Bradley University Speech Team is Runner-Up in National Speech Championship

On March 23 and 24, the Bradley University Speech Team competed at the 2024 National Speech Championship held in Chicago. After winning three years in a row, Bradley was narrowly beaten by the University of Illinois-Chicago, coming in 2nd place as a team.

Individual results are as follows:

● Rodrigo Trujillo ‘25: 1st in Extemporaneous Speaking, 1st Persuasive Speaking, 1st in Communication Analysis, 1st in Impromptu Speaking, 1st in Informative Speaking

● Joseph Cyrus ‘24: 1st in Duo Interpretation (w/Joshua Timmons), 2nd in After Dinner Speaking, 2nd in Duo Interpretation (w/Paul Swartz), 3rd in Poetry Interpretation

● Paul Swartz ‘27: 2nd in Duo Interpretation (w/Joseph Cyrus), Semi-Finalist in Prose Interpretation, Quarter-Finalist in Extemporaneous Speaking

● Joshua Timmons ‘25: 1st in Duo Interpretation (w/Joseph Cyrus), Semi-Finalist in Prose Interpretation and Dramatic Interpretation

● Julia Hunt ‘26: 4th in Program Oral Interpretation, Semi-Finalist in Communication Analysis and Dramatic Interpretation, Quarter-Finalist in Prose Interpretation

● Tomi Sewell ‘25: 5th in Persuasive Speaking

● Rajeshwari Iyer ‘24: Quarter-Finalist in After Dinner Speaking

● Jacqueline Heisel (‘26): Quarter-Finalist in Impromptu Speaking

The success at the NSC comes after a string of strong performances from Bradley where they won the Illinois State Tournament and took second out of 41 teams at the International Forensics Tournament in Dublin, Ireland.

For a full list of results from this season, visit us on X or Instagram @BradleySpeech. 

—Andrew Eilola

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