WKU News

The WKU Forensics Team won the 2018 Kentucky Forensic Association State Tournament on Saturday in Owensboro.

WKU was crowned the state champion in overall team sweepstakes and in individual event team sweepstakes, and took second in large school debate sweepstakes. WKU students won 11 of the 15 event championships at the state tournament. The University of Kentucky placed second in overall sweepstakes, and Transylvania University placed third.

WKU Director of Forensics Ganer Newman was pleased with the team’s results. “We are all proud to see all our students’ hard work pay off with a State Championship,” he said.

Despite the state title, the season is far from over. “We are pleased with our efforts at the State Championship as well as the AFA District tournament, but we remain focused on achieving all of our team goals,” Newman said. “We have a lot of work to do to reclaim the AFA National Championship and hold on to our NFA National Championship titles.”

At the American Forensic Association District-Six National Qualifying Tournament, hosted on the campus of the University of Alabama, WKU also earned the team sweepstakes championships at both of the tournaments. In all, the WKU team walked away with 12 individual event championships. Other competing schools included the University of Alabama, the University of Florida and William Carey University. The tournament on Saturday was the regional qualifier tournament for the American Forensic Association national tournament, which allows teams to qualify students later in the year who may not have had an opportunity to qualify at-large earlier in the competition season.

The team will host its third annual Black Excellence Exposition on Thursday night (Feb. 22) in the Downing Student Union Auditorium, a showcase of performances by some of the students of the team in an effort to create Black History. Next weekend, the team will again split to compete in two locations: Normal and Peoria, Illinois.

Individual results for the 45th Annual Kentucky Forensic Association State Tournament are as follows:

• Andrea Ambam, a junior from Peculiar, Missouri, state champion in individual sweepstakes, state champion in informative speaking, state champion in communication analysis, state champion in programmed oral interpretation, state champion in prose interpretation, second in persuasive speaking and second in after-dinner speaking.
• Faith LoPiccolo, a sophomore from Lexington, state champion in after-dinner speaking, second in communication analysis, second in poetry interpretation and third in individual sweepstakes.
• Murphy Burke, a senior from Des Moines, Iowa, state champion in editorial impromptu, second in impromptu speaking, fifth in informative speaking and fifth in individual sweepstakes.
• Durwan Green, a senior from Lewisville, Texas, state champion in poetry interpretation, second in dramatic interpretation, fifth in prose interpretation and sixth in individual sweepstakes.
• Zach Bernat, a freshman from Canfield, Ohio, state champion in radio broadcasting and third in dramatic interpretation.
• Corey Newsome, a freshman from Morehead, state champion in dramatic interpretation and sixth in prose interpretation.
• Anthony Survance, a sophomore from Louisville, state champion in extemporaneous speaking, semifinalist in NPDA parliamentary debate (with Bradley Wascher) and ninth NPDA debate speaker.
• Alyssa Wilhelm, a sophomore from Roseville, Minnesota, second in prose interpretation, third in after-dinner speaking and third in poetry interpretation.
• Brian Anderson, a junior from Hodgenville, second in editorial impromptu, second IPDA debate speaker and semifinalist in IPDA parliamentary debate.
• Alex Rivera, a sophomore from Newton, Kansas, second in extemporaneous speaking and quarterfinalist in NPDA parliamentary debate (with Isaac Keller).
• Natalie Hedberg, a junior from Chaska, Minnesota, third in informative speaking, fourth in persuasive speaking, fifth in extemporaneous speaking and fifth in poetry interpretation.
• Lily Nellans, a senior from Des Moines, Iowa, third in editorial impromptu and eighth IPDA debate speaker.
• Ashlyn Jones, a freshman from Lafayette, Louisiana, third in extemporaneous speaking and quarterfinalist in NPDA parliamentary debate (with Bailey Rung).
• Emily Falica, a sophomore from Scottsville, fourth in editorial impromptu and fourth in extemporaneous speaking.
• Bradley Wascher, a sophomore from Montgomery, Alabama, fourth in informative speaking, semifinalist in NPDA parliamentary debate (with Anthony Survance), fifth in editorial impromptu and fifth in communication analysis.
• Bailey Rung, a senior from Blaine, Minnesota, fourth NPDA debate speaker, quarterfinalist in NPDA parliamentary debate (with Ashlyn Jones) and seventh IPDA debate speaker.
• Kelly Stone, a junior from Louisburg, Kansas, fourth in communication analysis and seventh NPDA debate speaker.
• Isaac Keller, a freshman from Kansas City, Missouri, quarterfinalist in IPDA parliamentary debate, quarterfinalist in NPDA parliamentary debate (with Alex Rivera) and ninth IPDA debate speaker.
• Symone Whalin, a freshman from Sonora, sixth in radio broadcasting.

