Forensics Dominates Early Season Competition

Forensics won first place out of 49 schools competing at the most recent OATS (Online Asynchronous Tournament Series) tournament. Truman earned more points than many programs often ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation, such as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Wayne State University.

“This win comes at a great time for the team as we prepare for some upcoming bigger and more competitive tournaments,” said Ben Davis, director of forensics. “We’ve been working pretty hard and consistently over the start of the season, and it’s definitely showing. We currently have a total of 27 individual slots qualified for nationals across speech and debate combined. Last year, we took 35 slots to nationals, so to know we are already so close to beating our record this early in the season is super exciting.”

The following students earned individual recognition at the OATS tournament:

Alex Peterson was tournament champion and placed first in impromptu speaking, in addition to earning second place in after-dinner speaking (ADS) and prose. Peterson also received first place in individual sweepstakes from earning the most points individually out of all 180 students competing at the tournament.

Briggs Maynor placed second in communication analysis.

Ben Grandstaff earned fifth place in extemporaneous speaking.

Emery McEvoy was fourth overall and the top novice competitor in both impromptu speaking and communication analysis, in addition to winning tournament champion and first place in ADS. McEvoy received the highest ranks above other competitors in his preliminary rounds for ADS and the judging panel for the ADS final round unanimously voted him top of the round. He finished fourth place in individual sweepstakes.

Mikayla Hammer placed second in extemporaneous speaking and fifth in impromptu speaking.

Jack Schroeder earned sixth place in extemporaneous speaking.

The OATS tournament was the team’s fourth tournament of the season. For results of the earlier tournaments, and to keep up-to-date on the team’s successes, follow @Trumanforensicunion or online at forensics.truman.edu.

The forensics team is housed within the newly merged Department of Communication and Theatre Arts, giving students the opportunity to compete in both speech and debate activities across the state of Missouri and throughout the United States. Students interested in joining the Forensics Union should contact Davis at bdavis@truman.edu or Scott Koslow, assistant director, at skoslow@truman.edu.