CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University’s Forensics (speech and debate) Team attended the Viking Invitational Forensics Tournament at Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., on Jan. 25-27, 2017.
The tournament, which draws national-level competition to the Northwest, featured over a dozen schools, including: Carroll College, Helena, Mont.; Whitworth University, Spokane, Wash., and Willamette University, Salem. The invitational, the third designated tournament of the season for the Northwest Forensics Conference (NFC), featured hundreds of individual event and debate entries.
Senior Kaden Meyers, a Political Science major from Sandy, led off the wins. He took first place and was fourth best speaker in Open IPDA Debate, as well as a finalist in Open Extemporaneous Speaking. He also competed in Open Impromptu Speaking. Senior Jocelyn Conroy, a Chemistry Major from Omaha, Neb., was third best speaker in Junior IPDA Debate. She also competed in Junior Impromptu Speaking. Freshman Brandy Quach, a pre-Engineering student from Portland, was a finalist in Novice Impromptu Speaking. She also competed in Novice IPDA Debate.
“This is exactly the type of result I enjoy: graduating seniors and a talented freshman doing well at a competitive tournament,” said Mark Porrovecchio, director of the team. “The team couldn’t be happier with their performances.”
Joining Meyers, Conroy, and Quach were Suhas Shastry of Shimoga, India, a graduate student studying statistics, who competed in Novice Impromptu Speaking and Novice IPDA Debate; Junior Victoria Elligsen, a History/Anthropology major from Nehalem, who competed in Novice Impromptu Speaking and Novice IPDA Debate; and Freshmen Kaitlyn Blake, a Management major from Walnut Creek, Calif., who competed in Novice Impromptu Speaking.
“We still have several great tournaments left this season,” Porrovecchio continued. “I’m sure that this experience will benefit all of the students.”
The team was coached by graduate assistant Evan Steele of Concord, Calif. Steele is a MAIS student in the Speech Communication area of the School of Arts and Communication.
Celebrating its 126th season, OSU Forensics is one of the oldest clubs on campus and a member of the Performing Arts Board in the School of Arts and Communication. The team is open to all students in good academic standing regardless of experience or academic background. If you are a student interested in participating, or a member of the community who would like to support the team, please contact Porrovecchio at mark.porrovecchio@oregonstate.edu.
CONTACT:
Mark Porrovecchio
205 Shepard Hall`
737-8230
Pictured: (front, l-r) Victoria Elligsen, Brandy Quach, Kaitlyn Blake; (back, l-r) Suhas Shastry, Kaden Meyers, and Jocelyn Conroy.