Three-peat Times Three for Brookfield East Forensics

The talent of the Brookfield East High School forensics team is indisputable.

Led by adviser Mary Wacker, the team won its ninth consecutive conference championship on Saturday at the Greater Metro Conference Forensics Tournament, hosted at Sussex Hamilton High School. 

The Brookfield East Spartans racked up 327 points, far outstripping the second-place finisher, the Sussex Hamilton team with 107 points. The Divine Savior Holy Angels team, returning this year after a break without a coach, earned third place with 132 points. 

Evidence the Spartans' dominance: of 19 individual conference champions named, 14 were from East's team. 

"We have a wonderful competitive rivalry with our conference schools," said Wacker, who has coached East's team for 21 years. "The kids are hard-core competitors. They really want to win. But then there's this really wonderful moment at the end of the tournament when they applaud each others' successes and show respect for the best."

The Brookfield interscholastic team has been a formidable challenger not only in the conference but in state and national forensics tournaments. Brookfield East has finished in the top three in the state annually for the past nine or 10 years, Wacker said.

"They've been second place the last two years and they're itching to be No. 1," Wacker said. 

This year's state tournament will be held April 15 and 16. Qualifiers for the national contests - attended by some 3,000 students around the country - will be held in late March and early April. Last year a Brookfield East freshman student joined the ranks of Spartans winning a national award. 

 The forensics team participates in meets sponsored by Wisconsin Forensics Coaches Association every weekend from late January through mid-April. But not every one of the 80-plus members competes every weekend. Students practice up to three days a week. 

Brookfield East will be hosting a tournament on March 19.

Some of the weekend meets have as many as 30 to 45 teams competing. The Greater Metro Conference tournament held Saturday has just nine school districts that are friendly rivals. 

"The kids spend a lot of time getting to know each other at these tournaments," Wacker said. "They have made great friends."

The latest tournament included some "phenomenal" performances, Wacker said. 

Here are the Brookfield East High students who earned individual conferences championships Saturday in which forensics category:

• Zack Vrana, Demonstration
• Hannah Giese and Katie Klann, Duo Interp
• Chih-wei Wu, Extemp
• Erica Bridge, Farrago
• Jonas DeMuri-Siliunas and Alex Wang (tie), Four Minute
• Advik Shreekumar, Group Discussion
• Jeremy Carrasco & William Seabrook, Group Interp
• Jennifer Vosters, Oral Interpretation
• Steve Browne, Oratory
• Katie Kozlowski, Poetry
• Ankita Verma, Public Address
• Michael Meidl, Solo Humorous
• Gabrielle Termuehlen, Solo Serious
• Scott Memmel, Special Occasion Speaking