Southeastern Illinois College’s Forensic Falcons speech team claimed top honors at last weekend’s Fright Fest invitational hosted by Illinois Central College in Peoria, Illinois – the first tournament of their competitive season.
SIC advanced 80 percent of their competition entries to elimination rounds, which is a significant accomplishment for any speech team. Every competing Forensic Falcon team member advanced at least one event into the final round of competition. SIC brought home seven event championships and overwhelmingly won team sweepstakes, besting the second place team, Harper College, by 114 points. Eleven schools were in attendance at the tournament.
SIC director of forensics, Paul Cummins remarks, “We couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to our season. This team has a great deal of potential and I can’t wait to see what they will achieve all year long.”
The team is also coached by Jenny Billman and Dr. Tyler Billman.
Individual results from the tournament are as follows:
Preston Boone (Harrisburg): tournament champion in poetry interpretation, tournament champion in program oral interpretation, and tournament champion in duo interpretation (with partner Gabe Motsinger).
Cassidy Maynard (Harrisburg): tournament champion in informative speaking and tournament champion in communication analysis.
Adam Wasson (Herod): tournament champion in dramatic interpretation and second place in duo interpretation (with partner Caleb Abbott).
Gabe Motsinger (Carrier Mills): tournament champion in duo interpretation (with partner Preston Boone) and third place in poetry interpretation.
Alli Haley (Carmi): tournament champion in prose interpretation and fourth place in dramatic interpretation.
Caleb Abbott (Benton): second place in communication analysis and second place in duo interpretation (with partner Adam Wasson).
Haley Rushing (Marion): second place in persuasive speaking and fourth place in communication analysis.
Cassandra Watkins (Harrisburg): second place in informative speaking and fifth place in impromptu speaking.
Carrice McDaniel (Harrisburg): third place in informative speaking and third place in communication analysis.
Britta Suits (Broughton): second place in extemporaneous speaking.
Zeb Sanderson (Carrier Mills): second place in prose interpretation.
Shay Wood (Shawneetown): third place in prose interpretation.
Brooklyn Beckham (Eldorado): sixth place in informative speaking.
The SIC Forensic Falcons are no strangers to success. The team started with debate in 1970, made its first appearance at the national tournament in 1973 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The team has been racking up trophies ever since against schools with talent pools four or five times larger. SIC’s forensics team hit the top 10 in the late 1970s and earned its first national title in forensics in 1986, with additional titles following in 1997 and 2005. The Forensic Falcons have landed in the national top five of team rankings for 25 of the last 26 years, with dozens upon dozens of individual championships.
For additional information about the SIC Forensic Falcons, contact director Paul Cummins at 618-252-5400 x2234.
