R-MA Finals at Extemp TOC

There has always been a simple postulate that pervades throughout so much of life: some things are better than other things. Obviously, every speech and debate tournament is going to have its ups and downs, its highlights and its quirks, but while this is universal, some tournaments rise to new peaks of prominence and underscore the prestigious nature of the activity. This is certainly true for the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions, held at Northwestern University in Chicago. Extemp is, in and of itself, a tough event that by its own nature challenges the extemper both personally and also offers a breadth of competitive obstacles that are truly intense. But, Extemp TOCs offers the highest realm of competition, the people who go and battle it out have all had to apply to be there, and are only accepted if they have qualified through achievements at prior tournaments. It’s tough.
The Randolph-Macon Speech and Debate Team has sent students to TOCs for years, and several people such as James Taafle, Harry Hixon, and others have broken to out rounds. And, on Thursday, May 08, 2008 the team set off once again with Brennan Morris, Martha Galewski, and Will Dungan. It is always important to carry worthwhile traditions. For each of the competitors this was a meaningful experience and the road to get there had been difficult.
Will Dungan’s road to TOCs was very telling. He was a novice, with limited Extemp experience on the national circuit. But, at the local level he had shined. Besides notable achievements in Public Forum debate, he had advanced to Extemp Finals at NFL States, and also made the final round at WACFL Metros, despite significant competition at both. Will’s other achievements included high rankings throughout the season in the Virginia Forensic League (the largest in the NFL), and the WACFL season tournaments. Novices at TOCs are rare, and making through the screening so as to get accepted to the Tournament is tantamount to noticeable prowess.
For seniors these last few tournaments are always very impactful. And, thus, for Martha Galewski her last time at TOCs (also her last Extemp tournament in general) mattered a lot to her and others. Martha’s rise to success in Speech and Debate shows her deeper nature of tenacity. Being a personal who had a tendency to burst out laughing during the middle of speeches (good and bad), and was initially reluctant to pursue a role on the Team, her success came with a lot of work and a positive attitude that is recognized by all those who know her.
Martha excelled at Original Oratory, breaking at Yale, U-penn, Wake Forrest, viliger, Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and many more at the local and regional level. She managed to balance Extemp with all that orating, breaking into Extemp elims at Viliger, and making it to finals at the State Championship. Her competitive prowess, and her ability to work with novices as a leader on the team (and impact many as Squadron Commander), were very well known. Martha’s acceptance to TOCs was deserved and noticeable.
As for Brennan Morris, selection to TOCs seems like and inevitable conclusion to a long story. Brennan currently ranks as the top Junior in the NFL, holding the all time record for most points earned in one year. During the course of the year, Brennan made Finals in Impromptu at Wake Forrest, earned a Yale Championship in OO and also broke to Quarters in Extemp. Continued to Final at U-Penn, while excelling at PF at Bronx, and then broke to finals at Viliger and Princeton, won a State Championship, and broke out at Harvard. Brennan earned a well known and respected place on the national circuit, and was a quintessential regional powerhouse. Brennan was viewed by many to be prime player at TOCs.
So, on that Thursday, all these stories and varying inspirations culminated as Rev. Gregg and students set off for Chicago. For a while the “I hate Pennsylvania” line was heard more often than not as the Reverend tried to punch his way out of a very long state. But, in time they progressed into another great land of America, Ohio. There they all stopped at McDonalds, and ate, stocked up on a few sodas and gum for the road ahead. Late in the evening they stopped for the night at Tabitha Allen’s house in Michigan, where Will could not have been happier to sleep in Connor Allen’s (6 years old) race car bed.
In the morning having been joined by Tabi on the road they set off for Chicago, which they came too at around four in the afternoon. During the drive though all the students were highly focused on the task at hand, and read vigorously. And, that night, after a good diner at a small Chicago diner, they fixed up their suites, and went to bed.
The first day of competition was long, with five rounds scattered all over the Northwestern campus getting around was no easy task. Meanwhile Rev. Gregg and Tabi spent the day judging rounds and helping with the tournament, but did a great job keeping the speakers from the team well fed and supplied.
On the second day the kids went off to the last preliminary round before the postings on who would break. Brennan, as always, was particularly anxious after the round, few people experience greater anxiety pertaining to tournament, and even fewer hide it so well. Martha and Will were more relaxed and strolled about the campus while the results were being processed. When these were formalized, Brennan had broken to quarter finals. Martha and Will would have liked to have broken, but they both understood how hard to tournament was, and were happy to have had the chance to compete. But, the two hurried of to consolation Impromptu rounds after telling Brennan his room and section.
The topic area for the Quarter Final round was American Politics; this was Brennan’s specialty, have read extensively on the subject, and produced dozens of essays on candidates, elections, issues, and situations. He selected a question that was not great in his opinion but still manageable: “What affect will high oil prices have on up coming elections.” Brennan’s speech focused on the benefit this issue might bring to democratic candidates, and was able to get in the joke about the great danger snipers pose to Hillary Clinton.
This speech was well received and he broke to Semi-Finals. In this round he gave a speech on recent elections in Nepal, and how the Maoist victory there might affect the nation’s stability. After the speech he was Cross-Examined by Rebecca Goldstein, who was notably amiable in Brennan’s opinion. He was able to thoroughly answer her question and defend his analysis. Brennan watched and Cross examined Henry Litman who stated that China could maintain communist rule even if the party underwent internal liberalization, but Brennan found error in this. He asked Mr. Litman, “Has any communist party ever maintained control after internal liberalization?” But, the competitor demonstrated his own general skill despite taking some hits.
Brennan broke out of this round too, and became the first RMA student even to advance into the Final round of TOCs. Brennan gave a speech on how Canada could not overtake the United States in the Caribbean Sea as the predominant power. Overall, he placed sixth, out of over seventy. Brennan, himself attributed the weakness of his final speech to lie with its crowd pleasing, humorous nature, that left out much of the analysis that the judges might have expected. Yet, the success remains impressive.
On the way back from Chicago the students rested and worked. The most important thing to keep in mind for them, was that CFL Grand Nationals was only a few weeks away.