Forensics Team Excels at Prestigious Tournament in Texas

The Gustavus Adolphus College forensics team made a 20-hour bus ride from St. Peter to Austin, Texas pay off as they finished in third place in the team standings at the prestigious Hell Froze Over (HFO) Swing at the University of Texas at Austin Jan. 14-15.

The HFO Tournament is a two-day event co-hosted by the University of Texas at Austin and Bradley University with individuals from more than 40 colleges and universities participating.

Gustavus had three individual champions, a total of seven finalists, and 14 semifinalists over the course of the two-day tournament. Senior Chloe Radcliffe also finished in third place in the combined individual sweepstakes.

Individual Champions
Senior Chloe Radcliffe
* 1^st place in Prose on day one
* 1^st place in After Dinner Speaking on day two

Junior Kaitlin Burlingame
* 1^st place in Prose on day two

Finalists
Chloe Radcliffe
* 2^nd place in Prose on day two
* 5^th place in Dramatic Interpretation on day two

First-year Kate Spaulding
* 3^rd place in Persuasion on day one
* 5^th place in Persuasion on day two

Semifinalists
Senior Luke Youngvorst
* Persuasion and Impromptu Speaking on day one
* Impromptu Speaking on day two

Senior Sam Hemmerich
* Informative Speaking and Dramatic Interpretation on day one
* Poetry on day two

Junior Hannah Engel
* Persuasion on day one
* Communication Analysis on day two

Sophomore Shelby Wilds
* Communication Analysis on day one
* Extemporaneous Speaking on day two

First-year Nick Gersch
* Impromptu Speaking on day one

First-year Brady Mueller
* Poetry on day two

First-year Courtney Train
* Program Oral Interpretation on day two

The Gustavus forensics team has finished the last two seasons ranked in the top 10 in the nation, despite competing against large research universities like the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Northwestern University, and others.

For more information about the Forensics Program at Gustavus, go online to gustavus.edu/go/forensics or contact Director of Forensics Kristofer Kracht at kkracht@gustavus.edu.