High school forensics students participate online

It didn’t exactly go as planned, but six Cedar Grove-Belgium High School students competed in virutal solo forensics events at state this spring.

Coach Mary Beth Desens, whose forensics program has received high state honors in years past, had students send her videos to critique, then send a take to the judges at state.

Of the six, Joe Wilsnack earned the highest honor called an exceptional performance.

Hailei Paulus, Allison Wieberdink and Laura Jerabek received the next highest judgment, distinctive performance.

Martha Ruona’s score fell into the third category, distinctive performance. Claire Jaworski’s entry earned a commendable performance ranking.

“For some, it was their best scores of the season; for others, it surely was not. However, they gained valuable experience and feedback,” Desens said, adding two judges instead of one provided feedback in each round.

One focus of the event was to be environmentally conscious. Nothing was printed out, Desens said.

Online or not, just having a forensics competition was a bonus since most extracurricular activities were halted when schools closed due to the coronavirus.

“I believe this online tournament gave a small sliver of normalcy to students who have lost the opportunities and experiences available normally this time of the school year,” Desens said.