College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

WKU junior Tess Welch captured top honors in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the virtual "Fall Finale."

Led by a near perfect effort by junior Tess Welch, the WKU Forensics Team captured first place in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, first speaker and the overall sweepstakes trophy at the “Fall Finale,” a virtual tournament hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Lafayette College on Dec. 6-7. 

On the way to the “Fall Finale” championship, Welch won nine straight debates against representatives from the University of Notre Dame, the University of Tulsa and a final round match against Penn State University, among others. WKU also made the final of the Novice division, reserved for students without prior debate experience. In team sweepstakes, WKU finished ahead of Lafayette College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

During the competition, the rest of the team hosted “The WKU Hilltopper Classic,” a virtual tournament for high school students. One hundred and seven students representing 14 schools from five states participated in the competition, largely judged by members of the WKU Forensics Team. Huntington High School of West Virginia won overall sweepstakes, closely followed by Bowling Green High School in second.

This concludes the semester for the WKU Forensics Team.

Results from the “Fall Finale” are as follows:

• Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Tess Welch of Houston, Texas, first. 
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate Speaker: Tess Welch, first.
• Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Avery Lenihan of Florence, second.

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

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340