For numerous years, the Elgin High School Speech Team has provided the opportunity for students to develop and improve their communication skills. Over the years, Elgin has had students perform well at district, state, and national competitions. The tradition of excellence continued through the years with two of Elgin’s most decorated Speech Team members – Tyler Kaufman and Jared Riley.
For the second year in a row, Kaufman and Riley qualified in Duo for the National Forensic League’s National Finals Tournament. Last year the tournament was held in Wichita, Kansas where they placed in the top 40 in the United States; this year the tournament was held in Henderson, Nevada (a Las Vegas suburb) July 15-21.
Riley and Kaufman did very well and again made the first cut to advance to the top 60 in the nation. They did not advance any farther but were awarded 42nd place.
For four years Tyler Kaufman and Jared Riley have been die-hard members of the team with an unparalleled work ethic. During competition, Kaufman and Riley have an average ranking of second in each round in Duo Interpretation. They had been the top ranked Duo in our district for two years in a row. Both Kaufman and Riley are three-year State Qualifiers in Duo with a fourth place finish in 2007 and a fifth place finish in 2008.
Adding to their accomplishments as a team, Kaufman and Riley have had individual accomplishments as well. Riley is the 17th ranked overall speaker in our district, while Kaufman is 10th. Kaufman also has been named an Academic All-American from the National Forensic League selected because of his excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in exceptional character; Tyler has exceeded all of these requirements. This is a very prestigious honor as only 3% of the over 100,000 members receive this award.
