COD Speech Students Earn Medals at Regional Tournament
The College of DuPage Forensics Team continued its winning ways as students earned gold, silver and bronze medals at the Phi Rho Pi Regional Tournament.
Students also took home awards during the recent Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament. Both prestigious tournaments came after the team placed third at the Illinois Intercollegiate Forensics Association State Tournament earlier in March.
The following COD students earned medals at the Phi Rho Pi Regional Tournament:
Zoya Khan (Aurora)
Gold, Reader's Theater (with partners Thea Klinker and Shannon Linares)
Thea Klinker (Downers Grove)
Gold, Reader's Theater (with partners Zoya Khan and Shannon Linares)
Bronze, Communication Analysis
Thinh Lam (Naperville)
Bronze, Informative Speaking
Bronze, Persuasive Speaking
Shannon Linares (Downers Grove)
Gold, Reader's Theater (with partners Thea Klinker and Zoya Khan)
Silver, Persuasive Speaking
Patty Schwarts (Wheaton)
Silver, Speech to Entertain
The team was accompanied to the tournament by coach and full-time Speech faculty member Jude Geiger.
The Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament is one of the oldest national speech and debate tournaments in the U.S., attracting students from both two-year and four-year colleges and universities to compete in more than 1,500 individual events and debates in competition. Students qualify for octafinal, quarterfinal, semifinal and/or national final rounds, and students who do not qualify for final rounds may earn excellence awards.
The following students earned awards:
Harry Bodell (Bolingbrook)
Sixth Place, Extemporaneous Speaking
Quarterfinalist, Communication Analysis
Quarterfinalist, Improvisational Pairs (with partner Ben Elliott)
Ben Elliott (Carol Stream)
Quarterfinalist, Improvisational Pairs (with partner Harry Bodell)
Octafinalist, Novice Parliamentary Debate (with partner James Peterson)
James Peterson (Carol Stream)
Excellence Award, Extemporaneous Speaking
Quarterfinalist, Impromptu Speaking
Octafinalist, Novice Parliamentary Debate (with partner Ben Elliott)
Joe Vitone (Wheaton)
Excellence Award, Impromptu Speaking
The team was also joined by Carolyn Clarke (Glen Ellyn) and accompanied by Director of Forensics and full-time Speech faculty member Lauren Morgan. Other coaches include full-time Speech faculty member Mia Poston and alumni Melissa Gomez and Matt Beifuss.
The College of DuPage Forensics Team will finish its season at the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in April. For more information about the Forensics team, contact Morgan at morgan@cod.edu.