Speech Competitors Place at National Tournament

Apr 06, 2010

NIETConcordia College speech competitors placed 18th in the overall school competition at the American Forensic Association’s National Individual Events tournament hosted April 2-4 by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The Concordia effort was spearheaded by four students who won individual awards.  Juniors Stephanie Villella, Fargo, N.D., and Jennifer Pagh, Apple Valley, Minn., and sophomores Andrew Eilola, Eveleth, Minn., and Alexander MacArthur, Marshall, Minn., all made the cut from the guaranteed preliminary round competition to single elimination finals. Villella reached the quarter-finals of the Program Oral Interpretation event while Pagh reached the quarter-finals of dramatic interpretation. Their quarter-final finish placed them among the top 24 competitors in the tournament. Eilola and MacArthur both advanced beyond the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, placing among the top 12 individuals in the nation. Eilola’s semi-final finish came in Informative Speaking and MacArthur’s semi-final event was dramatic interpretation.

Additional Concordia students who qualified for the national tournament were freshmen Meg Henrickson, Yankton, S.D.; Cole Kantos, Wapaca, Wis.; Jenna Nypan, Cushing, Minn.; sophomores Justin Bertram, Milaca, Minn.; Tyler Dugger, Billings, Mont.; April Reino, Shakopee, Minn.; and juniors Kelsey Raasch, Morris, Minn.; Jessica Strending, Great Falls, Mont.; and Emeline Then, St. Cloud, Minn.

“This award is a testament to the work of all our speech competitors” says Concordia director of Forensics, Fred Sternhagen, “the overall school award is determined from the combined performance by all of a school’s competitors—not just a school’s top finishers. This finish is a tremendous accomplishment by a young group of competitors.”

A total of 76 institutions qualified students for the national tournament. The top five places at the tournament were taken by Bradley University, Peoria, Ill.; Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Ky.; Illinois State University, Normal, Ill.; George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.; and the University of Texas-Austin.

Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students