The UW-Eau Claire forensics team ended its 2024-2025 competitive season on April 29. This year, they placed 15th in the nation in the American Forensic Association (AFA), and many members also placed high in different national competitions.
As a part of their national season, they competed at the National Forensics Association (NFA) Championships, where the team placed 11th, and the Interstate Oratorical Contest.
Director of Forensics Chris Outzen said that preparing for and competing in forensics takes the whole year. Students begin working on speeches in August before eventually taking those speeches to be judged in competition.
“They get feedback from judges at those tournaments, and then based on that feedback, we continue to refine and coach both the content and how they are delivering it,” Outzen said.
He said the group looks over their speeches for the last time in March by reviewing them with alumni and practicing as much as possible to polish them.
Outzen said that looking back on this year, he is proud of the team and could tell that they worked hard to be successful competitively.
“They demonstrated a sort of consistency and a willingness to go to that extra step,” Outzen said.
Outzen said he has taken notice of one of the team members, Luke Plagens, whom he believes has been an example of that “consistency” over the years.
“They’ve had national elimination rounds every single year that they’ve competed, and it just shows their commitment to it,” Outzen said.
Plagens is a fourth-year accounting and economics student with a certificate in business communications who will be leaving the team at the end of the semester.
For their last season, Plagens said they competed in prose interpretation, informative speaking, communication analysis, dramatic interpretation and program oral interpretation. Despite having so much on their plate, Plagen said they always manage to find time to practice.
“Because there’s the individual part of practicing, I’ve been able to tailor it towards my schedule, so even if it’s me practicing at five in the morning, I made it work,” Plagens said.
Another task Plagens added to their schedule was ensuring they made connections and met with teammates outside of weekly practices, keeping in mind their upcoming departure from the team.
“Because I became more closely connected with our team, I thought that at nationals, or at normal tournaments in general, we function as a unit and are really supportive of our success,” Plagens said.
Plagens said they are ready to leave forensics after ten years of competition but still expect the transition out to feel strange.
As far as Plagens’ performance and ranking for their last season, they found success in several competitions.
At the AFA, Plagens was an informative speaking quarterfinalist and a communication analysis semifinalist. At the NFA, Plagens was an informative speaking octafinalist and a rhetorical criticism quarterfinalist.
Now that the season is over, the one thing the forensics team has left to look forward to is a dinner to celebrate the end of their season. Outzen said it will be a laid-back potluck in Hibbard Hall.
“Just a low-key, casual way to end the semester together and enjoy each other’s company before we all break for three to four months,” Outzen said.
Curtin can be reached at [email protected].
