Forensics charging toward Nationals |
| Posted by Administrator on Feb 18 2009 at 3:07 PM |
Photo by Cody Riedel
UNK Forensics team: (front row, from left) Asst. Coach Kenny Hopkinson, Asst. Coach Amanda Young, Allison Henri, a sophomore organizational communication major from Bellevue, Coach Rachelle Kamrath, (back row, from left) Grant Campbell, a senior English education major from Tecumseh, Cassie Larreau, a freshman business administration major from Kearney, Brandon Pettigrew, a senior political science major from Kearney, Brock Ingmire, a freshman speech communication major from Manhattan, Kan., Robert Friedman, a freshman accounting major from Plattsmouth.
By Sara Quisenberry
Antelope Staff
Forensics Nationals will take place at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, April 1-7, and UNK has qualified impressively for 13 events- a new record for the team. This year also marks the first year that every member of the team had qualified for the national tournament by January.
The path to this level of Nationals is, however, long and challenging.
It's not an occasional or "sometimes" commitment. It's a lifestyle.
That lifestyle is known as the world of college speech. The members of the UNK Forensics team are positive proof that through making college speech a lifestyle, great success can come from hard work.
"Because college speech is a lifestyle, it takes a strong person with a will to succeed, survive the criticism of judges and endure an exhausting travel schedule to be a part of the team," said Rachelle Kamrath, Director of Forensics.
An "exhausting travel schedule" is a bit of an understatement. The Forensics team starts their season in July with a retreat and has their first meet in September. The season includes 16 weekends of travel and lasts until the national competition which takes place in April.
UNK has strong talent in freshman Brock Ingmire, Manhattan, Kan., who will be making his first appearance at the national tournament in four events. Fellow freshmen Robert Friedman, Plattsmouth, and Cassie Larreau, Kearney, will each be participating in one event. Sophomore Allison Henri, Bellevue, will participate in four events. Seniors Grant Campbell, Tecumseh, and Brandon Pettigrew, Kearney, are each participating in two events. Pettigrew is also a nominee for the American Forensics Association All-American Team this year. UNK has shown strong performances from all members of the team this year.
During the weekend of Feb. 7, the team showed their dynamic abilities with a third place finish behind Kansas State and the University of Texas.
Kamrath gives high praise to the students for their constant hard work and dedication, but she also commends her assistant coaches Amanda Young and Kenny Hopkinson.
"Their hard work and creativity are fantastic, and I don't know what I would do without them. They have a passion for this activity and enable our teams' creativity more than I could do alone. Amanda and Kenny breathe life into our competitive speeches and interpretation pieces," Kamrath said.
Kamrath says one thing she always tells the competitors before taking stage is, "When you approach the front of the room to give a speech, you take the rest of UNK with you. So represent our school well."
The UNK Forensics Team has done just that so far and continues to climb the ladder of success towards the top.
Kamrath is hoping for the number of qualifications to double with the tournaments left this season before Nationals.
