Bradley Speech Team 2013 State Champions

03/05/2013 4:13 PM

This past weekend at Northern Illinois University the Bradley Speech Team brought home its 13^th consecutive State Championship scoring an impressive 312 points besting 2^nd place Illinois State University (120 pts) and 3^rd place North Central College (77 pts).  In addition to the team title, students brought home state championships in 9 of the 11 events.  

The State Tournament is also the qualifier for the Interstate Oratorical Contest (IOC), where two students from each state compete at the country’s oldest and most prestigious public speaking contest.  This year, Brooke Stevenson (Sr.) and Jacoby Cochran (Sr.) qualified to represent Illinois by winning 1^st and 2^nd, respectively, in Oratory.  Not only does winning Oratory qualify Stevenson for IOC, but the award also holds a special place in the hearts of the Bradley family because it is named after Curt Byars ’07, Bradley Alum who held a passion for the power of persuasion and was taken at an all too young of age. 

Students capturing State Titles include: Sr. Jacoby Cochran (Top Overall Speaker, Impromptu Speaking), Jr. Kaybee Brown (Dramatic Interpretation, Prose Interpretation), Jr. AJ Curry (Informative Speaking), Jr. Gabby Dillon (Poetry Interpretation), Sr. Brooke Stevenson (After Dinner Speaking, Oratory), So. Talan Tyminski (Extemporaneous Speaking), Sr. Justin Restaino and Sr. Ryan Tinlin (Duo Interpretation). Adding to the effort to bring home the State

Title were:

Kaybee Brown (Jr. Theater Major from Chicago, IL)- 1^st Dramatic Interpretation, 1^st Prose Interpretation, 5^th Poetry Interpretation, 2^nd Duo Interpretation

Jacoby Cochran (Sr. Philosophy Major from Chicago, IL)- 1^st Overall Speaker, 1^st Impromptu Speaking, 2^nd  After Dinner Speaking, 2^nd Informative Speaking, 2^ndOratory, 3^rd Extemporaneous Speaking

AJ Curry (Jr. Communication Major from Palatine, IL)- 1^st Informative Speaking, 3^rd Oratory

Gabby Dillon (Jr. Communication Major from Chicago, IL)- 1^st Poetry Interpretation, 3^rd Program Oral Interpretation, 5^th Duo Interpretation

Aaron Fullman (Sr. Communication Major from Anaheim, CA)- 5^th Dramatic Interpretation

Ben Gaddis (Sr. Communication Major from St. Charles, IL)- 4^th After Dinner Speaking, 5^th Extemporaneous Speaking

Lauren Galloway (Fr. English Major from Morris, IL)- 5^th After Dinner Speaking

Junior Ocasio (Sr. Communication Major from Cleveland, OH)- 4^th Poetry Interpretation, 4^th Prose Interpretation, 2^nd and 5^th Duo Interpretation

Justin Restaino (Sr. Communication Major from Fullerton, CA)- 1^st Duo Interpretation, 4^th Program Oral Interpretation

Brooke Stevenson (Sr. Psychology Major from Fremont, CA)- 1^st Oratory, 1^st After Dinner Speaking, 2^nd Prose Interpretation, 4^th Duo Interpretation

Ryan Tinlin (Sr. Psychology Major from Dellroy, OH)- 2^nd Overall Speaker, 1^st and 4^th Duo Interpretation, 3^rd Informative Speaking, 5^th Prose Interpretation, 4^thCommunication Analysis

Talan Tyminski (So. Political Science Major from Ballwin, MO)- 1^st Extemporaneous Speaking, 6^th Communication Analysis

Congratulations to the Bradley Speech Team members and coaches Ken Young, Director of Forensics and Tanya Melendez, Assistant Director of Forensics on the outstanding win.