The Gustavus Adolphus Forensics Team recently won first place in the state tournament at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. In addition to this achievement, the win occured with the largest margin a team has won by in the history of state competitions. The team feels a deep sense of pride as well as accomplishment having realized this goal. As First-Year Andrew Boge stated, “We all went in with the mindset to win, and we ended up competing at some of our best levels.” For them to see their hard work and preperation payoff is the best reward they could have ever desired.
Participants in forensics are judged on the criteria of their speech’s content, performance and execution, and the degree to which it is polished. Not only do you have to get dressed up during competitions; you need to make sure that you know your speech front, back, upside down, right side up and every other way you can know it. It’s a huge commitment to ride vans to numerous tournaments and dedicate time outside of class toward forensics, but the payoff seems to be worth it as many talented and well spoken Gusties continue to be involved one year after another.
As the remainder of the year approaches with new goals and aspirations, the team looks forward to the National Competition in Portland, OR at Lewis & Clark College. Obviously, this will be a far more demanding tournament where everyone will want to perform at their personal best so they may rank high. It should be evident from seeing the accomplishments of the team so far that they will rise to the challenge. With coaches Kris Kracht and Cadi Kadlecek watching over them, everyone performs well individually but also collectively like a family.
The stakes are often high, as well as the stress levels. However, much can be learned from these students in forensics as far as organizing one’s schedule, preparing for and becoming comfortable with public speaking, as well as polishing writing skills. The team is relatively young, with twelve First-years, two sophomores, five juniors and only three seniors. That leaves a lot of room for learning and fulfilling expectations for the younger members, but it appears they have good footsteps to follow in, given recent triumphs.
Kudos to the Gustavus Adolphus Forensics Team on a fantastic accomplishment.
The concept of forensics relates to that which belongs to, is used in, or is suitable in courts of judicature or to public discussion and debate. Becoming involved in society begins with being able to effectively communicate, and for those in forensics, they possess that ability in spades. Kudos to the Gustavus Adolphus Forensics Team on a fantastic accomplishment, and here’s to hoping there are many more down the road for them to feel proud of.
-Mason Kruize