April 1, 2004

Boise State Talkin' Broncos Win Another Regional Championship

The Boise State University debate and speech team won a second consecutive regional forensics championship with a dominating performance March 26-28 on the campus of Seattle University. The Talkin’ Broncos won the Tournament of the Great West Region with 231 team points, easily outdistancing second-place Lewis and Clark College’s 61 points and shattering regional records for points scored and margin of victory. The regional championship capped one of the most successful forensics seasons in school history. The 2003-04 Boise State team won three of the six tournaments they attended, finished second at two others, and third at the National Collegiate Honorary Tournament. Boise State speakers won six of the tournament’s 11 individual events, including three by Lacey Rammell-O’Brien (junior, Eagle) in Rhetorical Analysis, Impromptu Speaking and Dramatic Interpretation. Barton Jackson (freshman, Eagle) was the regional champion in Speech to Entertain, and added third-place awards in both Impromptu Speaking and Poetry Interpretation, a fourth-place in Persuasive Speaking and a fifth-place in Extemporaneous Speaking. Annah Merkley (junior, Pocatello) was first in Poetry Interpretation, second in Program Oral Interpretation and third in Persuasive Speaking. Nate Schunke (senior, Boise) claimed a regional title in Extemporaneous Speaking, a third-place trophy in Informative Speaking and a sixth-place in Persuasive Speaking. Kristin Davidson (sophomore, Winnipeg, Canada) finished second in Persuasive Speaking, third in Program Oral Interpretation, and fourth in Dramatic Interpretation. Brad Peatross (freshman, Idaho Falls) completed Boise State’s scoring with a second in Informative Speaking. The Talkin’ Bronco’s only graduating senior, team captain and out-going student body president Ali Ishaq (Boise), closed out his distinguished forensics career with a second-place finish in Rhetorical Analysis, third-place in Extemporaneous Speaking, fourth-place in Impromptu Speaking, and teamed with debate partner Merkley to finish fifth in Parliamentary Debate. In the concurrent tournament for first-year competitors, Boise State’s novice team claimed the 2004 Northwest Novice Champions Award, outscoring runner-up University of Portland 74 to 36. Boise State’s novice team won five events and swept the top three places in both novice Persuasive and Informative Speaking. The tournament's top novice speaker was Cindy Estey (senior, Boise), who won both the novice Persuasive and Informative Speaking events, and was second in novice Prose Interpretation. Jen Creechely (freshman, Boise) was the novice champion in Program Oral Interpretation, finished second in novice Informative Speaking, and along with teammate John Petti (senior, Lakewood, Calif.), place third in novice Parliamentary Debate. Petti also won novice Extemporaneous Speaking. Brienna Carico (sophomore, Caldwell) won Poetry Interpretation and finished third in Persuasive Speaking, while Michelle Bicek (senior, Boise) added a second-place finish in novice Persuasive Speaking and a third-place award in Informative Speaking. The Talkin’ Broncos will be honored at the annual Pi Kappa Delta Forensic Honorary banquet, to be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 3, in the Bishop Barnwell Room of the Student Union. Alumni and friends of the Boise State forensics program are invited to attend. Tickets are available in the Department of Communication office or by calling 426-3327. -30- Contact Marty Most Department of communication 208 426-1920 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275