As my speech career comes to a close, every opportunity I have to perform is a moment I’m looking forward to.”
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.