The Hastings College forensics team traveled to Manhattan, Kansas, October 2-3 to compete at the BuffCat Swing co-hosted by West Texas A&M University. Hastings College continued to showcase quality work at the second tournament of the year by taking first place on Saturday, beating the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the process. Hastings College also placed fourth on Sunday, finishing ahead of Doane University.
This coming weekend the team competes at the I-80 Swing at the University of Nebraska–Kearney, co-hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Individual results from the BuffCat Swing are listed below:
Saturday, October 2 Results
- Eunice Adounkpe, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska, placed third in Dramatic Interpretation, fourth in Poetry Interpretation and first in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a sophomore from Wayzata, Minnesota.
- Kenzie Shofner, a junior from Maple Plain, Minnesota, placed fifth in Communication Analysis and third Program Oral Interpretation.
- Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed third in Poetry, fourth in Informative and third in Duo with Alli Kennon, a freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota.
- Andrew Boge, a junior from Johnston, Iowa, placed fifth in Informative Speaking and fourth in Communication Analysis.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a sophomore from Wayzata, Minnesota, placed second in Poetry Interpretation, first in Prose Interpretation, first in Informative Speaking and first in Duo Interpretation with Eunice Adounkpe, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska. Spotts-Falzone also won first in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Camryn Sharratt, a sophomore from Savage, Minnesota, placed fourth in Program Oral Interpretation and sixth in Impromptu Speaking.
- Austin Heinlein, a sophomore from Hutchinson, Kansas, placed sixth in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Alli Kennon, a freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota, placed fourth in Prose Interpretation and third in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota.
Sunday, October 3 Results
- Eunice Adounkpe, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska, placed fourth in Dramatic Interpretation and third in Poetry Interpretation.
- Kenzie Shofner, a junior from Maple Plain, Minnesota, placed fifth in Prose Interpretation and fifth in Impromptu Speaking.
- Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed fourth in Informative and fifth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Andrew Boge, a junior from Johnston, Iowa, placed third in Informative Speaking, second in Dramatic Interpretation and first in Communication Analysis. Boge also won second in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Karina El-Refai, a freshman from New York Mills, Minnesota, placed seventh in Informative Speaking.
The Hastings College forensics team continues a long-running tradition of national competitive success, placing in the top 20 at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET) for many of the past ten years. Most recently, Hastings College placed 15th at AFA-NIET 2016 in Gainesville, Florida, and 14th at AFA-NIET 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
