Jacob Jardel
Managing Editor
@JJardel_Writing
With their regular season in the rearview mirror, Cameron Forensics now sets its sights on the top spots in state and national competition.
The team has been in the running at numerous tournaments throughout the semester. With the final leg of the season underway, though, the main focus is finishing strong.
Director of Forensics Sarah Collins said the team has done great things this season from September up until now.
“Every student on the team has qualified to the [National Forensics Association] National Tournament in at least one event,” she said, “several of them in multiple events. The team has consistently placed in the Top Three schools for sweepstakes at tournaments.”
One of their most recent achievements was a first-place finish at the Border Wars Tournament. They also received the honor of Top Oklahoma School at the University of Oklahoma’s Sweetheart Swing.
These honors follow a fourth-place team finish that kicked off the season and a string of Top Three appearances in overall sweepstakes, including two tournaments where the team consisted of six or fewer competitors.
On top of the quantifiable success, though, Collins noticed intangible results that further supported her feelings.
“The students have excelled individually, which is always fun to watch,” she said. “But I’ve enjoyed much more watching them succeed as a team.”
Freshman political science and communication double major Dallas Strong experienced both the tangible and unquantifiable results of his practice this year – his first on the team – and first ever doing competitive forensics.
He added that his start was rocky but quickly improved, making his first finals with a Dramatic Interpretation that eventually netted him third place at a tournament at Carl Albert University.
But Strong added that some of the most enjoyable aspects happened outside of the competition space.
“I’ve met amazing people from all over Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and other states who I’ve become friends with,” he said. “Public speaking has become immensely easier as well.”
Strong credited the support of veteran teammates Sav Price, Savanna Sanders and Alex Amos for their help in the acclimation process. Collins added that these veteran members were an invaluable asset to the team.
“We have some pretty amazing seniors,” she said. “They’ve not only worked hard on their individual events, but have really helped their peers and lead the team.”
The team will take its combination of new talent and veteran leadership to defend their championships at the Oklahoma state tournaments in March before vying for top prizes in the Pi Kappa Delta tournament in Boise, Idaho, and the NFA Tournament in Eau Claire, Wisc.
Collins said that she is excited to see how the rest of the season goes.
“We’ve worked hard,” she said, “and now is the time to see that hard work pay off.”
Strong said that he will be cheering the team along as they make their way through future tournaments.
“It is with full faith that I believe the rest of the team will do their absolute best and rock the end of this season,” he said.
The team will be hosting an audition in April for students interested in joining next year.