The McHenry County College (MCC) Speech Forensics Team took home a variety of team and individual wins during the Illinois Intercollegiate Forensics Association (IIFA) 2022 State Tournament, March 4–5. 18 schools participated in this year’s tournament, which was held virtually.
MCC’s team, comprised of Isabella Aguilar, Jonathan Roa, Thalila Sisou, Angelina Smith, and Brennen Briske, took home 4th place overall in the Community College Team Sweepstakes. Aguilar also took home 4th place in Open Prose Interpretation; 3rd place in Community College Finals, Dramatic Interpretation; 5th place in Community College Individual Sweepstakes, and 1st place in the Open Finals Duo with her teammate, Thalila Sisou. Roa took home 2nd place in Community College Finals Informative Speaking and 2nd place in Community College Finals Duo Interpretation with his partner, Angelina Smith. Briske took home 5th place in Community College Finals Informative Speaking.
“This was the first tournament of the entire season where every team member made it to finals,” said Bonnie Gabel, a Speech instructor at MCC who leads the Speech Forensics Program. “I’m especially proud of Isabella and Thalia for winning the open dramatic duo category—it’s not easy for community college competitors to get to that final, let alone win it all.”
MCC’s Forensics team competes in a variety of oral interpretation and public speaking events throughout the year. The group focuses on the performance of literature, platform speaking, and debate to enhance the development of communication skills.
