Pokes finally get a chance to breathe after a quick start to the year

It's a new year for the McNeese State University speech and debate team!  That means some new faces and a lot of new events.  The Pokes wasted no team in the Fall of 2016, getting off to a quick start with tournaments on three consecutive weekends.

The team began on the weekend of Septermber 17-18 with the Hill Country Swing on the campus of Texas State university in San Marcos, TX.  This year's tourney welcomed McNeese competitor Zach Monroe back to competition, and saw the forensics debut of McNeese's Ryan Tibbitts.

The following weekend, the team traveled to Houston for the Rice University Classic.  Returning McNeese competitors included Ali Mason and Ana Correa.

The team ended the first leg of fall travel by heading east to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA for the Virginia is for Lovers swing.  Team president Crystal Leday returned to competition during this tournament, which took place on October 1-2.

McNeese received its first trophies of the year in Virginia.  The Saturday portion of the tournament saw Ali Mason take 6th and Crystal Leday take 5th in Program Oral Interpretation (POI).  During the Sunday half, the two placed 3rd and 2nd respectively.  Mason added a 7th place finish in Communication Analysis.  As a team, McNeese placed 5th for combined scores over the course of both days' tournaments.

After fall break, the team will return to competition with the For the Sake of Argument Swing on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX.

McNeese heads to Bama for the Crimson Classic

On the weekend of October 17-18, the McNeese forensics team competed at the University of Alabama's Crimson Classic.  The tournament featured two days of individual events competition and some very strong schools were in attendance.  Needless to say, the competition was fierce.

The team welcomed Junior competitor Christian Jones to his first weekend of collegiate competition.  Jones competed in Imprmoptu Speaking and Prose Interpretation.

For each half of the swing, Freshman competitor Dimokritos Chatziaslanis was named the Top Novice in Persuasive Speaking, claiming his first collegiate trophies.

This week, the team will be preparing for a trip to Houston, TX during the weekend of October 23-25.  They will compete at the Bayou City Swing at San Jacinto College.  More updates to follow!

ROLL TIDE!

Pokes return to forensics competition

Hello again from the Mcneese State University Forensics Team!  Another school year is already well underway and that means a new speech season as well.  McNeese has already traveled to two competitions this semester and there will be more to come.  But first, an update on how the first two competitions went.

On the weekend of September 6-7, a small portion of the McNeese squad traveled to the 3rd Annual Rice University Classic at Rice University in Houston, TX.  The team saw junior competitor and team president Crystal Leday return to forensics competition.  McNeese also welcomed freshman competitor Ali Mason to her first rounds of collegiate speech.

The following weekend, from October 3-4, the team traveled to Fort Worth, TX to participate in the For the Sake of Argument Swing hosted on Texas Christian University's campus.  It was from this tournament that the team brought home their first pieces of hardware for the season!

On the Saturday half of the swing, senior competitor and team vice president Tryfon Boukouvidis earned 2nd place and Top Novice in Prose Interpretation, qualifying him for the NFA National Tournament at his first collegiate competition.  Also on saturday, senior competitor and team secretary Kyla Standley earned 6th place in Poetry interpretation.  The team also welcomed freshman Dimokritos Chatziaslanis to collegiate competition.

The Sunday half of the tournament saw even more success from the Pokes.  Boukouvidis placed 5th in prose Interpretation and Standley placed 3rd in Poetry Interpretation, qualifying her for the NFA National Tournament.  Chatziaslanis also had success in Impromptu Speaking earning key points for the team.  Their collective effort resulted in a 5th place finish for the team in Combined Individual Events Team Sweepstakes for the weekend.

The team will have a well-deserved weekend off this weekend, but will be back in full force from October 17-18 in Tuscaloosa, AL.  See you then!

McNeese closes competitive season in Ohio

The McNeese State University forensics team traveled to their last tournament of the season, the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament and Convention at Ohio University in Athens, OH.  The tournament offered the standard individual events that the students compete in all season, as well as myriad experimental events, such as Broudcast Journalism, Interviewing, and Discussion.  The Pokes took six students, all entered in multiple events, and they returned with some hardware.

Senior A'renica Mumford earned ratings of "Good" (top 60% in the nation) in Impromptu Speaking and Extemporaneous Speaking, as well as an "Excellent" rating (top 30%) in the Interviewing event.

Sophomore Crystal Leday earned an "Excellent" rating in the Broadcast Journalism event.

Other students in attendence included seniors Morgan Authement and Cy Vidrine, sophomore Ty Newcomb, and freshman Bree Lee.

Director of Forensics Robert Markstrom, Assistant Director of Forensics Christopher Hunt, and all of the McNeese forensics students thank you for following us all season.  We will begin anew in August and we are certainly looking forward to it!  Please join us again next year!

Parliamentary prowess pushes partners to semi-finals

Last weekend, the McNeese State University speech and debate team attended the Speech Nowhere Near the Beach tournament hosted by Praireview A&M University in Prairieview, TX.  The tournament featured parlimentary debate as well as the 11 AFA individual events.

Friday's debate preliminary rounds saw the McNeese pairing of seniors Morgan Authtement and A'renica Mumford go 4-1, earning them a slot in the semifinal round.  Their wins and speaking abilities also earned McNeese a 3rd place finish in Debate Team Sweepstakes.

The team will have a short week off followed by the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament and Convention during the first weekend of March.  A variety of events and a large number of schools will produce fierce competition.  Until next time!