Eastern Michigan University's Forensics team may be experiencing
a case of déjà vu. For the second consecutive
year, EMU finished ninth after their performance at the
National Forensic Association's National Championship April
16-20 at Missouri State University, which co-hosted the
event with Drury University.
And like last year, Western Kentucky University emerged
as champions (656 points) with Bradley University holding
on to its runner-up status (458 points). Eastern Michigan
scored 198.5 points.
 |
KEEPING THE STREAK:
The Forensics team
placed
ninth, keeping its streak
alive as the only
university
to have placed in the top 10
at nationals
for 39
consecutive years and have
at least one
student
participate in a
championship final round.
Here, senior Doug Crandall
competes in the semifinal
round in persuasive
speaking. |
"I thought we'd do a little better," said Ray Quiel, who
was hopeful his young squad of freshmen and sophomores
last year would move up in the standings with a year of
maturity. "I'm
particularly proud that every senior, of which there were
four, made a top 20 finish. That's pretty darn good."
This year, Chris Blackford, a senior from Evansville,
and Mike Schafer, a sophomore from Grand Rapids, competed
in a championship final round. Schafer placed third in
the rhetorical criticism finals and Blackford finished
sixth in the prose finals.
The team also had two members place as semifinalists and
two as quarterfinalists. Semifinalists included Omar
Orme,
a sophomore from Holt, impromptu speaking; and Doug
Crandall,
a senior from Battle Creek, persuasive speaking. Quarterfinalists
included Crandall, extemporaneous; Nick
Burden, a senior
from Fenton, and Marcus Coleman, a freshman from Grand
Rapids, impromptu speaking; and Thom
Munger, a senior from
Lansing, rhetorical criticism.
The EMU Forensics team is still the only team to place
in the top 10 nationally for 39 consecutive years and have
at least one student participate in a championship final
round.
"No other school has done that. By that standard, I'm
happy," Quiel said.
After Western Kentucky and Bradley, top 10 scores were:
the University of Texas, 403.5; Illinois State University,
370; Northwestern University, 286; Cal State University-Long
Beach, 270; Ohio University 263.5; St. Joseph's University,
219.5; EMU, 198.5; and the University of Wisconsin Eau
Claire, 195.5.
To gain some pre-national competition experience, some
team members participated at the Forensic Association National
Individual Events Tournament (FA-NIET), which took place
at the University of Akron April 3-6.
There, Orme placed third in extemporaneous speaking; Schafer
made the quarterfinals for rhetorical criticism; and Crandall
qualified for the semifinals in rhetorical criticism and
the quarterfinals in extemporaneous speaking.
"We took three students down there to showcase what we
do before nationals," Quiel said. — Ron
Podell contributed to this report.
