College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

The WKU Forensics team won the team sweepstakes championship at the Dr. Frank M. Thompson Jr. Crimson Classic hosted by University of Alabama on October 7-8.

The WKU Forensics team displayed excellence across the board with a Top 2 finish in every category and 13 first-place finishes. WKU finished ahead of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bradley University, and William Carey University to win both halves of the swing.

In addition, junior Christian Butterfield of Bowling Green, Kentucky, won the coveted Holle Award for Excellence in Forensic Competition for accumulating the most points during the weekend while being entered in all three individual event genres (limited preparation, public address, and interpretation of literature.)

Director of Forensics Ganer Newman said: “While we appreciate having the option to compete virtually from time to time to qualify for nationals, nothing beats in-person competition. Our students took a lot of initiative in preparing for our first in-person speech competition of the season. We also had new students achieving success in Individual Parliamentary Debate. I am proud of all our coaches for their work, especially Director of Individual Events Ben Robin, Limited Preparation Coach Seth Pekham, and our Graduate Assistant Debate Coach Evan Grisham for driving the students to Tuscaloosa and providing exceptional coaching on location to help WKU win the weekend!”

WKU also took first place in team sweepstakes at the year’s first Online Asynchronous Tournament Series, finishing ahead of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Alabama, and Truman State University.

Results from the weekend are as follows:

Crimson Classic

• After Dinner Speaking: Joey Eberle of Maple Grove, Minnesota, 1st; Collin Tuerk of Morehead, Kentucky, 3rd; Jade Ismail of Lafayette, Louisiana, 4th and Top Novice; Christian Butterfield, 5th; Sophie Todaro of St. Paul, Minnesota, 6th; Reginald Jefferson of Houston, Texas, 7th.
• Dramatic Interpretation: Cecilia Alali of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1st; Jade Ismail, 2nd and Top Novice; Jonah Johnson of Burnsville, Minnesota, 3rd.
• Duo Interpretation: Mauricio Patino of Stockton, California, and Samantha Sallee of Danville, Kentucky, 1st; Caroline Chubb of Lewis Center, Ohio, and Denise Marin of Houston, Texas, 5th.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 1st; Tani Washington of Henrico, Virginia, 5th, Ryder Ebert, Top Novice.
• Impromptu Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 1st; Kole Ingram of Hindman, Kentucky, 7th.
• Informative Speaking: Tani Washington, 1st; Christian Butterfield, 3rd; Mauricia Patino, 4th; Samantha Sallee, 6th; Ryder Ebert of Madison, Mississippi, Top Novice.
• International Public Debate: Hannah Jones of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Top 4.
• International Public Debate Speaker Awards: Hannah Jones, 4th.
• Persuasive Speaking: Cecilia Alali, 2nd.
• Poetry Interpretation: Jonah Johnson, 1st; Reginald Jefferson, 3rd; Karon Petty of Spring, Texas, 5th and Top Novice.
• Program Oral Interpretation: Christian Butterfield, 2nd, Jacob Holbrook of Morehead, Kentucky, Top Novice.
• Prose Interpretation: Tani Washington, 1st; Jonah Johnson, 2nd; Caroline Chubb, 3rd; Micah Poole, 5th; Denise Marin, 6th, Sophie Todaro, Top Novice.

UA Alumni

• After Dinner Speaking: Collin Tuerk, 1st; Jade Ismail, 2nd; Sophie Todaro, 3rd; Joey Eberle, 4th.
• Communication Analysis: Christian Butterfield, 2nd, Dakota Perry of Morehead, Kentucky, 5th.
• Dramatic Interpretation: Cecilia Alali, 1st; Mauricio Patino, 2nd; Jonah Johnson, 3rd; Jade Ismail, 4th.
• Duo Interpretation: Mauricio Patino and Samantha Sallee, 1st; Caroline Chubb and Denise Marin, 5th.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 2nd; Tani Washington, 3rd; Joey Eberle, 5th.
• Impromptu Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 2nd.
• Informative Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 1st; Mauricio Patino, 3rd.
• International Public Debate Speakers: Kole Ingram, 1st; Yasmina Muradova of Greenville, Kentucky, 2nd.
• International Public Debate: Kole Ingram, 2nd; Yasmina Muradova, Top 4.
• Persuasive Speaking: Cecilia Alali, 2nd.
• Poetry Interpretation: Mauricio Patino, 2nd; Jonah Johnson, 3rd; Reginald Jefferson, 4th; Micah Poole, 5th.
• Program Oral Interpretation: Christian Butterfield, 2nd.
• Prose Interpretation: Cecilia Alali, 1st; Micah Poole, 2nd; Collin Tuerk, 4th; Caroline Chubb, 5th; Denise Marin, 6th.

OATS 1

• Communication Analysis: Dakota Perry, 1st.
• Dramatic Interpretation: Cecilia Alali, 1st; Mauricio Patino, 2nd.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Collin Tuerk, 5th.
• Impromptu Speaking: Mauricio Patino, 1st; Cecilia Alai, 3rd.
• Informative Speaking: Mauricio Patino, 1st.
• Persuasive Speaking: Cecilia Alali, 1st.
• Poetry Interpretation: Mauricio Patino, 1st; Jonah Johnson, 2nd.
• Prose Interpretation: Mauricio Patino, 3rd.

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