Doane College placed 17th at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament, April 4-7 at the University of Texas at Austin.
Nearly 100 colleges and universities from throughout the country attended the tournament, which does not divide institutions based on school size.
The 17th place finish was the highest for Doane in its eight-year history. The team originated in 2000 and became a top 25 team at the AFA nationals within a few years.
Doane finished second out of the four Nebraska teams finishing in the top 20 at the national tournament. Nebraska has more team in the top 20 than any other state in the nation.
Senior Cassy Blakely of Blue Hill was selected for the All-American Team, the highest honor given to any student at the AFA-NIET. Sixteen individuals are chosen nationwide each year based on academics, forensics awards, and community service (outside of forensics). This is the third consecutive year Doane College has had a student selected for the All-American Team.
Individual results:
- Anne DeLuca of Omaha, a first-year student, was a semi-finalist in Program of Oral Interpretation. She was ranked 9th out ofapproximately 140 competitors in this event.
- Travis Williamson of Lincoln, a junior, was a quarter-finalist in Prose Interpretation. He was ranked19th out over 160 competitors in this event.
- Lucas Graff of Ainsworth, senior, and Williamson were quarter-finalists in Duo Interpretation. They were ranked 20th out ofapproximately 125 entries in this event.
Doane took 46 events to the national tournament. All students who competed earned high rankings in their preliminary rounds contributing to the team's overall score.
Team members in attendance were:
Brenton Friedeman, a junior from Raymond
Zach Blackman, a junior from Valparaiso
Neil Hatfield, a junior from Belvidere
Sarah Snyder, a sophomore from Edison
Micah Reeves, a sophomore from Gothenburg
Amanda Bouc, a first-year student from Valparaiso
The team is coached by Dawn Bartlett and 2004 Doane graduates Erin Cico and Anne Golden.
All results for the national tournament can be found at:
http://www.mnsu.edu/spcomm/niet/results/nietresults2008.htm