UNO Takes State

It was a historic weekend for the UNO Maverick Forensics Team. For the first time in the program's history, the squad took home the title as the top individual events program in Nebraska.

Facing tough competition including several teams consistently ranked among the elite in the nation, the Mavs set personal records in terms of events that made it to finals and racked up seven individual event championships.

Results included the following:

Poetry

Cameron Logsdon - 4th place
Cole Evans - 3rd place (also Top Novice)
Iven Mendoza - 2nd place
Allison Henri - State Champion

Communication Analysis

Hope Stanley - Top Novice
Blaine Miller - 7th place
Niveditha Rajagopalan - State Champion

Program of Oral Interpretation

Cole Evans - 8th place (also Top Novice)
Allison Henri - 6th place
Iven Mendoza - 4th place
Tessie Stednitz - 2nd place
Cameron Logsdon - State Champion

Extemporaneous Speaking

Niveditha Rajagopalan - 6th place

Duo Interpretation

Blaine Miller/Cole Evans - 4th place
Allison Henri/Tessie Stednitz - 2nd place
Cameron Logsdon/Iven Mendoza - State Champions

After Dinner Speaking

Joy Kathurima - Top Novice
Stephanie Larsen - 5th place
Niveditha Rajagopalan - 2nd place

Informative Speaking

Niveditha Rajagopalan - 3rd place
Allison Henri - State Champion

Prose Interpretation

Cole Evans - 3rd place (also Top Novice)
Iven Mendoza - State Champion

Impromptu Speaking

Brian Robinson - 2nd place

Dramatic Interpretation

Traelon Graham - 5th place (also Top Novice)
Tessie Stednitz - 4th place
Cameron Logsdon - 2nd place
Iven Mendoza - State Champion

Persuasive Speaking

Brian Robinson - 4th place
Niveditha Rajagopalan - 2nd place*

*By placing 2nd, Niveditha qualified for the Interstate Oratory Competition at James Madison University in Virginia. It is the oldest speaking competition in North America, and the top two finishers from each state in the country qualify to compete.

Niveditha Rajagopalan placed 3rd in Individual Sweeps, while Iven Mendoza won top overall speaker in Individual Sweeps.

UNO also won the "Quality Award," which is awarded to the team that scores the most amount of points given the size of their entry.

UNO placed first overall in the Individual Events competition.

The team will travel to Manhattan, Kansas and host a tournament on campus before turning their focus to the American Forensics Association National Tournament held at Kearney, Nebraska beginning April 2nd.