Forensics Team Places Seventh at National Tournament
During spring break the forensics team earned an overall seventh place at the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament hosted by West Chester University in Pennsylvania. The team also earned fourth place in both individual events tier one and fourth place in tier two debate sweepstakes.
Many students received individual honors based on their speeches, debates and performances, including many national outround finalists and one student receiving a national championship title. Students who entered into at least five speech categories across two or more speech genres were entered into a special pentathlon sweepstakes.
In NFA-Lincoln Douglas debate:
• Junior Alicia Stout placed second in the nation and earned sixth place speaker.
• Junior Elijah Baum earned tenth place speaker.
• Sophomore Eli Bartz finished as a semifinalist (top four) and was seventh speaker.
• Freshman Aiden Breesawitz was also in attendance and was a tremendous help to the debaters in outrounds.
From the speech team, varsity members performed exceptionally well:
• Senior Maya Krump finished as a quarterfinalist (top 24) in after dinner speaking, persuasion and editorial impromptu.
• Junior Jillian Humke earned excellence (top 30%) in impromptu speaking and was third in the nation in personal narrative.
• Junior Lucah Gordon earned excellence in impromptu speaking and extemporaneous speaking, and was fourth in the nation in personal narrative and slam poetry.
• Junior Megan Ford finished as a quarterfinalist in after dinner speaking and persuasion.
• Junior Ella Schnake earned third in the nation in dramatic interpretation, sixth in duo with freshman Briggs Maynor, was a semifinalist in prose, a quarterfinalist in communication analysis and received excellence recognition in impromptu speaking. She also earned sixth in pentathlon sweepstakes.
The novice/freshmen speech team also had a strong national showing:
• Anna Hans was the national champion in public narrative and earned excellence in interviewing.
• Maynor earned sixth place in the nation in duo with Schnake, was a semifinalist (top 12) and top novice in dramatic interpretation and a quarterfinalist in duo with Jessie Philips.
• Philips was a semifinalist and the top novice in poetry. They were also a quarterfinalist in duo with Maynor and received excellence in interviewing.
• Alex Peterson was a semifinalist and the top novice in communication analysis and a quarterfinalist in impromptu and persuasion.
The team’s success at Pi Kappa Delta marks the most success Truman has shown at a national tournament in recent history. The team would also like to thank those who make its success possible, specifically Kevin Minch, associate provost, Dave Lusk, associate vice president for career development, and the team of alumni coaches: Austin Sopko, Macy Cecil and Kayla Gerlt, for their efforts in preparing and coaching the team for this national showing.
Any alumni interested in judging, or students interested in joining the Forensics Union, should contact Ben Davis, director of forensics, at bdavis@truman.edu or Parker Hopkins, assistant director of forensics/debate coach, at phopsdebate@gmail.com.
Any alumni interested in judging, or students interested in joining the Forensics Union, should contact Ben Davis, director of forensics, at bdavis@truman.edu or Parker Hopkins, assistant director of forensics/debate coach, at phopsdebate@gmail.com.
