WKU News

WKU Forensics team members competed at the L.E. Norton Memorial, hosted by Bradley University. Back row (left to right): Micah Poole, Reginald Jefferson; second row from back (left to right): Dakota Perry, Christian Butterfield, Karon Petty, Danielle Williams, Jaleon Brown, Collin Tuerk, Kole Ingram, Nik Schintgen, Finn Larson; third row from back (left to right): Joseph Eberle, Tani Washington, Caroline Chubb, Samantha Sallee, Cecilia Alali, JaKayla Brown; fourth row from back (left to right): Sophie Todaro, Jade Ismail, Mauricio Patino, Jonah Johnson; front row: Noah Gordon

WKU Forensics won major tournament championships to conclude competition for the Fall 2023 semester.

WKU won the sweepstakes championship at the L.E. Norton Memorial, hosted by Bradley University, and took a top spot at the American Debate Association Fall Championship, hosted by Wake Forest University.

L.E. Norton Memorial

Over 250 students attended the Bradley University tournament on November 4-5, and WKU students were recognized as two of the top three finishers.

Senior Tani Washington of Henrico, Virginia, placed second and junior Cece Alali of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, placed third in individual sweepstakes in recognition of their earned points across multiple events.  

First-year student Jade Ismail of Lafayette, Louisiana, took first in novice individual events, as the top speaker in their first year of college competition.

The Norton is the largest speech competition of the first semester, with 36 universities attending the tournament.

WKU placed first in team sweepstakes ahead of George Mason University, University of Alabama, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Eastern Michigan University.  

Director of Forensics Ganer Newman said: “The Norton is the largest in-person invitational tournament of the semester for our Individual Events group. Our students had fewer in-person travel competitions this season, so the students and their coaches are focused on making every opportunity count.”

ADA Fall Championship

WKU Forensics won the junior varsity division at the American Debate Association (ADA) Fall Championship on November 11-13.

The first-year team of Nik Schintgen of Lansing, Kansas, and Chase Shockley of Carthage, Missouri, defeated students from Liberty University, Wake Forest University, George Mason University, the University of Houston, the University of Minnesota, Georgia State University, and Samford University. Schintgen and Shockley were undefeated through six preliminary rounds and dropped a single ballot in the elimination debates, accruing a record of 14-1.

The American Debate Association Fall championship, the last event of the fall semester sponsored by the ADA, was attended by 55 teams.  

On the same weekend, sophomore Rae Fournier of Woodbridge, Virginia, and Antonina Clementi of Lafayette, Louisiana, competed at the 67th annual “Shirley” at Wake Forest University. The team assailed itself well, notching wins against Cornell, University of Kansas, and Emory.

The tournament is named for Franklin R. Shirley, a prominent debate director at Wake Forest University and former mayor of Winston-Salem, who originally hailed from Glencoe, Kentucky. The tournament is the culminating event of the fall semester, with over 130 teams competing in the tournament.

The students at both tournaments debated the 2023-2024 topic for college policy debate: “Resolved: The United States should restrict its nuclear forces in one or more of the following ways: adopting a nuclear no-first-use policy; eliminating one or more of the legs of its nuclear triad; disarming its nuclear forces.”

Director of Debate Chad Meadows said: “Major college policy debate tournaments are among the most impactful events in American higher education. Over three days we had 16 two-hour deliberative dialogues against students from America’s greatest institutions of higher education. We are eager to use these experiences to revise our arguments and build toward the national tournaments in the spring.”

Results from Bradley University's 76th Annual LE Norton Memorial

• Communication Analysis: Tani Washington, 1st; Christian Butterfield, 4th.
• Persuasive Speaking: Cecilia Alali of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 3rd.
• After Dinner Speaking: Reggie Jefferson of Houston, Texas, 5th.
• Dramatic Interpretation: Cecilia Alali, 1st; Mauricio Patino of Stockton, California, 4th.
• Duo Interpretation: Cecilia Alali and Jade Ismail, 1st; Jonah Johnson of Burnsville, Minnesota, and Noah Gordon of Pittsburg, California, 2nd; Maurcio Patino and Samantha Sallee of Danville, Kentucky, 4th.
• Informative Speaking: Tani Washington, 1st; Christian Butterfield, 2nd; Mauricio Patino, Semifinals; Joseph Eberle of Maple Grove, Minnesota, Semifinals.
• Impromptu Speaking: Christian Butterfield, Semifinals.
• Poetry Interpretation: Mauricio Patino, 1st; Jonah Johnson, 2nd.
• Program Oral Interpretation: Christian Butterfield, 1st.
• Prose Interpretation: Tani Washington, 1st; Caroline Chubb of Lewis Center, Ohio, 2nd; Samantha Sallee, 3rd; Micah Poole of Lafayette, Louisiana, 4th, Collin Tuerk of Morehead, Kentucky, semifinals; Cecilia Alali, semifinals.
• Novice After Dinner Speaking: Sophie Todaro of St. Paul, Minnesota, 1st; Jade Ismail, 2nd.
• Novice Dramatic Interpretation: Jade Ismail of Lafayette Louisiana, 1st; Karon Petty of Houston, Texas, 2nd. 
• Novice Poetry Interpretation: Karon Petty, 1st.
• Novice Program Oral Interpretation: Nik Schintgen of Lansing, Kansas, 1st; Finn Larson of Moorehead, Minnesota, 2nd; Sophie Todaro, 3rd.
• Novice Prose Interpretation: Sophie Todard, 2nd; Finn Larson, 4th.

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340