Forensics Earns Multiple Awards at Nationals

Truman forensics team earned multiple awards at the National Forensic Association national speech and debate tournament at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, April 18-22.

Out of 61 teams competing at the tournament, the individual events team placed third in President’s Division II sweepstakes for medium-sized entries and earned an overall 14th place finish in open speech sweepstakes. The debate team placed fifth. This was the team’s best combined showing in debate and individual events at nationals since 2004.

Senior political science and international relations majors Alicia Stout and Elijah Baum placed among the top 16 debaters in Lincoln-Douglas debate, breaking into the octafinal round. Out of a total of 91 debate competitors at the tournament, Stout was eighth speaker and Baum was the 20th place speaker, highlighting both of their strong, in-round argumentation and delivery against opponents.

Speech team members made it to various out rounds at the tournament. Senior political science and international relations major Ella Schnake made it to the semifinal rounds (top 12) in extemporaneous speaking, impromptu speaking and duo interpretation with sophomore chemistry major Briggs Maynor. Schnake cleared all seven of her entries to elimination rounds making her the first student to accomplish this in all of Truman forensics’ history.

Quarterfinals denoted the top 24 competitors in speech events. Schnake made it to quarterfinals in dramatic interpretation and rhetorical criticism. Sophomore criminal justice and social issue advocacy major Alexis Peterson was in quarterfinals for rhetorical criticism, impromptu speaking and persuasive speaking.

Octafinalists encompassed the top 48 speakers in an event. Senior interdisciplinary major and pre-MAE student Jillian Humke was an octafinalist in duo interpretation with Schnake. Schnake was also in an octafinal for prose interpretation and Peterson was in octafinals for both after-dinner speaking and informative speaking.

Sophomore communication major Aiden Breesawitz was elected by the student body as the 2024-2025 NFA-LD Representative. Breesawitz will work alongside the other national student representatives next year to make the activity more inclusive and equitable.

“The team has really had a tremendous year, beginning with our early successes in the fall with qualifying all the debaters for nationals by mid-October, continuing with our win in individual events sweeps at our state tournament in February,” said Ben Davis, director of forensics and professor of communication. “Seeing students have so many successes at nationals this past weekend makes all the hard work and time we put into this activity worthwhile. I’m glad these students are being seen and heard and learning that their voice matters.”

The forensics team meets weekly in Barnett Hall during the school year to prepare for local, regional and national tournaments. The team’s competitive season ends with NFA, but starts again in the fall with a pre-semester workshop for returning and incoming team members. Anyone interested in joining the team can contact Davis at bdavis@truman.edu.