Truman Forensics Has a Powerful Performance

This past weekend the Truman Forensics Team traveled to several locations throughout the region for competition as well as celebratory purposes. Bradley University in Peoria , IL and the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg , MO were hosts to two tournaments while the Winston Churchill Museum in Fulton , MO served as the venue for a series of commemorative debates. The team came away with two individual tournament champions, a team sweepstakes championship, an individual speaking championship and several other awards while competing against several of the best squads from across the nation.

The University of Central Missouri held two separate tournaments. Freshman Matt Gilmore ( Blue Springs , MO ) won the novice division while freshman Susan Taylor ( Liberty , MO ) advanced to the semifinal round. All four competitors also won a speaker award. Matt Gilmore took 2 nd place, freshman Katie Koenig ( St. Louis , MO ) took 3 rd , Susan Taylor took 6 th , and freshman Aimee Chau ( Kansas City , MO ) took 7 th place.

The second tournament was filled with even more success. Katie Koenig won the novice division after advancing past her teammate, Aimee Chau, in semifinals. Katie also took the 1 st place speaker award. Matt Gilmore took 3 rd place and Aimee Took 6 th . The team won the debate sweepstakes trophy, surpassing defending national champions Western Kentucky as well as several other prominent debate teams such as Missouri Southern and McKendree.

All four competitors earned their qualification to the national tournament to be held in April at Ohio University in Athens , OH . Assistant Director Russ Luce commented, “I could not be more proud of the team. They had a great showing against some solid competition. They are all very young in terms of debate experience, so their success this weekend was well beyond our expectations.”

Members of the team who compete in individual events, or speech events, traveled to Bradley University . This is one of the largest and most competitive tournaments of the season. There were around 40 schools from all over the nation in attendance – including such powerhouses as Western Kentucky University , and George Mason University . Three freshman, two sophomores, and one junior made the trip to Peoria , Illinois . Sophomore Andrew Grojean ( Blue Springs , MO ), advanced to the semi-finals in Prose Interpretation—the largest event with 100 competitors. Director Kristi Scholten commented: “Tournaments like this, this early in the season can be overwhelming but they serve as a good kick in the pants. You see what's out there and where you need to be to achieve top honors. It is a tremendous learning experience for all who attend. The students are now hungry to beat those people they saw winning and they have set goals to do so by the National Championship Tournament.”

Finally, as part of a series of events in commemoration of Winton Churchill and his famous “Iron Curtain” speech, two members of the varsity debate team participated in debates hosted by the Westminster Debate Society. Junior Elizabeth Hatting ( Omaha , NE ) and sophomore Christian Johns ( Carthage , MO ) represented Truman which was one of four universities specially invited for this prestigious event. In addition to the debates, participants were given a tour of the Winston Churchill Museum and Library as well as other special venues related to this historic event.

The team next travels to Columbus , OH to attend a swing tournament. The first tournament will be held at The Ohio State University on December 4-5 and the second half will be held at Otterbein College on December 6. This tournament should be a good test for the team as those that do well at this tournament also tend to perform well at the national tournament.

Anyone interested in competing in forensics should contact Dr. Kristi Scholten, Director of the program at kscholten@truman.edu .