HARRISBURG (SIC NEWS) – The Southeastern Illinois College Forensic Falcons finished in first place at the IIFA-IL State championship held Feb. 28 through March 1 at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. The Falcons earned top sweepstakes awards, top speaker awards and multiple individual awards in interpretation and public address.
Second year student Rachel Russell was among the students competing this weekend. She notes, “We give our all to these competitions, our entire beings into our performances. It’s very satisfying to see all our hard work pay off.”
Coach Rachel Parish agrees, “I was incredibly proud of our team at state. The state competition is the best of the best in Illinois, and our students had a fantastic showcase of Southern Illinois’ talent.”
Each competition builds to the 2025 Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in Norfolk, Virginia. The team is coached by Jenny Billman, Paul Cummins, and Rachel Parish.
Individual results from the tournament are as follows.
Rachel Russel, Norris City: 5th individual sweepstakes, 6th prose interpretation, 2nd speech to entertain, 3rd dramatic interpretation, Champion in duo interpretation (with partner Abby Zirkelbach), 3rd duo interpretation (with partner Erica Johnson)
Abby Zirkelbach, Marion: Champion in informative speaking, Champion in duo interpretation (with partner Rachel Russell), 2nd in dramatic interpretation,
Grant Dooley, Harrisburg: 2nd prose interpretation, 5th open communication analysis.
Erica Johnson, Equality: 3rd duo interpretation (with partner Rachel Russell), 3rd prose interpretation
Francesca Messerschmidt, Harrisburg: 3rd in persuasion, 4th in program oral interpretation, 2nd in communication analysis
