Colorado State University – Pueblo Forensics earn respect, recognition at nationals
Release Date: March 30, 2017
Colorado State University – Pueblo Forensics earn respect, recognition at nationals
PUEBLO -- The Colorado State University-Pueblo Forensics Team competed in two national tournaments over the last few weeks, including the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence it hosted on the CSU-Pueblo campus.
In that tournament, 50 teams vied for the national title. During preliminary rounds, Eliana Taylor, senior from Longmont, and Max Groznik, sophomore from Portland, OR, were seeded 5th seed heading into the elimination rounds. After a 3-0 win over McKendree University in elimination round one, the team lost their next two rounds to the University of Utah and Parliamentary Debate at Berkeley. The team finished 19th overall, securing CSU-Pueblo’s best finish at the NPTE National Tournament.
“I could not be more proud of our team. Even those who were not competing this weekend were instrumental in ensuring the tournament ran smoothly,” said Director of Forensics Kathryn Starkey.
Two days after the conclusion of the NPTE, the Forensics Team competed in the National Parliamentary Debate Association National Championship held at Colorado College. Groznik and Taylor finished preliminary rounds with a 7-2 record, placing them as 7th seed in the elimination bracket. After a bye through the triple-octofinal round, the team lost on a 2-1 decision to Missouri Western University in the double-octofinal round, awarding the team a top 32 finish in the tournament.
At the awards ceremony, Groznik finished 7th overall among the 330 competitors, an incredible feat for a sophomore. Taylor earned one of six All-American Awards, which recognized students who demonstrate that Forensics is more than just competition, but rather a mechanism to learn to become advocates for both themselves and others, to foster scholarship and service skills that students can cultivate both in the Forensics community as well as to their own Universities.
“Eliana truly deserves this recognition,” Starkey said. “She embodies the qualities the award is attempting to accentuate through her outstanding academic record and contributions to CSU-Pueblo and the greater Forensics community.”
This summer, the CSU-Pueblo Forensics Team will host the Rocky Mountain Cooperative, a college debate camp, June 23 – July 1.
