kminch

Forensics Team Earns Record 35 National Qualifications in One Week

Posted on

The first week of October was an exciting time for Truman Forensics. While the campus was enjoying Fall Break, the team was busy competing at 4 tournaments. Across OATS #1, PKD Public Forum #1, and the Missouri Mule/Carnegie Swing, the team secured 35 more national qualifications, bringing the total this semester up to 39 for the National Forensic Association (NFA) tournament. The team brought back a total of 107 awards, one of the largest single-week successes the team has had in twenty years. Associate Director of Forensics, Lars Wagener, is thrilled with the team’s hard work and “downright ecstatic to see what the rest of the season holds.” To qualify for the NFA tournament, students must reach a sufficiently-sized elimination round in a regular-season tournament. The tally below documents the impressive showing across these four tournaments.

TOTAL NFA QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE WEEK: 35

TOTAL AFA QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE WEEK: 6

CUMULATIVE NFA QUALIFICATIONS TO DATE (INCLUDING DEBATE): 39

TOTAL AWARDS FOR THE WEEK: 107

Pi Kappa Delta Public Forum Debate Tournament Series #1

  • Eric Rotert (1st-year) and Sawyer Partney (2nd-year) – Semifinalists
  • Sawyer Partney (2nd-year) – 4th Speaker
  • Payten Luaders (3rd-year) – 7th Speaker
  • Ashton Mullen (3rd-year) – 9th Speaker

Online Asynchronous Tournament Series #1

  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) and Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 4th Place in Duo Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 4th Place and Top Novice in Extemporaneous Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – Semifinalist and Top Novice in Impromptu Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – Top Novice in Individual Sweepstakes
  • Emery McEvoy (2nd-Year)  – Semifinalist in Impromptu Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Ashton Mullen (3rd-Year) – 5th Place in Informative Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Annie Nguyen (1st-year) – Top Novice in Persuasive Speaking
  • Cooper Spacil (2nd-Year) – 7th Place (NFA Qualification)
  • Team Sweepstakes – 2nd Place (Tied with Louisiana State University, Illinois State was 4th, UT-Austin was 5th)

University of Central Missouri “Swing” Tournament (2 Parts)

Missouri Mule – Individual Events

  • Willow Adamson (1st-year) – 1st in Poetry Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Willow Adamson (1st-year) – 4th in After Dinner Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 3rd in Rhetorical Criticism (NFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 5th in Prose Interpretation  (NFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) and Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 1st in Duo Interpretation (AFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) and Jessie Philips (4th-year) – 2nd in Duo Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Annie Nguyen (1st-year) – 2nd in Informative Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Annie Nguyen (1st-year) – 2nd in Persuasive Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 1st in Impromptu Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 3rd in After Dinner Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 3rd in Informative Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 5th in Dramatic Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Jessie Philips (4th-year) – 2nd in Prose Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Schroeder (2nd-Year) – 5th in Extemporaneous Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Schroeder (2nd-Year) – 6th in Informative Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Cooper Spacil (2nd-Year) – 2nd in After Dinner Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Cooper Spacil (2nd-Year) – 2nd in Broadcast Journalism
  • Cooper Spacil (2nd-Year) – Semifinalist in Impromptu Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 3rd in Impromptu Speaking
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 4th in Rhetorical Criticism
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 5th in Extemporaneous Speaking
  • Lauren Weiss (2nd-Year) – 5th in After Dinner Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Lauren Weiss (2nd-Year) – Semifinalist in Impromptu Speaking (NFA Qualification)

Missouri Mule – Debate

Varsity International Public Debate Association (IPDA) Division

    • Sawyer Partney (2nd-Year) – Octafinalist

Junior Varsity International Public Debate Association (IPDA) Division

    • Emmett Beeson (1st-year) – Octafinalist
    • Eric Rotert (2nd-Year) – Quarterfinalist
    • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – Semifinalist, 1st Place Speaker
    • Lauren Weiss (2nd-Year) – Quarterfinalist