Results from the District-6 AFA Qualifier/”Black Warrior” Invitational are as follows:

• Megan Armstrong, a senior from Morehead, district champion in informative speaking, district champion in persuasive speaking, second in communication analysis and second in after-dinner speaking at the D6 qualifier.
• Lyric Davis, a senior from Blue Springs, Missouri, district champion in after-dinner speaking, second in prose interpretation and second in duo interpretation (with Sam Moore) at the D6 qualifier; tournament champion in prose interpretation and second in duo interpretation (with Sam Moore) at the Black Warrior tournament.
• Mackenzie Birkey, a senior from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, tournament champion in informative speaking, third in prose interpretation and third in duo interpretation (with Casey Child) at the Black Warrior tournament; district champion in prose interpretation and fourth in informative speaking at the D6 qualifier.
• Emma Warnecke, a freshman from West Bloomfield, Michigan, district champion in programmed oral interpretation, fifth in communication analysis and fifth in poetry interpretation at the D6 qualifier; tournament champion in communication analysis at the Black Warrior tournament.
• Sean Diaz, a senior from El Paso, Texas, district champion in poetry interpretation and fifth in prose interpretation at the D6 qualifier; third in poetry interpretation and fifth in prose interpretation at the Black Warrior tournament.
• Rickey Williams, a freshman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, district champion in duo interpretation (with Zakiyyah Sanders) and second in poetry interpretation at the D6 qualifier; tournament champion in poetry interpretation at the Black Warrior tournament.
• Michael Rizzo, a senior from Weston, Florida, district champion in communication analysis and fourth in after-dinner speaking at the D6 qualifier.
• Zakkiyah Sanders, a freshman from Apple Valley, Minnesota, district champion in duo interpretation (with Rickey Williams) at the D6 qualifier.
• Lane Hedrick, a junior from Morehead, second in impromptu speaking, third in communication analysis, fourth in persuasive speaking and fifth in informative speaking at the D6 qualifier; second in persuasive speaking and third in informative speaking at the Black Warrior tournament.
• Casey Child, a junior from Taylor Mill, second in programmed oral interpretation and third in duo interpretation (with Mackenzie Birkey) at the Black Warrior tournament; second in persuasive speaking at the D6 qualifier.
• Sam Moore, a senior from Blue Springs, Missouri, second in duo interpretation (with Lyric Davis) at the D6 qualifier; second in duo interpretation (with Lyric Davis) at the Black Warrior tournament.
• Matt Wisenden, a junior from Moorhead, Minnesota, second in poetry interpretation at the Black Warrior tournament; third in duo interpretation (with Asha Wasuge) and fourth in poetry interpretation at the D6 qualifier.
• Sabas Del Toro, a junior from El Paso, Texas, third in programmed oral interpretation, fifth in duo interpretation (with Claire Champagne) and sixth in prose interpretation at the Black Warrior tournament; fifth in programmed oral interpretation and fifth in duo interpretation (with Claire Champagne) at the D6 qualifier.
• Claire Champagne, a sophomore from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, fourth in poetry interpretation and fifth in duo interpretation (with Sabas Del Toro) at the Black Warrior tournament; fifth in duo interpretation (with Sabas Del Toro) and sixth in poetry interpretation at the D6 qualifier.
• Asha Wasuge, a senior from Irvine, California, third in duo interpretation (with Matt Wisenden) at the D6 qualifier.

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

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340