This weekend the Lafayette Forensics Society divided and conquered with Ryan Monahan and Joshua Geesey attending The North East Regional Tournament at Suffolk University and the rest of the team attending The Pennsylvania State Tournament hosted by Cedar Crest College.

At the Pennsylvania State Tournament in Allentown team grabbed three state championship titles, three state finalist medals and one entry into the prestigious Interstate Oratorical Competition. The combined efforts of the attendees won the team the fourth place title in overall team sweeps.  Veteran competitor Angela Wnek claimed three individual state championships. Wnek is now the Pennsylvania State Champion in Dramatic Interpretation, Poetry and Persuasion.  Her win in Persuasion qualifies her to attend the 143rd Interstate Oratorical Association Competition, continuing Lafayette’s long tradition of qualifying a student to the contest.  This year the event will take place in Boston, Massachusetts where Wnek will compete against two qualifiers from all participating states.  Wnek also placed 5th in individual sweeps, an award indicating her overall success at the tournament.  Ryan Raesly took one of our three finalist medals, finishing 6th in the state for Extemporaneous Speaking.  Ashli Austin took another with 2nd place in Dramatic Interpretation, and Sharon Chen finished 5th place in Persuasion. First-year competitors Daniela Filip, Peter Berexa, Marybeth O’Connor and Tristan Thompson also attended the tournament.

At North East Regionals in Boston, Massachusetts the team found success with Ryan Monahan, advancing to semifinals with 4-0 preliminary record.  He was unfortunately defeated by Katie Muzzy from St. Anselm College on a two-one decision in semifinals but managed to win second place speaker. Joshua Geesey also attended the tournament and had a strong performance. He ended the day with a 2-2 prelim record.

Congratulations are in order! The momentum has certainly been built for the upcoming Novice National Tournament hosted by Lafayette College, March 10th – 12th.