Novice International Public Debate Association (IPDA) Division

    • Jack Schroeder (2nd-Year) – Octafinalist

Team International Public Debate (TIPDA) Division

    • Mikayla Hammer (2nd-Year) – 3rd Speaker

Varsity NFA Lincoln-Douglas Debate (NFA-LD) Division

    • Aiden Bresawitz (4th-year) – 2nd Place Finalist (NFA Qualification)
    • Payten Luaders (3rd-Year) – 4th Seed (NFA Qualification)
    • Payten Luaders (3rd-Year) – 2nd Place Speaker

Junior Varsity NFA Lincoln-Douglas Debate (NFA-LD) Division

    • Nevaeh Carter (1st-year), Tessa Kremer (1st-year), and Ammi McHugh (1st-year) (NFA Qualification) – Co-Champions
    • Nevaeh Carter (1st-year) – 1st Speaker
    • Tessa Kremer (1st-year) – 2nd Speaker
    • Ammi McHugh (1st-year) – 5th Speaker
    • Sawyer Partney (2nd-Year) – 6th Speaker

Missouri Mule – Team Awards

Pentathlon

    • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 3rd Place
    • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 2nd Place
    • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 5th Place

“The Jack Award” (for top performers who do both speech and debate)

    • Jack Unsell  (1st-year) – 2nd Place

Team Sweepstakes

    • Debate – 1st Place
    • Individual Events – 2nd Place
    • Overall – 1st Place
    • Top Pi Kappa Delta Member University

University of Central Missouri – Dale Carnegie Tournament Individual Events Division

  • Willow Adamson (1st-year) – 5th in After Dinner Speaking
  • Willow Adamson (1st-year) – 4th in Poetry Interpretation (AFA Qualification)
  • Alyssa Frisbee (3rd-Year) – 3rd in Dramatic Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Alyssa Frisbee (3rd-Year) – 7th in Program Oral Interpretation
  • Mikayla Hammer (2nd-Year) – 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Mikayla Hammer (2nd-Year) – 3rd in Persuasion (NFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) and Jessie Philips (4th-year) – 1st in Duo Interpretation (AFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 2nd in After Dinner Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) and Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 3rd in Duo Interpretation
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 4th in Prose Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 5th in Rhetorical Criticism
  • Emery McEvoy (2nd-year) – 1st in Impromptu Speaking
  • Emery McEvoy (2nd-year) –  1st in Rhetorical Criticism
  • Emery McEvoy (2nd-year) – 5th in Informative Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Ashton Mullen (3rd-Year) – 3rd in Informative Speaking
  • Annie Nguyen (1st-year) – 1st in Informative Speaking (AFA Qualification)
  • Annie Nguyen (1st-year) – 2nd in Persuasion (AFA Qualification)
  • Sawyer Partney (2nd-Year) – 6th in Informative Speaking (NFA Qualification)
  • Sawyer Partney (2nd-Year) – Semifinalist in Impromptu Speaking
  • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 4th in After Dinner Speaking
  • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 4th in Informative Speaking
  • Cooper Spacil (2nd-Year) – 1st in After Dinner Speaking (AFA Qualification)
  • Cooper Spacil (2nd-Year) – 5th in Extemporaneous Speaking
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 3rd in Rhetorical Criticism (NFA Qualification)
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 5th in Interviewing
  • Jack Unsell (1st-year) – 6th in Prose Interpretation (NFA Qualification)
  • Lauren Weiss (2nd-Year) – 3rd in After Dinner Speaking
  • Lauren Weiss (2nd-Year) – Semifinalist in Impromptu Speaking

University of Central Missouri – Dale Carnegie Tournament Debate Division

Varsity NFA Lincoln-Douglas Debate (NFA-LD) Division

    • Payten Luaders (3rd-Year) – 4th Speaker

Junior NFA Lincoln-Douglas Debate (NFA-LD) Division

    • Emmett Beeson (1st-year) – Semifinalist
    • Emmett Beeson (1st-year) – 3rd Speaker
    • Nevaeh Carter (1st-year) – Quarterfinalist
    • Nevaeh Cater (1st-year) – 5th Speaker
    • Tessa Kremer (1st-year) – Semifinalist
    • Tessa Kremer (1st-year) – 2nd Speaker
    • Ammi McHugh (1st-year) – Quarterfinalist
    • Ammi McHugh (1st-year) – 6th Speaker

