Speech and Debate boasts two state champions Ethen Herrington TNE Writer

Courtesy Photo NSU's Speech and Debate team presents their awards from the state tournament. In addition to many awards, two members walked away state champions. The NSU Speech and Debate team participated in state and came away with more than just experience. The state tournament was held at Oklahoma City University. Although the team is small, with three undergraduate students and one graduate student, they achieved success.

"We took first place in Oklahoma Individual Events and third place overall in Individual Events," said Dr. Kristopher Copeland, director of Speech and Debate. "I couldn't be more proud." The team also took second place in both readers theatre and quality division. In the quality division, the outcome is determined by the number of events in which a team advanced to the finals divided by the number of events a team enters. Kendrea James, Oologah senior, won state in the prose event and took second in program of oral interp. Anthony Woodall, Broken Arrow sophomore, won state in extemporaneous speaking and third place in persuasive speech. He also won the Pentath award. This award is given to the highest scoring individual who entered at least five events. "The program at NSU isn't very debate heavy, said James. We're more individual events, which I think is the most fun." The tournament lasted two days and was one of the last competitions of the year for the team. "The team has done incredibly well this year," said Shawna Blake, Redland graduate student. "Were a very small team with only a few people. Our team values quality over quantity." The team continues to recruit new members and encourages students to audition. "It is a really great activity for anyone that is looking to develop or polish their speaking skills," said Copeland. "This activity promotes individual growth while fostering teamwork at competitions." For more information, email Copeland at copela03@nsuok.edu. Published 3/14/13 Photo cutline: The Speech team shows off their hardware from the state tournament. The team took home 2nd place in the quality division and two members are state champions.