Forensic Falcons Win Individual Honors at PSCFA Fall Championships

The Southeastern Illinois College Forensic Falcons earned several individual awards and the second-place team award at the 2021 Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensic Association (PSCFA) Fall Championships Dec. 4-5. The event was hosted by Moorpark College in California and included 39 colleges and universities from across the country, including teams from California, Texas, Minnesota, Kansas, Utah, and Louisiana.

This year’s PSCFA Championships were held entirely online. Team members hope to return to face-to-face competition later this year.

Coach Paul Cummins indicates SIC students performed well. “This team showed that quality is more important than quantity.”

Team member Isaiah Francis agrees. “Our team worked very hard and managed to place high, even in events that had never seen a tournament before. It was very fun being able to compete against stiff competition and get some more awards under the belt before the start of the new year.”

Each tournament serves as preparation for the 2022 Phi Rho Pi National Tournament, which the Falcons will host. The team is coached by Jenny Billman, John Corum, and Paul Cummins.

Individual results from the tournament are as follows.

D’Tre’Veouz Graham (Marion) – 1^st in open dramatic interpretation, 1^st in open duo interpretation (with partner Trey Murphy), 3^rd in open poetry interpretation

Trey Murphy (Benton) — 1^st in open duo interpretation (with partner D’Tre’Veouz Graham), 3^rd in junior prose interpretation

Haley Rice (Stonefort) –1^st in open informative, 4^th in open persuasion

Isaiah Francis (Marion) – Gold in novice IPDA debate, 5^th in open after dinner speaking, 5^th in junior extemporaneous speaking

Landon Gates (Harrisburg) – Gold in novice IPDA debate

Omari Jackson (Mt. Vernon) – 2^nd in open in poetry interpretation

Other team members include Kellen Colson (Marion), Noah Devous (Harrisburg), Ian Meshew (Harrisburg), and Jenkin Naas (Harrisburg).

The Southeastern Illinois College speech team began in 1970 under coaches Gary Allan and the late George Dennis. The team hit the top 10 nationally in the late 1970s and has placed in the top five community colleges nationwide nearly 40 times, with hundreds of individual championships. The team earned its first national title in forensics in 1986, with additional titles following in 1997, 2005 and 2021. For more information, visit www.sic.edu/ForensicFalcons or join them on social media: www.facebook.com/ForensicFalcons.

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