BGSU Falcon Forensics Team Beats Harvard

October 29, 2013

(October 25-26, 2013) The Falcon Forensics Team continued their successful season with a first place team finish at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, topping Harvard University and 9 other teams by over 120 points. Among the challengers were George Mason University, Suffolk University, Emerson College, the University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette University, St. Anselm College, Bridgewater State University, Cornell University and Harvard University. BGSU took a team of 15 students, with a combined total of 62 events (speeches and interpretive performances).  Of these 62 entries, the Falcons brought home finalist placements in 37 events, their highest success rate of the season.

Leading the Falcons to victory were Jamie Salazar (Junior, Texas), Spencer Coile (Junior, Illinois), Gilbert Bauman-Flores (Sophomore, Texas) and Evan Kelly (Freshman, Illinois) with four finals placements each. Each BGSU team member placed at least one event in final rounds and each event had at least two Falcons earning placement within the top 6 at the tournament.  Top placements included first place championship finishes from Evan Kelly in Impromptu Speaking, Alexis Martinez (Junior, Texas) in Persuasive Speaking, Gilbert Bauman Flores in Poetry Interpretation, Arrielle Hudgies (Senior, Ohio) in Dramatic Interpretation, Tricia Kushen (Freshman, Ohio) in Prose Interpretation, Gilbert Bauman-Flores & Arrielle Hudgies in Duo Interpretation and Rebecca Barth (Junior, Ohio) in Programmed Oral Interpretation. In forensics competition, the top 6 speakers per event receive awards, and in both Prose Interpretation and Dramatic Interpretation 5 of the top 6 speakers were from BGSU. In addition, the top 6 speakers qualify for national competition which takes place in April at host school, Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This weekend, the Falcons qualified 37 events for nationals, bringing their total to 63 events qualified, placing BGSU among the top 10 teams in the nation, the equivalent of a basketball team making the sweet 16. The national championships are a huge honor, with over 100 universities qualifying and an additional 300 participating in invitational tournaments on the way to the championships.

“It is always an exceptional educational experience to challenge BGSU students up against some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the nation, and to emerge victorious. I am very proud of each team member for stepping up to this challenge.” Said Alday.  Individual student placements include:

Individual Events

Team Sweepstakes

1^st place                    Team Sweepstakes Award                                                                                           BGSU

“It is truly humbling to see the dedication and skill of these students.” said Alday.  In order to qualify for national competition, teams must participate in a series of tournaments starting in mid-September and lasting through early March, where students vie for final rankings that place them in the final rounds, earning their nationals qualification.  “This is particularly rewarding as 10 of the students representing BGSU are new recruits to the institution, starting their first year with the team.” said Alday. The team is headed next to the University of Michigan before hosting their homecoming tournament on November 16 and 17 on the main campus.

Forensics and Debate is a co-curricular, competitive program offered through the School of Media and Communication and Department of Communication, offering BGSU undergraduate students the opportunity to hone their communication and performance skills in competition with other colleges and universities from around the nation and globe.  For more information about forensics, speech or debate, please contact 372-8856 or BGSU4N6@ Yahoo.com.