Forensics Starts Spring Semester with Multiple Tournament Wins
The team was second in debate sweepstakes, beating teams from Lafayette College, Lewis and Clark College, Missouri State and Sacramento State.
“This team’s award list continues to grow every time we compete. This weekend is an excellent prelude to our nationals season,” said Ben Davis, director of forensics
Two students placed in the overall individual sweepstakes, called pentathlon. Briggs Maynor, a fourth-year chemistry major, was the tournament champion, followed by Emery McEvoy, a second-year accounting major, in second. These two competitors had the highest individual event points of the tournament.
The weekend was full of tournament championships across both individual events and debate. Annie Nguyen, a first-year political science and international relations and environmental science double-major, took home both the championship in communication analysis and the top novice award in the event. She was joined by Jack Unsell, McEvoy and Cooper Spacil, who placed second, third and sixth, respectively. Both Spacil and Nguyen earned qualifications for nationals. Nguyen also placed second in persuasive speaking, with Lauren Weiss placing fourth and qualifying for nationals. McEvoy took home the championship in impromptu speaking and placed third in Dramatic Interpretation, qualifying for nationals. In after-dinner speaking, the team held the top four spots, with Maynor taking the championship. He was joined by McEvoy in second place, Spacil in third and Weiss in fourth.
In duo interpretation, Maynor was joined by his partner, Jessie Phillips, fourth-year political science and international relations major, for the championship. Interpretation events continued to thrive with Alex Peterson, senior criminal justice and social issue advocacy double-major, taking home the championship in prose interpretation, followed by Maynor in second and Nguyen in fifth. In poetry interpretation, Zoe Walker, third-year criminal justice and English double major, finished first, with Maynor and Phillips placing third and fourth, respectively. In program oral interpretation (POI), Phillips was second, Walker was fourth, and Willow Adamson was sixth.
Truman Debaters were also successful, with Eric Rotert, second-year social issue advocacy major, placing first in Open IPDA Debate. In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Adli Jacobs was an octafinalist in the open division, and Emmett Beeson and Sawyer Partney were quarterfinalists in the junior division.
The asynchronous tournament that ran the week prior to the Gorlok Gala, OATS No. 5, saw the team earn another individual events sweepstakes championship. Adamson was fourth and top novice in POI, followed by Alyssa Frisbie in fourth. Jack Unsell also took home a top novice award, placing second in impromptu speaking. Nguyen earned top novice in communication analysis. Jasmin Elwood placed sixth in prose interpretation, earning her qualification to nationals.
The team is gearing up for its upcoming nationals season, and will return to Webster University in February for the Missouri Association of Forensic Activities state tournament.
Visit @trumanforensicunion on Instagram for additional details.
