The NDSU forensics team was named state champions during the North Dakota Intercollegiate Speech League/South Dakota Intercollegiate Speech League tournament Feb. 14-15. In addition to winning the team title, NDSU students received nine individual championships and took home four of the top five spots in the individual sweepstakes. NDSU and its Lincoln Speech and Debate Society hosted the event.
In the team standings, NDSU received 268 points, South Dakota State University placed second with 188 points and Northern State University placed third with 107 points.
NDSU graduate student Keith Bistodeau, director of forensics, was the main organizer of the competition. “All of them put in countless hours outside of practice and it is an honor to be their coach and watch them grow and succeed as competitors, students and citizens,” Bistodeau said, noting the team holds three practice sessions each week. “This group of students continues to shatter goals, as they always look to improve and represent the team and the university in the best way possible.”
Jeff Fricker, a senior majoring in emergency management from Fargo, placed first in the individual sweepstakes . He placed fifth in the parliamentary speaker awards, was a quarterfinalist in parliamentary debate with teammate Elisabeth Fricker, placed fourth in informative speaking , third in persuasive speaking , second in communication analysis, first in impromptu speaking , first in extemporary speaking and first in after-dinner speaking . He qualified to represent North Dakota at the Interstate Oratory Contest in April.
Kristen Fennell, a senior majoring in management communication from Fargo, took second in the individual sweepstakes. She placed second in the parliamentary speaker awards, second in parliamentary debate with teammate Mariah Spillers-Taylor, fifth in prose interpretation , third in original slam poetry, first in persuasive speaking , first in program oral interpretation , first in dramatic interpretation and first in poetry interpretation . She also qualified to represent the state at the Interstate Oratory Contest in April.
Mariah Spillers-Taylor, a freshman majoring in theatre from Milwaukee, Wis., placed fourth in the individual sweepstakes . She placed second in parliamentary debate with teammate Kristen Fennell, fifth in impromptu speaking, fourth in prose interpretation, third in program oral interpretation , third in dramatic interpretation , third in poetry interpretation and first in original slam poetry.
Elisabeth Fricker, a sophomore majoring in public history from Fargo, placed fifth in the individual sweepstakes . She was a quarterfinalist in parliamentary debate with teammate Jeff Fricker, placed seventh in extemporary speaking , sixth in program oral interpretation, fourth in persuasive speaking, second in informative speaking and first in communication analysis.
The NDSU forensics team is a member of Pi Kappa Delta, the American Forensics Association, the National Forensics Association and the National Parliamentary Debate Association.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.