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News Release PROGRAM NEWS RELEASE / February 12, 2009 Talking Broncos Claim Top Spot in Individual Event Sweepstakes at Competitive Meet in St. Louis The Boise State University speech and debate team placed first in individual event sweepstakes recently at the Gorlok Gala Forensics Tournament, hosted by Webster University in St. Louis and typically one of the largest speech and debate tournaments in the nation. Boise State captured four of the top six places in pentathlon – a category designed to recognize the top overall speakers at the tournament. Aaron Olson (sophomore, Bremerton, Washington) was named the top individual speaker at the tournament. His top finish was followed closely by Kate Henry (junior, Coeur d’Alene) who was the third overall speaker, Regan Charlton (junior, Inkom) who was the fourth overall speaker, and Ben Bishop (senior, Meridian) who earned a sixth-place finish in overall speaker awards. “We as a coaching staff were very proud that each of our students contributed to our first-place finish in individual events,” said David Baily, director of forensics and an assistant professor of communication at Boise State. “We still have a lot of work to do before PKD Nationals, but this was a good start to the second half of the season.” The Talking Broncos faced tough competition from the 38 schools in attendance, including Notre Dame, the University of Oklahoma, Creighton University, Truman State University, Kansas Wesleyan University and McKendree University. “It was nice to see the level of competition we encountered,” said Randi Robinson (senior, Boise). “It should help prepare us for the rest of our season.” Charlton claimed first place in communication analysis and sixth place in program oral interpretation while Henry took second-place in program oral interpretation and in after dinner speaking. Ben Larsen (sophomore, Raft River) earned fourth place in program oral interpretation and debate partners Emil Huseynov (senior, Azerbaijan) and Larsen reached the quarterfinals of junior parliamentary debate. Duo interpretation partners Debra Groberg (freshman, Idaho Falls) and Larsen finished fifth in the event, closely followed by Henry and Erik Sande (senior, Boise) who finished sixth in the event. Improvisational pairs partners Sande and Olson took second place in that event while Dawn Gillin (senior, Lewiston) and George Fenton (freshman, Post Falls) finished fifth and sixth respectively in informative speaking – their first outing with the Talking Broncos. Olson also took sixth place in after dinner speaking and persuasive speaking, while Huseynov and Bishop took fourth and fifth place respectively in persuasive speaking. Robinson was named the top novice in dramatic interpretation and Caley Christian (freshman, Idaho Falls) was the top novice in after dinner speaking. “The Gorlok Gala was a great tournament for our team because it allowed us to experience a form of speech and debate different than what we see on a regular basis in the Northwest circuit,” said Charlton. “As a squad we were able to see where we are strong and where we need to improve. We have a new, young team but in spite of that we are able to compete with schools with older, more seasoned squads. Winning the individual events sweepstakes at the tournament was a challenging feat and a promising start to the new semester.” -30- Media Contact: Mike Journee, University Communications, (208) 426-1517, mikejournee@boisestate.edu Boise State University is “The New U Rising” with record student enrollment, new academic buildings, additional degree programs and a growing research agenda. Learn more at www.boisestate.edu.
Last reviewed on Thursday, February 12, 2009
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