The Gustavus Adolphus College forensics team won its second straight Minnesota Collegiate Forensics Association State Championship on Sunday, Feb. 22. Gustavus finished with 446 points to beat out Minnesota State University, Mankato (408 points) and Concordia College, Moorhead (213 points).
Gustavus placed first in six of 13 events and placed four individuals in the top seven of the individual sweepstakes standings. First-year student Chloe Radcliffe placed first in the individual sweepstakes and senior Tasha Carlson will represent Minnesota at the 2009 Interstate Oratorical Association National Contest — the oldest speaking competition in the country — on April 25 in Oxfort, Miss.
Radcliffe is the 2009 state champion in three events after she placed first in After Dinner Speaking, Drama Interpretation, and Program Oral Interpretation. Radcliffe also placed second to her teammate Carlson in Prose Interpretation.
In addition to winning the state championship in Prose Interpretation, Carlson also won the Oratory event and took fourth place in Drama Interpretation. Carlson’s efforts earned her a seventh place finish in the individual sweepstakes.
Junior Mary Cunningham won an individual state championship in Extemporaneous Speaking and placed sixth in the individual sweepstakes. Cunningham placed third in Impromptu Speaking and also teamed with sophomore Claire Sagstuen to take second place in Parliamentary Debate.
Senior Maria Siegle won an individual state championship in Impromptu Speaking and finished in fifth place in the individual sweepstakes. Siegle took third place in Communication Analysis, fifth in Extemporaneous Speaking, and sixth in Informative Speaking.
Other Gusties who placed in multiple events included Sophomore Phil Helt, junior Christopher Hunt, and senior Kavan Rogness. Helt took home a trio of fifth place trophies in Communication Analysis, After Dinner Speaking, and Oratory. Hunt placed fourth in After Dinner Speaking, sixth in Poetry Interpretation, and along with sophomore Marie Bushnell, sixth in Dramatic Duo. Rogness took fourth place in Poetry Interpretation and fifth place in Prose Interpretation.
Other notable performances included first-year Mary Cooley’s second place finish in Minnesota Informative, Sagstuen’s second place finish in Extemporaneous Speaking, first-year Chloe Goldade’s second place finish in After Dinner Speaking, sophomore Eric Cronin’s third place finish in Minnesota Informative, and first-years Sam Hemmerich and Katie Asfeld’s third place showing in Dramatic Duo.
Important upcoming dates for the Gustavus forensics team include March 13-14 when the team hosts the District IV Qualifying Tournament for the American Forensics Association-National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET), and April 4-6 when the team will compete in the AFA-NIET at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.
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