WKU News

The WKU Forensics Team won the 2023 Kentucky Forensic Association State Tournament hosted by Owensboro Community and Technical College on February 24-25.

Senior Miles Morton of Sherman Oaks, California, was recognized with the Harlan Hamm Award, given to students for their leadership and excellence both in competition and in their academic endeavors and community service. This honor is bestowed on only four students in the state each season.

In the 13 speech categories, WKU students captured 10 state titles. Additionally, freshman Kole Ingram of Hindman, Kentucky, placed 3rd in Triathlon for his results across multiple events.

WKU also won International Public Debate (IPDA) team sweepstakes. Five WKU students won speaker awards in debate, including senior Miles Morton who was named the top speaker in IPDA Debate.

In recognition of these collective efforts, WKU topped the Large School Sweepstakes category in Individual Events and Debate and ultimately was crowned the Kentucky Forensics Association Grand Champion for the 31st consecutive year.

WKU Director of Forensics Ganer Newman was proud of the team’s results. “This was the first in-person State competition since the start of the pandemic. It was great to see the coaches and students from around the state working together to make the tournament a success. We are proud of the way the team represented WKU at State. Now we direct our attention to the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament, the Debate Grand Prix, and the Asynchronous Speech Championship, before concluding our competitive season with the National Forensics Association Championship tournament in April.”

The team will now begin preparations for national competitions.

Results from the Kentucky Forensics Association State Tournament are as follows:

Debate

• IPDA Novice Speaker Awards: Julie Mishchuk of Nicholasville, Kentucky, State Runner Up.
• IPDA Speaker Awards: Miles Morton, State Top Speaker; Hannah Jones of Bowling Green, Kentucky, 3rd; Andre Swai of Springfield, Missouri, 4th; Antonina Clementi of Lafayette, Louisiana, 9th; Rae Fournier of Woodbridge, Virginia, 10th.
• IPDA: Hannah Jones, State Runner-Up; Andre Swai, Top 4; Tanya Prabhakar of Danville, California, Top 8; Rae Fournier, Top 8; Antonina Clementi, Top 8.

Speech

• After Dinner Speaking: Tani Washington of Henrico, Virginia, State Champion; Shainna Ralston of Eldorado, Illinois, State Runner-Up, Joey Eberle of Maple Grove, Minnesota, 3rd; Kirsten Eversmann of Harrisburg, Illinois, 4th.
• Communication Analysis: Rashon Leday of Lafayette, Louisiana, State Champion; Joey Eberle, State Runner-Up; Dakota Perry of Morehead, Kentucky, 3rd; Samantha Sallee of Danville, Kentucky, 4th; Caitlyn Woitena of Houston, Texas, 6th.
• Dramatic Interpretation: Shainna Ralston, State Champion; Noah Gordon of Pittsburg, California, State Runner-Up; Denise Marin of Houston, Texas, 3rd; Micah Poole of Lafayette, Louisiana, 4th; Caroline Chubb of Lewis Center, Ohio, 5th.
• Duo Interpretation: Reginald Jefferson of Houston, Texas, and Samantha Sallee, State Champion; Collin Tuerk of Morehead, Kentucky, and Noah Gordon, State Runner-Up; Noah Gordon and Somtoo Nkurumeh of Oklahoma City, 3rd; Danielle Williams of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and Jaleon Brown of Raytown, Missouri, 4th.
• Editorial Impromptu: Kole Ingram, State Runner-Up.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Joey Eberle, State Champion; Kole Ingram, 4th; Antonina Clementi, 5th; Rae Fournier, 6th.
• Impromptu Speaking: Andre Swai, State Champion; Kole Ingram, 3rd; Caroline Chubb, 4th; Reginald Jefferson, 6th.
• Informative Speaking: Mauricio Patino of Stockton, California, State Champion; Caroline Chubb, 2nd; Collin Tuerk, 3rd; Danielle Williams, 4th.
• Persuasion: Jaleon Brown, State Champion; Rashon Leday, State Runner-Up; Shainna Ralston, 3rd; Kole Ingram, 4th; Caitlyn Woitena, 5th.
• Poetry: Mauricio Patino, State Champion; Jaleon Brown, State Runner-Up; Micah Poole, 3rd; Reginald Jefferson, 4th.
• Program Oral Interpretation: Jonah Johnson of Burnsville, Minnesota, State Champion; Danielle Williams, State Runner-Up; JaKayla Brown, 3rd; Kirsten Eversmann, 5th.
• Prose: Mauricio Patino, State Champion; Cecilia Alali, State Runner-Up; Caitlyn Woitena, 3rd; Noah Gordon, 4th; Kirsten Eversmann, 5th.

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.