CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Last season the Prairie State College Forensics team took home a record 80 individual medals. This season the team is on its way to shattering that record.

The team recently won 10 individual medals at the Moraine Valley Community College tournament held earlier this month. Prairie State College placed third out of 15 colleges and universities. It scored the highest team point total that it has ever had at this annual tournament.

The winners were as follows: Plascilla Foster, of Riverdale, tournament champion in Dramatic Interpretation; Jimmie Johnson, of Matteson, tournament champion in Persuasive Speaking; Emily Allen, of Chicago Heights, second place in Dramatic Interpretation; Jovan Gudger, of University Park, second place in Communication Analysis; Terrance Clanton, of Park Forest, third place in Program Oral Interpretation; Antoinette Lewis, of Matteson, third place in Speech to Entertain; Thaddaeus Carr, of Olympia Fields, fourth place in Informative Speaking and fifth place in Impromptu Speaking; Etta Oben, of Matteson, fifth place in Program Oral Interpretation; Joshua Cochran, of Chicago Heights, fifth place in Poetry Interpretation; and Sharnita Redley, of Country Club Hills, sixth place in Poetry Interpretation.

Also competing were Kate Mathews, of Lynwood, and Gina Bufano, of Dyer.

The team is coached by professors of communication Ed Schwarz, Elighie Wilson and David Naze.

"This is a tremendous start to the season. The coaching staff has high expectations for this team as it is by far the deepest wealth of talent we've seen in a long time," Naze said in a news release. "The students have put in a lot of effort and are enthusiastic about the season."

- FOR THE TIMES