University of Central Missouri – Dale Carnegie Tournament Team Awards

Pentathlon

    • Briggs Maynor (4th-year) – 2nd Place
    • Emery McEvoy (2nd-Year) – 3rd Place
    • Alex Peterson (4th-year) – 4th Place

Team Sweepstakes

    • Debate – 1st Place
    • Individual Events – 1st Place
    • Overall – 1st Place
    • Combined Swing Sweepstakes – 1st Place

Truman Wins Two National Championships, Other Honors at PKD Nats!

Posted on

Six students from Truman’s Forensics Union competed at the Pi Kappa Delta Biennial National Tournament & Convention in Orlando, Florida. This tournament hosted 69 schools across the nation with more than 1,000 entries. Top superior awards were given to the top three competitors. Superior awards were given to the top 10% in a field, and excellence awards were awarded to the next top 20%. In addition, three of the team members were selected to showcase their events in front of the convention.

Individual placements are as follows:

  • Senior Jackson Elder placed third in persuasion where he was awarded top superior. He earned superior distinction in extemporaneous speaking and was selected to perform in the limited prep showcase. Elder acquired excellence in impromptu speaking, broadcast journalism and interviewing.
  • Senior Kayla Gerlt was awarded excellence in after dinner speaking, duo interpretation, extemporaneous speaking and prose.
  • Sophomore Jillian Humke was awarded superior in after dinner speaking and was selected to perform in the after dinner speaking/communication analysis showcase.
  • Sophomore Ella Schnake was the national champion in interviewing and impromptu speaking. She was selected to perform her impromptu in the showcase of champions. Schnake was awarded superior in dramatic interpretation and prose, and excellence in program oral interpretation and duo interpretation.
  • Sophomore Alicia Stout was a quarterfinalist in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and IPDA Debate

Team placements are as follows:

  • Individual Sweepstakes – Excellence (8th out of 61 schools)
  • Debate Sweepstakes – Good (24th out of 63 schools)
  • Overall Sweepstakes – Good (24th place out of 69 schools)

Forensics Wins Awards At Virtual State Championship

Posted on
The Truman forensics team completed virtually at the MAFA State Championship Tournament hosted by Park University.

Thirteen students competed earning a combined total of 19 state championships. The team also earned first in overall debate sweepstakes, overall speech sweepstakes and overall tournament sweepstakes. At this tournament, students who entered into at least five speech categories across two or more speech genres – public address, interpretation and limited preparation – were entered into a special pentathlon sweepstakes. Students who competed in at least one debate event and had eligibility in pentathlon sweepstakes were also entered into overall forensicator sweepstakes.

Placements are as follows:

Open Lincoln-Douglas Debate:

  • Senior Macy Cecil was awarded as fourth place speaker.
  • Sophomore Alicia Stout was the state champion and the state speaker champion.
  • Sophomore Elijah Baum was a semifinalist and awarded third place speaker.

Novice Lincoln-Douglas:

  • Freshman Megan Trent was the state champion and awarded second place speaker.

Open NPDA Parliamentary Debate:

  • Senior Kayla Gerlt was the state speaker champion.
  • Senior Jackson Elder was awarded second place.
  • Sophomore Ella Schnake was awarded fourth place speaker.

Novice NPDA Parliamentary Debate:

  • Freshmen Megan Trent and Caroline Spiller were the state champions. Trent was also awarded second place speaker.
  • Freshman Emma Rohrbach was the state speaker champion.
  • Freshman Eli Bartz was awarded sixth place speaker.

