Illinois State Wins Big in Texas and Indiana

The Illinois State University speech team is now halfway through the year; a milestone that was marked by the 11th annual Hell Froze Over (HFO) tournament in Austin, Texas. Forty schools attended this extremely difficult tournament including Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, University of Texas, and Bradley University, among others.

Junior, Joe Cozza (Downers Grove) led the team, winning After Dinner Speaking, finaling Communication Analysis and Impromptu, and placing second overall in the tournament. Senior, Clayton Sanders (Belleville) also had notable success winning Programmed Oral Interpretation and Poetry. Seniors, Rachael Hoffman (Chatham) and Rachel Parish (Galatia) and Junior, Allison Seboldt (Fults) also finaled several of their events. The team placed 2nd overall behind George Mason University.

"We are really excited after this tournament!" says Senior Angie Dunk (Shawneetown). "I think this puts us in a really competitive standing for the rest of the year. We saw a lot of good things, and we know what we're up against for the rest of the year. I am really excited to see what this team can do at nationals."

Another group of Illinois State students were sent to the Redhawk Rumble/Bulldog Battle tournament at Butler University, where they placed 3rd overall and picked up several qualifications for the national tournament. Junior, Breck Jones (Equality) won Extemp and Senior, Stephanie Donjon (Waterloo) won Rhetorical Criticism.

Now that the eight-month season is halfway over, the Illinois State team is looking toward improving their events for nationals in April. The team splits their traveling between the University of Northern Iowa and The College of DuPage this weekend for more tournament competition.

The 30 member Speech Team is part of the Illinois State University Forensics Union, the oldest and most successful registered student organization on campus. The six-time National Champion team competes at weekend tournaments around the country in public speaking and oral interpretation events.

For more information about the Illinois State University Forensics Union, please contact their advisor, Kevin R. Meyer: kmeyer@ilstu.edu, or visit the team's website www.forensics.ilstu.edu.