WKU News

WKU Forensics hosted its annual fall tournament on September 22-24, returning to hosting an in-person competition for the first time since 2019.

The event featured asynchronous online competition in speech and in-person college Lincoln-Douglas debate including the Alexis Elliott Memorial Round Robin, an invite only tournament for eight of the best returning students in the country. WKU students Antonina Clementi of Lafayette, Louisiana, and Rae Fournier of Woodbridge, Virginia, received invitations to the round robin. 

Clementi and Fournier closed out the final round of the Alexis Elliott Memorial Round Robin, taking the top two spots in the competition.

WKU also hosted the Rising Stars challenge, an invite only event for students in their first two years of college competition. Nik Schintgen of Lansing, Kansas, and JaKayla Brown of Kansas City, Kansas, received invites for the event. Other institutions included the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of North Texas, and Florida State University.

In the Asynchronous speech portion WKU students won four events. Christian Butterfield of Bowling Green, Kentucky, won Individual sweepstakes in recognition of their success across multiple events and genres. 

Director of Individual Events Ben Robin said: “Schools from over 16 states attended the tournament. It was an honor to be the host for many institutions’ opening weekend.”

Director of Forensics Ganer Newman said: “We are so grateful to the faculty and staff members from Psychology, Environmental Health & Safety, English, Office of Student Support Services, the Mahurin Honors College, The School of Leadership and Professional Studies, and Department of Music who helped judge the competition.”

WKU Forensics also attended the Owen L. Coon Memorial Tournament hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on September 16-18.  The Northwestern tournament is the major season opener of the two-person policy debate circuit. Over 40 institutions attended the tournament including Harvard College, the University of Michigan, Georgetown University, and Dartmouth College. 

Four WKU students attended, comprising two teams who entered into the Varsity and Junior Varsity division, respectively. WKU posted an 8-4 record in the preliminary debates, including wins over students from Emory University, Wake Forest University, and Indiana University.

First-year students Nik Schintgen of Lansing, Kansas, and Chase Shockley of Carthage, Missouri, advanced to the elimination debates of the Junior Varsity division, ultimately finishing in the top four.

Director of Debate Chad Meadows said: “This was a thrilling couple of weeks for WKU, with two tournaments in two weeks where WKU took home high honors. It’s a testament to the hard work the students and assistant coaches put in over the season.”

WKU Round Robins and Fall Tournament

• Alexix Elliott Memorial Round Robin Danny Ray Memorial Top Speaker Award: Rae Fournier.
• Alexis Elliott Memorial Round Robin: Antonina Clementi and Rae Fournier, Co-Champions
• Rising Stars Speaker: Nik Schintgen, 2nd.
• Rising Stars Challenge: Nik Schintgen, 3rd; JaKayla Brown, 4th.
• Open LD Debate: Rae Fournier, 2nd; Antonina Clementi, Top 8; Nik Schintgen, Top 8; Hannah Jones of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Top 10.
• Open LD Debate Speaker: Rae Fournier, 1st; Antonina Clementi, 3rd.
• After Dinner Speaking: Sophie Todaro of St. Paul, Minnesota, 1st; Jade Ismail of Lafayette, Louisiana, 3rd.
• Communication Analysis: Christian Butterfield, 1st; Dakota Perry of Rowan County, Kentucky, 3rd.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 2nd; Kole Ingram of Hindman, Kentucky, 4th.
• Impromptu Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 2nd; Ryder Ebert of Madison, Mississippi, 4th.
• Informative Speaking: Christian Butterfield, 1st.
• Prose Interpretation: Jonah Johnson of Burnsville, Minneapolis, 1st; Cecilia Alali of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 2nd; Micah Poole of Lafayette, Louisiana, 4th.

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

Photo caption: Members of the WKU Forensics Team include (back row, from left) Karon Petty, Collin Tuerk, Imam Brula, Somtoo Nkruhmeh, Nik Schintgen, Rae Fournier, Kole Ingram, Evan Grisham, Dakota Perry; (second row, from left) Jacob Holbrook, Jonah Johnson, Chase Shockley, Antonina Clementi, Reginald Jefferson, Joseph Eberly, Christian Butterfield, Ryder Hebert; (third row, from left) Kirsten Eversmann, Jaleon Brown; (fourth row, from left) Caroline Chubb, Danielle Williams, Yasmina Murdova, Sophia Todaro, Noah Gordon, Tani Washington, Sean Diaz, Ben Williams; (front row, from left) Jade Ismail, Denise Marin, Hannah Jones, JaKayla Brown, Rashon Leday, Samantha Sallee, Micah Poole, Mauricio Patino.

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340

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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.