SALEM, Va. – Salem Forensics Coach Mark Ingerson has winning down to a science — but not the science you’re thinking of.
“Science stole it from speech, Forensics comes from the old Greek area of the forum where people gave speeches,” Ingerson said.
Speech and Debate — or Forensics as it’s dubbed in some places — has become Ingerson’s way of life for over two decades.
“We were really bad at first because I didn’t really know the events and how the competitions worked,” Ingerson said.
Junior Claire Rawlins is a first-time state champion in impromptu speaking — following in her mom’s footsteps.
“She had Mr. Ingerson as a coach. I am the first person that is a child of someone he had on the team to come back,” Rawlins said.
Forensics has two types of events: speech and interpretation.
“Interpretation is you’re reading a piece of text and acting basically. You can’t have props or anything, but you’re just up there saying it and doing different things. There’s different events within the interpretation category — there’s humorous, there’s serious, then there’s poetry,” Rawlins said.
Last weekend, Salem Forensics broke a VHSL record, not just for Speech and Debate, but for all activities and sports in the state. They won their 18th straight team state championship.
“It was Christiansburg Wrestling, which had 17 in a row,” Ingerson said.
Alumni AnnElese Galleo is a two-time individual state champion — she said Forensics has made a world of difference in her career as an actress.
“I don’t think I would be the performer I am today if I didn’t have that basic training that Ingerson gave us,” Galleo said.
Alumni Ben Lewis won four individual state championships in four different events, one of the only people to do so.
He said Ingerson built the team from the ground up.
“He’s just unbelievably dedicated and passionate and he can take somebody from day one and find the best way to work with them and encourage them,” Ingerson said.
But Rawlins said winning is an afterthought.
“The best way to win isn’t being so fixated on winning that you’re devastated when you don’t have it. It’s being satisfied that you’ve mastered this event,” Rawlins said.