Truman Forensics Shines at SBU Tournament
In the Lincoln-Douglas debate, Truman earned three of the four semi-final slots. Freshman Jack Eames and senior Dillon Laaker were semi-finalists while freshman Trevor Lutjen won the final round in a 3-0 decision. In speech events, the team brought home several awards. Junior Adrien Zambrano placed fifth in impromptu speaking and junior Mahliyah Adkins-Threats took home fourth in poetry interpretation and third in afterdinner speaking. Laaker also competed in speech, winning extemporaneous speaking.
Laaker was also recognized as one of the top five Bright Young Scholars at the tournament. Bob R. Derryberry, director of forensics at Southwest Baptist for nearly 50 years, believed in the importance of both speech and debate and this additional award recognizing students who pursue excellence in the those areas.
The team travels next to the University of Central Missouri to compete in the annual Missouri Mule tournament Oct. 17-18.
Participation in the forensics program is open to any Truman student in good standing with the University, regardless of prior speech and debate experience. For more information on how to get involved, visit forensics.truman.edu or contact Christopher Outzen, director of forensics, at coutzen@truman.edu, or Craig Hennigan, assistant director of forensics at chennigan@truman.edu.
