DeKALB – NIU Forensics won the Open Debate Sweepstakes in the four year university division and placed fourth overall at the annual state tournament for competitive forensics, or speech and debate, on Feb. 28 and March 1.

“This tournament is a celebration of the best the state of Illinois has to offer in collegiate speech and debate. There are very few things that bring me as much joy as getting to watch a group of passionate advocates share their messages,” said Director of Debate Matt DuPuis. “We are incredibly proud of this year’s team, and we are so thankful we were able to welcome so many incredible students from across the state for this event.”

The event was hosted at DuSable Hall by the Illinois Intercollegiate Forensics Association (IIFA) and was attended by 16 academic institutions and just under 200 students.

In parliamentary debate, the teams representing NIU consisted of duos Damian Rocha and Ethan Montanez as well as Nathan Gonzalez and Aleah Janae, all of whom shared the title of state champions.

In internal public debate, Janae was a quarterfinalist and Montanez took second place. Janae was also recognized as the state champion and top speaker in both parliamentary debate and internal public debate.

As for individual awards, Logan Sperling took sixth place in impromptu speaking and seventh place in extemporaneous speaking. Janae took fifth place in extemporaneous speaking.

The championship win brought an end to a successful run through the competitive season for NIU’s Forensics team, which began with a third place win at the Moraine Valley Tournament on Oct. 25 and 26.

The team will now turn their attention to preparing for their upcoming national tournaments, which include National Online Forensics (NOF), hosted online from Friday to Sunday, and the National Forensics Association (NFA) National Tournament, held at Wayne State University from April 17 to 22.