October 6, 2003

Boise State's Talkin' Broncos Win CSI Forensics Tournament

The Boise State debate and speech team scored a tournament-record 179 points to win the College of Southern Idaho Forensics Tournament held Sept. 26-27 in Twin Falls, Idaho. The Talkin’ Broncos swept five of the top six places in debate and won five of the eleven speech events to dominate a field of colleges from Idaho, Montana, Utah and Oregon. Boise Sate has won five of the last six CSI tournament championships, including three in a row. The tournament preceded the tragic bus crash that injured several debate team members and killed the driver, 49-year-old Steven McNutt of Boise. The accident occurred on I-84 near Mountain Home as the team was returning to Boise. Three Boise State debate teams tied for top honors in Open Division Debate: Chace Mickelson (freshman, Pocatello) and Lacey Rammell-O’Brien (junior, Boise) Barton Jackson (freshman, Eagle) and Annah Merkley (junior, Pocatello) Dan Breczinski (junior, Coeur d’Alene) and Ali Ishaq (senior, Boise) Two other Boise State teams tied for fifth in Open Division Debate: Brad Peatross (freshman, Idaho Falls) and Rachel Webb (senior, Twin Falls) Amanda Reed (sophomore, Idaho Falls) and Nate Schunke (junior, Boise) Boise State also swept the top two places in Novice Division Debate: Cindy Estey (senior, Boise) and Katherine Pate (senior, Ketchum), first Sheila Dalley (freshman, Boise) and Melody Moehlmann (senior, Boise), second. Team captains Nancy Henke (senior, Boise) and Rammell-O’Brien both won two speech events to lead Boise State’s domination of the speech competition. Henke won Persuasive Speaking and Informative Speaking and added a third-place award in Program Oral Interpretation. Rammell-O’Brien won Impromptu Speaking and Dramatic Interpretation, and finished second in both Rhetorical Analysis and Prose Interpretation. The Talkin’ Broncos other multiple-award winner in speech was Webb, who placed fourth in Impromptu Speaking and sixth in Informative Speaking. Jackson added a first place in Extemporaneous Speaking and Schunke tied with teammate Hannah Bankhead (senior, Indian Valley) for second place in Persuasive Speaking. Rounding out the scoring for Boise State were Ishaq, fourth place in Extemporaneous Speaking; and Hillary Davidson (sophomore, Spokane), who placed fifth in Informative Speaking. The Talkin’ Broncos are tentatively scheduled to attend the Pacific University Forensics Tournament in Forest Grove, Ore. Oct. 24-26. -30- Contact Marty Most Department of communication 208 426-1920 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275