College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

The 33 members of the WKU Forensics Team have returned to campus and are preparing for the unprecedented 2020-21 season.

The champion speech and debate team welcomed seven new members this fall, recruited from across the nation, and pursuing a variety of academic programs at WKU.

The team will begin its season on Sept. 25 when it hosts the annual WKU Fall Tournament and Alex Elliott Memorial Lincoln-Douglas Debate Round Robin. Given the travel restrictions of campuses across the country, speech and debate tournaments will be virtual this fall. WKU’s tournament will use a variety of video conferencing and tabulation platforms to host one of the country’s first online competitions of the season.

The work to prepare for this ground-breaking season started when WKU hosted its first-ever online preseason camp the week of Aug. 16.

“Jumpstarting our season in a virtual setting was a challenge,” Director of Forensics Ganer Newman said. “The coaching staff put countless hours into preparing for this unique season. Though we have obstacles ahead of us, we are confident that our approach will translate into any modality.”

In the 2019-20 season, WKU won its 28^th consecutive Kentucky Forensic Association state championship. The American Forensics Association and National Forensics Association championship tournaments were unfortunately canceled due to the global pandemic.

“We will continue building on our focus of community and campus outreach,” Newman said. “Beyond preparing for new online formats, we are proud to contribute to the WKU’s Strategic Plan and help our university climb to greater heights with another championship season.”

The 2020-21 WKU Forensics Team includes:

• Paige Allbright, a junior from Youngsville, Louisiana
• Parker Anderson, a junior from Hodgenville, Kentucky
• Derek Collins, a senior from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• Naomi Desrosiers, a first-year student from Bowling Green, Kentucky
• Rahmane Dixon, a senior transfer from Houston, Texas
• Joey Eberle, a first-year student from Maple Grove, Minnesota
• Madelynn Einhorn, a junior from Oakwood, Ohio
• Warren Forstmann, a sophomore from Hollywood, Florida
• Stefani Giles, a first-year student from Hodgenville, Kentucky
• Ryan Gosling, a senior from West Palm Beach, Florida
• Ben Hanson, a senior from Louisville, Kentucky
• Taylor Headrick, a sophomore from Wadsworth, Ohio
• Daliss Hicks, a sophomore from Miramar, Florida
• Autumn Howard, a first-year student from Hendersonville, Tennessee
• Reginald Jefferson, a first-year student from Houston, Texas
• Reese Johnson, a junior from Burnsville, Minnesota
• Isaac Keller, a senior from Kansas City, Missouri
• Amanda Langford, a junior from Goodlettsville, Tennessee
• Rashon Leday, a first-year student from Lafayette, Louisiana
• Kelly Lingen, a junior from Lakeville, Minnesota
• Miles Morton, a sophomore from Sherman Oaks, California
• Corey Newsome, a senior from Morehead, Kentucky
• Tayland Ratliff, a senior from Youngsville, Louisiana
• Kellin Robinson, a first-year student from Roseville, Minnesota
• Samantha Sallee, a first-year student from Danville, Kentucky
• Kiyah Sanders, a senior from Apple Valley, Minnesota
• Andre Swai, a sophomore from Springfield, Missouri
• Emma Warnecke, a senior from West Bloomfield, Michigan
• Tani Washington, a first-year student from Henrico, Virginia
• Tess Welch, a junior from Houston, Texas
• Symone Whalin, a senior from Sonora, Kentucky
• Rickey Williams, a senior from Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Caitlyn Woitena, a sophomore from Houston, Texas

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

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340