AFA All the Way

Last week the team returned home from the trip to Kearney, Nebraska for the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament. We are happy to report that Andrea Durham and Terra Strong did an excellent job representing Tennessee State University at this highly competitive National Championship. Although the two of them only had 7 of the 1,524 event slots at the tournament, they earned 87.5 points for TSU - breaking down to an earned 12.5 points per event! Also, these points placed TSU 21st in Team Sweepstakes out of the 84 schools attending. Here's a full list of individual events won:

- Second Place, Program of Oral Interpretation - Terra Strong

- Third Place, Poetry Interpretation - Terra Strong

- Sixth Place, Dramatic Interpretation - Terra Strong

- Semi-Finalist, Dramatic Interpretation - Andrea Durham

The full results from the tournament can be viewed/downloaded here. We are so proud of Terra and Andrea for their three finals and one semi-final - this is a really impressive finish for any team, especially one with only two students! Also, we should mention that the AFA-NIET committee and the folks at the University of Nebraska, Kearney were excellent hosts. Although Kearney may not be our first choice for a vacation destination, the hospitality and well-run tournament made the trip truly enjoyable. Here are a few pictures from the event - I promise to be a more active photographer next tournament! Quarterfinal postings for Dramatic Interpretation - Terra and Andrea are near the bottom left.

Terra receiving her award for Third Place in Poetry Interpretation from Tournament Director Larry Schnoor.

Terra and Andrea looking lovely with their awards. In a couple of days we will be getting back on the road with the full team to attend the National Forensics Association Championship at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. The tournament web site can be viewed here. We are grateful that this drive takes half as long as the drive to Kearney, and we look forward to bringing you more good news next week!

Gearing up for Nationals

This Wednesday we begin our long pilgrimage to Kearney, Nebraska for the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Championship. This is the first in a set of three very different championships. Only team President Andrea Durham and Vice President Terra Strong will be attending the AFA-NIET. We are excited for them to attend this prestigious championship and look forward to bringing you the results.

The year 2011 has been great to the team so far. A few highlights include:

• Traveling to the HFO Mid-Year Championship at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

TSU had its best performance in our history of attending this tournament. We advanced 10 events to elimination rounds, and junior Terra Strong was named Tournament Champion in Poetry Interpretation. Additionally, Strong won Individual Sweepstakes Awards both days of the tournament - making her one of the top five speakers overall amongst several hundred competitors. Junior Andrea Durham and Senior Maximilian Cole were also finalists at this tournament.

• Once again being named the #1 Individual Events team in the state at the Tennessee Intercollegiate Forensics Association Championship Tournament in February

The team after winning the State Championship. Back row (from l-r): Derrick Johnson, Kelli Volk, Lanial Madden, Maximilian Cole; Front row: Wil Taylor, Terra Strong, Missmollie Thomas, Chanel Lake, Veronica James, Andrea Durham

In addition to the team award, TSU brought home many individual championships as well. Senior Maximilian Cole was named the #1 overall speaker in the state, and TSU captured first place in six of the eleven events.

• Presenting an original performance celebrating great black leaders at an event sponsored by Regions Bank and American Legacy Magazine. A slideshow of photos from that event as well as results from the Murray State University tournament can be found at the website for TSU's Office of Strategic Communications . If you just want to view the slide show, you can do so here.

The team and coaches after the Black History Month Event - taken by TSU Photographer John Cross.

Following the AFA-NIET, the full team will travel to Normal, Illinois for the National Forensics Association Championship. The last tournament of the year will be TSU's first appearance at the Interstate Oratorical Association Championship. The Interstate competition brings together the top two persuasive speeches from every state for the United States' oldest forensics competition. Sophomore Kelli Volk took first place in the Tennessee State Championship, and Andrea Durham took second - making them the two representatives from the State of Tennessee. We will keep you posted on all of these results...just send us warm thoughts for the long drive to Nebraska.