TSU is the #1 Forensics Team in the State of Tennessee!

The TSU Forensics Team just returned from the Tennessee Intercollegiate Forensics Association State Championship at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee, and we are happy to say that we took First Place as a team, and had four of the top six overall individual speakers. Terra Strong placed first in Pentathlon, Andrea Durham placed second. The team won a total of 31 awards at the tournament including 7 first place awards. Also, TSU won every interpretation event (Poetry, Dramatic, Prose, Duo and Program of Interpretation) and had three of the tournament's Top Novices.

Pictured (from l-r): front row - Veronica James, Lanial Madden, Maximilian Cole, Chanel Lake, Khi Gilkey; middle row - Marlon Lipscomb, Byron Harvey, Kelli Volk, Terra Strong, Andrea Durham, Derrick Johnson, Carissa Paul; back row - Terrance Kendrick, Randy Taylor, Ashley Bishop, Wil Taylor, Austin Ashford, Dominique Nance

Full results:

First Place, Team Sweepstakes - Team: Tennessee State University

First Place, Pentathlon Speaking - Student: Terra Strong

First Place, Poetry Interpretation - Student: Terra Strong

First Place, Program of Oral Interpretation - Student: Maximilian Cole

First Place, Duo Interpretation - Students: Andrea Durham and Terra Strong

First Place, Dramatic Interpretation - Student: Ashley Bishop

First Place, Prose Interpretation - Student: Austin Ashford

Second Place, Pentathlon Speaking - Student: Andrea Durham

Second Place, Program of Oral Interpretation - Student: Andrea Durham

Second Place, After Dinner Speaking - Student: Kelli Volk

Second Place, Impromptu Speaking - Student: Derrick Johnson

Second Place, Informative Speaking - Student: Lanial Madden

Second Place, Dramatic Interpretation - Student: Byron Harvey

Third Place, Rhetorical Criticism - Student: Terra Strong

Third Place, Poetry Interpretation - Student: Wil Taylor

Third Place, Informative Speaking - Student: Veronica James

Third Place, Dramatic Interpretation - Student: Wil Taylor

Third Place, After Dinner Speaking - Student: Derrick Johnson

Fourth Place, Duo Interpretation - Students: Terra Strong and Randy Taylor

Fourth Place, Impromptu Speaking - Student: Maximilian Cole

Fourth Place, After Dinner Speaking - Student: Veronica James

Fourth Place, Poetry Interpretation - Student: Wil Taylor

Fifth Place, Pentathlon Speaking - Student: Maximilian Cole

Fifth Place, Program of Oral Interpretation - Student: Lanial Madden

Fifth Place, Dramatic Interpretation - Student: Khi Gilkey

Sixth Place, Pentathlon Speaking - Student: Lanial Madden

Sixth Place, Duo Interpretation - Students: Lanial Madden and Derrick Johnson

Sixth Place, Persuasive Speaking - Student: Khi Gilkey

Semi-Finals, Impromptu Speaking - Student: Byron Harvey

Top Novice, After Dinner Speaking - Student: Kelli Volk

Top Novice, Prose Interpretation - Student: Austin Ashford

Top Novice, Dramatic Interpretation - Student: Ashley Bishop

We will be taking some time off from traveling and competing to prepare for the National Championships in April, and to work on community presentations. Because 2010 is the 50th anniversary of the Nashville Sit-ins, we will be involved in helping Nashville celebrate this movement. Recently, we performed "We sat down, so we could stand for the solution: The Nashville Sit-in movement" at the 29th Annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture, and we will be representing TSU at another event later this week.