The Truman Forensics Union returned from spring break ready to take on the national championship season. March 18th-22nd, the team competed at the Pi Kappa Delta (PKD) National Convention and Tournament at Missouri State University. Team members captured three national championships and three national runner-up titles across multiple speech and debate categories.
PKD alternates between traditional tournament years and convention years. During a convention year, Individual Events competitors compete in three preliminary rounds, withthe highest seed at the end of those rounds named the National Champion and “Top Superior” performance. PKD also awards the top 10% of performers a “Superior” rank and the top 30% of performers an “Excellent” designation. In public address, second-year Biology major Lauren Weiss brought home the national title in Persuasive Speaking. Fourth-year Chemistry major Briggs Maynor and fourth-year Political Science major Jessie Philips secured the national championship in Duo Interpretation. Maynor also brought home the national title in Poetry Interpretation, with Philips finishing in 4th place. Philips also received a Superior award and a 10th place finish in Prose Interpretation and an Excellence award in Program Oral Interpretation.
The accolades continued with Maynor finishing in 6th place in After Dinner Speaking. Maynor was joined by Philips, Weiss, and second-year Social Issue Advocacy major Cooper Spacil in receiving Excellent rankings in the event. Spacil also received Excellent honors in Communication Analysis and Impromptu Speaking. In Impromptu, Spacil was joined by Weiss and first-year Political Science and Environmental Science major Jack Unsell in receiving Excellent awards. Unsell received an Excellent award in Extemporaneous Speaking along with third-year Political Science student Ashton Mullen. Second-year Accounting major Emery McEvoy finished 4th.
In Informative Speaking, McEvoy earned 4th place, followed closely by Mullen, who took 6th. PKD also offers Spanish language events, including Spanish Platform Speaking. First-year Business Administration student Emmett Beeson finished 2nd in the event – a major accomplishment for a non-native speaker.
Truman excelled in debate events as well, with Unsell and first-year Communication Disorders major Nevaeh Carter being national runners-up in both Junior Varsity Parliamentary Debate and Public Forum Debate divisions. McEvoy and fourth-year Communication major Aiden Breesawitz were Open Division semifinalists in Parliamentary Debate. Breesawitz was the 2nd place individual speaker in the event, as well as 4th place speaker in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, while Carter was the 10th place speaker in the Junior Varsity division of Parliamentary Debate.
In Public Forum Debate, Beeson and Spacil reached the semifinals. The team of second-year Economics and Political Science major Sawyer Partney and second-year Criminal Justice major Eric Rotert were quarterfinalists. In awards for individual Public Forum Debate speakers, Spacil was 2nd, Rotert was 5th, and Unsell was 7th.
PKD also recognizes outstanding graduating seniors. Briggs Maynor was selected as part of the All-American team. This honor is given based on a rigorous application process that highlights the student’s accomplishments in leadership, academics, and service to their community. Truman is proud to have Maynor represent the university with this incredible award.
Finally, in sweepstakes, which combines the performances of all competitors on a team, Truman placed 4th in the nation in debate, 8th in individual events, and 8th overall.
Director of Forensics, Dr. Ben Davis, says, “This is a fantastic start to the nationals season. This team is demonstrating the best of forensics, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.” Truman Forensics continues the hard work as they prepare for their last two competitions. This week, the team competes online at the Asynchronous Speech Championships. In April, the team heads to Nashville, Tennessee, for the National Forensics Association tournament.