Forensics Earns Multiple Awards

Truman’s speech and debate team attended an Online Asynchronous Tournament (OATS) and competed in person at the Missouri Mule at the University of Central Missouri and the UNT DeMouget Debate Tournament.

In late September, speech team members competed in OATS. Senior Megan Ford competed in communication analysis and received seventh place. Sophomore Alexis Peterson also competed in communication analysis and received third place. Peterson was also the tournament champion in after dinner speaking. Sophomore Briggs Maynor competed in both informative speaking and poetry interpretation. Maynor received third place in poetry and fourth place in informative speaking. Freshman Bryna Norman received fifth place in program oral interpretation. In individual sweepstakes Peterson placed fourth and Maynor placed fifth. In the overall sweepstakes Truman received fourth place. New qualifications to the National Forensic Association (NFA) include Maynor in informative speaking and poetry, Peterson in communication analysis and Norman in program oral interpretation.

The first weekend of October, the entire forensics team attended the Missouri Mule hosted by the University of Central Missouri. Peterson took third place and Norman took fifth place in after dinner speaking. In communication analysis, Megan Ford received third place and Peterson was the tournament champion. In dramatic interpretation Maynor received sixth place and sophomore Jessie Philips received third place. Seniors Jillian Humke and Ella Schnake were the tournament champions in duo interpretation. In impromptu speaking Humke finished as a semifinalist, Peterson finished in third place and Schnake was the tournament champion. In informative speaking Maynor received fifth place and Ford received third place. Ford also competed in persuasive speaking and received sixth place. In program oral interpretation Norman received second place and Philips received fourth place. In prose interpretation Maynor received sixth place, Peterson received third place, Schnake received second place and Ford was the tournament champion.

Each debater that attended advanced to elimination brackets. In combined junior varsity and varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate, freshmen Jesse Fields and Payten Luaders finished in octafinals (top 16), and sophomore Aiden Bressawitz and senior Elijah Baum finished in quarterfinals (top 8). Senior Eli Bartz finished as a semifinalist and third speaker. Senior Alicia Stout was the tournament champion in Lincoln-Douglas and was fourth speaker. In the novice Lincoln-Douglas freshman Ben Croat finished as a semifinalist and sixth speaker, and freshman Frankie Schuman was the tournament runner-up and second speaker. In both individual events and overall sweepstakes Truman placed second place.

Debaters also competed virtually at the UNT DeMouget Debate Tournament. In the open division Baum finished as an octafinalist and seventh speaker, Stout finished as a quarterfinalist and sixth speaker, and Bartz finished as a semifinalist. In the novice division Croat was placed as seventh speaker and Frankie Schuman finished as a semifinalist and third speaker.

Any alumni interested in judging or students interested in joining the Forensics Union should contact Ben Davis, director of forensics, at bdavis@truman.edu.