Forensics competed in Smith Center last Thursday. Senior Ben Rajewski was the only one to have qualified for state competition. Not only did Rajewski qualify once, but he double qualified under the categories of Extemporaneous Speech and Impromptu Speech. Other members of the team made it to finals but in the end did not make the cut.

Finalists in the tournament are listed below:

Junior Jared Thom and senior Quin Brungardt took fifth in a duet. Thom also took sixth in Improvised Duet Acting (IDA) with senior Sarah Rooney. Sophomore Anniston Weber took fifth with her dramatic solo, sophomore Mkilar Otte took sixth in impromptu, seniors Keenan Rohlf and Rance Rumbaugh took seventh in IDA and junior Rachel Nansel took 5^th in poetry.

“Everyone learned about their mistakes that they made from the judges, or just things that they could improve on,” said Thom. “We can focus on these little blemishes in our performances to help make the overall performance better. This will help determine first over second, and that’s a huge deal.”

Competitors like Nansel strive to be the best they can, while others like Thom strive for the entertainment factors of it.

“I get so excited to just participate,” said Thom. “So I’m very happy for how the tournament played out. We had so many people make finals even though it was their first or second tournament. It’s just a great experience.”

17mcrees@usd489.com