Two VCSU Speech Competitors Qualify for National AFA Tournament
Hornung and Weber travel to Portland April 3 for competition
VALLEY CITY (VCSU) – Valley City State University students Grady Hornung and Anastasia Weber have qualified for the national collegiate speech tournament and will travel to Portland, Oregon, for the competition on April 3.
Hornung, a senior from Walhalla, N.D., will compete in Dramatic Interpretation and Prose at the American Forensic Association (AFA) National Tournament. This is his second year on the VCSU speech team. He also qualified for the national competition last spring. Hornung is a music education major and active on campus in Residence Life.
“I enjoy the opportunities speech and debate gives students to use their voice and advocate for something they feel is important,” he said.
Weber, a sophomore from Jamestown, N.D., will compete in Persuasive Speaking at nationals. This is her first year competing with the VCSU team. Weber is an English major and a part of the award-winning Forge publication.
“Speech allows me to share about things important to me,” she said. “It pushes me out of my comfort zone and offers opportunities to meet many awesome people. These are lifelong skills essential to the workforce.”
During the 2025-2026 school year, 11 VCSU speech team members competed in 11 tournaments in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. After a near 20-year hiatus, the speech team returned to campus last year and saw significant growth in the team this season.
“Competitive speech is one of the most workforce-driven extracurricular events offered for college students. Speech is a critical communication skill that our students get to hone as a strength through practice, competition and camaraderie,” said Tammy Jo A. Taft, assistant professor of Communication Arts and VCSU speech team coach. “VCSU students have done an amazing job this year preparing materials and bringing their competitive edge to the region. They have represented our school well with talent, commitment and enthusiasm.”
Other students competing and participating in VCSU Speech this year include Madi Klabo, Eric Leik, Anna Erickson, Kristyn Bauer, Lallie RedHorn, Luke Wilman, Trista Weigelt, Sydnie Diffely, Sabrina Haas and Nyssa Haslerud.
Tournament competition includes 11 different events for individuals or partners. A variety of interpretive events like prose, poetry and drama are included. Other categories include original content created by the competitor. These include impromptu speaking, extemporaneous speaking, after dinner speaking, informative and persuasive speaking.
For more information about VCSU Speech contact the VCSU Department of Communication Arts or coach Tammy Jo Taft at tammyjo.taft@vcsu.edu.