Forensics places 7th at state
Gray H. nabs state championship
by Jordan K.
May 27, 2008
Students mingle, waiting in anticipation for the judges to post the results. A door opens and a judge emerges carrying a poster with the listed finalists. The students swarm towards the judge, hoping to catch the first glimpse and see their name on the list. Relief sweeps over them as they realize they made it to the final round of the forensics state tournament.
Three members of the Colby Forensics team experienced this feeling May 3 at the state tournament in Topeka. Gray H., so., Katelyn H., jr., and Courtney R., sr., all broke finals at state.
“I was pretty excited about making it to finals. It guaranteed me a medal,” Gray said.
“When I saw the results, I was shocked at first and then just amazed,” Katelyn said.
“I was really, really happy/ relieved because making it was my goal. I made it to the semi-finals last year, and I really wanted to break finals this year,” Courtney said.
After qualifying for finals, the next challenge is to place as high as possible. Gray won first with his interpretation of Langston Hughes poetry. Courtney placed second in prose and Katelyn was sixth in serious solo acting.
“Gray and Courtney have a lot of natural talent and great work ethic. They worked really hard to perfect their pieces,” Co-Head Coach Nancy Rundel said.
A forensics team is allowed to take 16 individuals to the state meet. This year, CHS Forensics actually qualified a full team for the first time in the program’s history and placed seventh as a team.
“I’m excited that, for the first time, we can compete as a team as well as individuals,” Co- Head Coach Amber Fairbrother said.
Considering this is a first for Colby Forensics, one might ask what brought this success. According to Assistant Coach Camille Giersch, the students set specific goals and worked hard to achieve them. The team support in their successes was also very beneficial. Agreeing with Giersch, Rundel thought the goal setting really helped. She also said that everyone tried harder to work as a team more than as individuals. At each tournament, the team balanced their entries to have a broader success as well as bringing along senior mentors who couldn’t participate.
“The whole working as a team and setting goals as well as individual commitment to the team really made the difference,” Rundel said.
“The goal setting was really helpful. We worked well last year, and this year we picked the right pieces and it was our time,” Giersch said.
State forensics differs from other state competitions. Instead of just one state event, there are two. The first and higher level is called State Champs. Competitors at this event participate in three rounds. If they are at the top, they move on to semi-finals and then to finals.
Two forensics members also attended State Festival in Kansas City, which is similar to a music festival. They received 1-4 ratings instead of having rounds and finals.
Grace H., fr., went to Festival with oral interpretation of poetry, receiving a one rating, which is the highest. Along with Grace, Amanda B., fr., performed her oral interpretation of prose piece, receiving the second highest rating, a two.
This isn’t the only success the team has seen, though. Throughout their season, they have placed either first or second at six of their nine tournaments.
“We worked well as a team this year and had a lot of team unity, which led to our success,” Fairbrother said.
“It was the best year so far for Colby Forensics and I was proud to be a part of this team,” senior Curtis F. said.
State Champs Qualifiers
Oral Interpretation of Prose- Curtis F.; Katie S.,; Courtney R.
Oral Interpretation of Poetry- Gray H.; Audra F.
Serious Solo Acting- Katelyn H.; Porscha S.
Humorous Solo Acting- Danni B.
Informative Speaking- Bailey K.; Seth B.
Original Oration- Kayla S.; Rachel L.
Extemporaneous Speaking- Katelyn H.; Rachel L.; Courtney R.
Improvised Duet Acting- Gray H. and Gunner G.;, Paige P. and Danni B.
Duet Acting- Katie S. and Paige P.; Curtis F. and Porscha S.
