The Gustavus Adolphus College forensics team won a national title on Monday, April 18 by finishing in first place in the team sweepstakes of the President’s II Division at the National Forensic Association’s (NFA) National Championships at Illinois State University.
The tournament is divided into four divisions based on the number of entrants a school has. Gustavus beat out schools such as Tennessee State University, Seton Hall University, Creighton University and Ohio State University in the President’s II Division. Western Kentucky won the championship in the Open division, Northwestern University won the President’s I Division, and Texas State University, San Marcos took home the title in the President’s III Division.
Senior Phil Helt was the biggest point earner for Gustavus as he advanced to the quarterfinals in After Dinner Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Persuasive Speaking. First-year student Kelsey Abele was also a significant contributor as she advanced to the semifinals in Drama and the quarterfinals in Poetry.
Junior Sam Hemmerich was a quarterfinalist in Drama, while sophomore Kate Bissen was a quarterfinalist in Rhetorical Criticism. Sophomore Kaitlin Burlingame did not advance as far as the quarterfinals in any event, but did help earn points toward the team’s score.
The team’s performance at the NFA National Championships comes on the heels of its tremendous performance at the American Forensic Association’s National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET). At the AFA-NIET, Gustavus earned its second straight top 10 national ranking by placing tenth. Click here for more information about the team’s performance at the AFA-NIET.
For more information about the Gustavus forensics program, go online to gustavus.edu/go/forensics or contact head coach Kristofer Kracht at kkracht@gustavus.edu.
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