Speech:

  • Elder was the state champion in extemporaneous and impromptu speaking. He also earned third place in after dinner speaking and original oratory.
  • Gerlt was the state champion in duo interpretation. She placed second in dramatic interpretation and after dinner speaking, third in prose and informative speaking and fourth in extemporaneous speaking. She was awarded the top overall forensicator and placed second in pentathlon sweepstakes.
  • Junior Maya Krump was the state champion in original oratory, qualifying her for the interstate oratorical national tournament in April. She was also state champion in informative speaking.
  • Schnake was the state champion in dramatic interpretation, prose, duo interpretation and program oral interpretation. She placed fourth in impromptu speaking. In addition, she was awarded state champion in pentathlon sweepstakes and placed second for the overall forensicator award.
  • Sophomore Megan Ford placed fourth in informative speaking and persuasion.
  • Sophomore Jillian Humke placed fifth in prose and dramatic interpretation.

Any students interested in joining the Forensics Union should contact Craig Hennigan at chennigan@truman.edu or Ben Davis at bdavis@truman.edu.

Forensics Earns Top Honors at Recent Tournament

Posted on

Students from Truman’s Forensics Union competed at the Gateway Swing IE tournament at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, Dec. 4-5.

Team members excelled in their respective events leading to a team victory on both days of the swing tournament, which led to an overall swing team victory. At this tournament, students who entered into at least four speech categories across all three speech genres were entered into a special quadrathon sweepstakes.


Placements on day one of the swing were as follows:

  • Freshman Hannah Spainhour received top novice in prose interpretation
  • Sophomores Jillian Humke and Larissa Wratney earned first place in duo interpretation
  • Wratney also earned second place in dramatic interpretation
  • Sophomore Ella Schnake placed third in dramatic interpretation, second in impromptu speaking and first in prose
  • Sophomore Megan Ford placed sixth in prose, fourth in informative speaking and third in persuasion
  • Junior Maya Krump earned third place in informative speaking, second place in persuasion and third place in quadrathon sweepstakes
  • Senior Kayla Gerlt earned fourth in extemporaneous speaking and dramatic interpretation, third in after dinner speaking and prose, second in informative speaking and was tournament champion in quadrathon sweepstakes
  • The team also received first place overall

Placements on day two of the swing were as follows:

  • Humke and Wratney placed first in duo
  • Wratney also earned first place in dramatic interpretation
  • Ford placed fourth in info and third in persuasion
  • Schnake placed second in prose and dramatic interpretation and first in impromptu
  • Krump received fifth place in prose, second place in persuasion and info and second in quadrathon
  • Gerlt placed fourth in after dinner speaking and dramatic interpretation, third in prose and extemporaneous, first in info and tournament champion in quadrathon sweepstakes
  • The team again earned first place overall
Any students interested in joining the Forensics Union should contact Craig Hennigan at chennigan@truman.edu or Ben Davis at bdavis@truman.edu.

Forensics Earns Multiple Awards At Tournaments

Posted on

Students from Truman’s Forensics Union earned awards at two tournaments last week.

Debaters competed at Illinois State University at the Fall Red Bird. Freshman novice Megan Trent achieved second speaker, as well as tournament finalist, in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, earning a qualification to the national tournament in April. Sophomore Alicia Stout also got to the quarterfinals in Lincoln-Douglas Debate in the open division.

Speech competitors traveled to Peoria, Illinois, to the Norton Tournament at Bradley University. Senior Jackson Elder made it to the semifinals in impromptu speaking and achieved fourth place in extemporaneous speaking. Senior Kayla Gerlt came in fifth place in dramatic interpretation. Sophomore Ella Schnake made it to the semifinals in impromptu speaking, as well as prose interpretation and was the tournament champion in dramatic interpretation.

As a school, Truman earned enough sweepstakes points to outscore teams from Purdue University, Ohio University and Illinois State. In December, the team will travel to Webster University for the Gateway Swing and debate will compete virtually at University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the Fall Finale debate tournament.

Any students interested in joining the Forensics Union should contact Craig Hennigan at chennigan@truman.edu or Ben Davis at bdavis@truman.edu.