Continuing to blaze a trail towards oratory excellence, Ball State University's speech team won its 7th state championship in the last 8 years Saturday in Indianapolis.
Competing at Butler University on Saturday, Ball State's speech team emerged victorious at the 29th annual Indiana State Individual Events Association state tournament. Placing in 34 events and winning 5 state titles, the team defeated competitors from Notre Dame, IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis – just to name a few.
Mary Moore, director of individual programs, is proud of the team and their accomplishments at this year's state competition.
"This is one of our goals every year," Moore said. "We like to be the strongest team in the state."
Winning the tournament with 246 points, the team achieved a different goal of winning not only confidently, but decidedly as well, said Moore.
Having won the championship 7 times in the last 8 years, Moore stresses the significance and importance of these accomplishments.
"It really energizes the team," Moore said, "and I also think it provides a way for them to quantify their work in a way that outsiders can understand."
According to Moore, the time that students spend preparing an award-winning speech for competition is comparable to the amount of time that a graduate student spends working on a thesis.
Students on the team begin working on their performances during the first week of classes and spend the rest of the year modifying and perfecting their materials.
Ashley Coker, assistant director for individual programs, said accomplishments such as this are important to the building of the team.
"Ball State has a reputation for expecting excellence out of its speech and debate teams, so I think a state championship means a whole lot," Coker said. "I think it makes a statement about the hard work we've put in and about out commitment to the program."
Coker emphasizes how important involvement in the program is for students.
"They learn to become better speakers, but more importantly they learn to become better citizens and better thinkers," Coker said. "I think that's the loftier goal."
Travelling most weekends for competitions, Coker said the students on the team build a community-like relationship, which makes the significance of winning a competition that much more important.
"We won individual events," Coker said, "but as a team we took a championship which I think is perhaps more important."
Senior psychology major Michelle Colpean placed second in Impromptu Speaking, fourth in Persuasive Speaking and sixth in Dramatic Interpretation.
"It feels awesome," Colpean said. "It's a culmination of what I've been working up to for the last four years and what my team has been working up to all year long. It's a really good stepping stone before we go to nationals in April."
Placing third in Prose Interpretation and fifth in Duo Interpretation, junior journalism major Kate Roesch said prior to the state competition, the team logged approximately three hundred hours of practice before the big event.
"I'm really proud of my team," Roesch said. "I know that we are building this team up to be really great."
The team will compete at the National Forensic Association Tournament at Ohio University in April.
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