MARSHALL — Several members of the Southwest Minnesota State University forensics team placed at the recent National Speech Championship, held virtually on March 20-21.

Leading SMSU were Jenna Zeug and Domonique McPhail, who made the semifinals and place in the top 12 in Duo Interpretation. Zeug is a sophomore History Education major from Marshall, and McPhail is a freshman Theatre major from Murdock, Minn.

Zeug was also a top-24 quarterfinalist in Informative Speaking.

Alex Duus was a quarterfinalist and finished in the top 24 in Prose Interpretation. He is a freshman Communication Studies major from Tyler, Minn. Duus also was in the Novice Showcase round with his Poetry Interpretation.

Devyn Halvorson was a quarterfinalist and finished in the top 24 nationally in the Communication Analysis category.

Also competing for SMSU were Colton Jensen, a sophomore Theatre major from Sanborn, Minn., and Jackie Wisinski, an Agricultural Communication major from Stevens Point, Wis.

The national tournament was originally to be held at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., but was held virtually.

Assistant Director of Forensics Julie Walker was presented with the National Service Award for her efforts in coordinating numerous online forensic tournaments this year. Director of Forensics Ben Walker said he was “so impressed with our students. It was great to see all of their hard work pay off.”