College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

WKU Forensics Team finishes semester at Ohio State tournament

WKU Forensics
Monday, December 4th, 2017

Nine WKU Forensics Team members traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to take part in a tournament hosted by the Ohio State University the weekend of Dec. 1-2.

WKU placed second in team sweepstakes. Other competing schools included Wayne State University, Marian University and Bowling Green State University. Additionally, all nine members advanced to at least one elimination round, and the team took away six of the tournament's 11 individual event championships.

This is the team’s last tournament of the semester. WKU will resume competing on Jan. 27 in St. Louis, Missouri, and Dekalb, Illinois.

While the nine students were competing in Ohio, the rest of the WKU Forensics students and coaches hosted a junior high tournament on campus Saturday (Dec. 2) as 163 fourth- through eighth-grade students from Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana competed in the WKU Junior Hilltopper Classic.

This weekend, the team will host high school students from all over the country at the annual Senior Hilltopper Classic speech and debate tournament. Approximately 350 students will participate in the competition on WKU’s campus.

Results from the Ohio State University “Holiday Frolic” Speech and Debate Tournaments are as follows:

Faith LoPiccolo, a sophomore from Lexington, tournament champion in communication analysis, tournament champion in after-dinner speaking and second in prose interpretation.
Natalie Hedberg, a junior from Chaska, Minnesota, tournament champion in informative speaking, second in poetry interpretation, third in prose interpretation and fourth in extemporaneous speaking.
Rickey Williams, a freshman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, tournament champion in duo interpretation (with Zakiyyah Sanders) and second in communication analysis.
Durwan Green, a senior from Lewisville, Texas, tournament champion in dramatic interpretation and third in duo interpretation (with Matt Wisenden).
Zakkiyah Sanders, a freshman from Apple Valley, Minnesota, tournament champion in duo interpretation (with Rickey Williams).
Michael Rizzo, a senior from Weston, Florida, tournament champion in persuasive speaking.
Quest Broussard, a freshman from Delcambre, Louisiana, third in dramatic interpretation.
Matt Wisenden, a junior from Moorhead, Minnesota, third in duo interpretation (with Durwan Green).
Tayland Ratliff, a freshman from Youngsville, Louisiana, fifth in dramatic interpretation.