College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

Members of the WKU Forensics Team include (front row, from left) Tani Washington, Naomi Desrosiers and Paige Allbright; and (back row, from left) Taylor Mier, Noah Gordon and Kelly Lingen.

The WKU Forensics program competed at four competitions in the past two weeks.

The team competed at The Online Asynchronous Tournament Series 2 hosted by Eastern Illinois University on Oct. 25-29. WKU was crowned team sweepstakes champions out of 48 competing universities including Eastern Michigan University, Truman State University and Ball State University. 

The team competed virtually in three different competitions Nov. 2-5, the Fall Redbird Debate Tournament hosted by Illinois State University and two individual event tournaments comprising the Harvest Festival hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

At the Fall Redbird Tournament, WKU placed first ahead of Washburn University and Missouri State University. At the synchronous portion of the Harvest Festival Tournament, WKU placed first ahead of the University of Central Florida and Illinois State University. A smaller entry of WKU team members placed second at the Harvest Festival Tournament Alumni Asynchronous competition behind George Mason University. 

The team will compete next at the Fall District Tournament hosted by the University of Alabama.

Fall Redbird Debate Tournament results

• Open Lincoln Douglas Debate: Andre Swai of Springfield, Missouri, 1st; Madelynn Einhorn of Oakton, Ohio, Top 4; Tess Welch of Houston, Texas, Top 4.
• Open Lincoln Douglas Debate Speakers: Andre Swai, Top Speaker; Madelynn Einhorn; 2nd; Tess Welch, 3rd.
• Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate: Antonina Clementi of Lafayette, Louisiana, 1st.
• Junior Varsity Debate Speakers: Antonina Clementi, 2nd.
• Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate: Hannah Jones of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Top 4.
• Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate Speakers: Hannah Jones, Top Speaker; Imam Brula of Bowling Green, Kentucky, 3rd.

Online Asynchronous Tournament #2 results

• After Dinner Speaking: Tess Welch, 3rd.
• Dramatic Interpretation: Samantha Sallee of Danville, Kentucky, 2nd; Kellin Robinson of Roseville, Minnesota, 3rd.
• Duo Interpretation: Jonah Johnson of Burnsville, Minnesota, and Paige Allbright of Youngsville, Louisiana, 1st.
• Impromptu Speaking: Andre Swai, 3rd.
• Informative Speaking: Kelly Lingen of Lakeville, Minnesota, 1st; Naomi Desrosiers of Bowling Green, Kentucky, 4th. 
• Program Oral Interpretation: Imanii Giles of Hodgenville, Kentucky, 2nd; Danielle Williams of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, 3rd.
• Prose Interpretation: Mauricio Patino of Stockton, California, 3rd; Dakota Perry of Morehead, Kentucky, 5th; Noah Gordon of Pittsburg, California, 6th.

Harvest Festival Alumni Asynch results

• After Dinner Speaking: Tanya Prabhakar of Danville, California, 2nd.
• Duo Interpretation: Jonah Johnson and Paige Allbright, 1st.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Tess Welch, 1st.
• Impromptu Speaking: Tess Welch, 3rd.
• Persuasive Speaking: Christian Butterfield of Bowling Green, Kentucky, 4th.
• Program Oral Interpretation: Danielle Williams, 3rd.
• Prose Interpretation: Dakota Perry, 5th.

Harvest Festival Alumni Synch results

• Dramatic Interpretation: Reese Johnson of Burnsville, Minnesota, 1st; Kelly Lingen, 3rd; Collin Tuerk of Morehead, Kentucky, 5th.
• Duo Interpretation: Kelly Lingen and Reese Johnson, 1st; Rashon Leday of Lafayette, Louisiana, and Reggie Jefferson of Houston, Texas, 2nd.
• Informative Speaking: Paige Allbright, 2nd.
• Poetry Interpretation: Noah Gordon, 1st; Taylor Mier of Youngsville, Louisiana, 2nd.
• Program Oral Interpretation: Danielle Williams, 2nd.
• Prose Interpretation:  Kelly Lingen, 1st; Taylor Mier, 2nd; Dakota Perry, 6th.

More: Check out the WKU Forensics Facebook page or follow @wkuforensics  and @DebateWku on Twitter.

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340

-- WKU –

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.