USD Wins Regional Speech and Debate Competition
VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of South Dakota’s Speech and Debate team topped the team from Northwestern University to win first place overall from the Vocal Viking competition at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN.
Team members Bailey Quanbeck, Megan Swets, Kirk Campbell, Blake Warner, Darien Whitfield, Rebecca Froehlich and Maria Potratz earned over 200 points.
Bailey Quanbeck, a junior English and Communication Studies double major from Brandon, S.D., was the tournament champion, and Megan Swets, a sophomore Communication Studies and English double major from Brandon, was the third place competitor.
The team earned the following individual awards:
- Bailey Quanbeck placed first in Program Oral Interpretation and Duo Interpretation, second in Dramatic Interpretation and third in Prose. She was also a semifinalist in Impromptu Speaking.
- Megan Swets placed first in Duo Interpretation and Extemporaneous Interpretation and fifth in Poetry.
- Blake Warner, a junior Psychology and Communication Studies major from Windom, Minnesota, placed third in Communication Analysis, fourth in Dramatic Interpretation and sixth in Extemporaneous Interpretation.
- Rebecca Froehlich, a senior Art major from Madison, South Dakota, placed first in Informative Speaking and third in Impromptu.
- Kirk Campbell, a sophomore Criminal Justice major from Sioux City, Iowa, placed first in Persuasive Speaking. Maria Potratz, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Harrisburg, South Dakota, placed sixth in Dramatic Interpretation. Darien Whitfield, a freshman biology major from Jackson, Tennessee, placed fourth in Program Oral Interpretation.