Truman Forensics Wins Big at Missouri Championship Tournament

Truman’s Forensic Union placed second in debate sweepstakes, third in overall sweepstakes and won eight state championships at the Missouri Association of Forensic Activities Championship Tournament, Feb 19-20.

In dramatic interpretation, freshman Tia Frey took home sixth place and sophomore Brian Kantanka took home third place. In extemporaneous speaking, senior Sarah Muir took sixth place and freshman Johnathan Christy placed third. Christy also was recognized as the top novice in this category. In afterdinner speaking, junior Anson Long-Seabra placed sixth, and in prose interpretation, junior Adrien Zambrano placed fourth. Truman’s best category was poetry interpretation, where Long-Seabra placed sixth, junior Mahliyah Adkins-Threats placed third and Kantanka took first place and the state championship.
 
Truman Forensics competed in two categories of debate, including parliamentary debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate. In the novice division of parliamentary debate, freshman Jonathan Rogers was recognized as the fifth-best speaker in the division. Freshman Johnathan Christy was also recognized, placing first and making him the state champion speaker in novice parliamentary debate. Rogers and Christy also went on to win the novice parliamentary final round as debate partners, making them the fourth state champions in a row for Truman in this category.
 
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, freshman Jack Eames performed well enough to move from the novice division and into the open quarterfinal round. His performance also earned him two state championships as top speaker and top debater in novice Lincoln-Douglas. Senior Dillon Laaker was a quarterfinalist in open Lincoln-Douglas debate. Laaker also picked up a state championship as the top Missouri speaker in the division. Freshman Johnathan Christy was recognized as the third-best speaker behind Laaker and advanced all the way to the final round of open Lincoln-Douglas, earning his third state championship of the tournament.
 
The team will send a small entry of Lincoln-Douglas debaters to the Illinois State University/Western Kentucky University Nationals Warm-up tournament at Illinois State’s campus in Bloomington-Normal, Ill., Feb. 27-28. This will be the last tournament before the national tournament in mid-April.
 
Participation in the forensics program is open to any Truman student in good standing, regardless of prior speech and debate experience. For more information on how to get involved, visit forensics.truman.edu, contact Christopher Outzen, director of forensics, or contact Craig Hennigan, assistant director of forensics.