The Hastings College Forensics Team had a couple of busy weeks but showed up in full force when they traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, October 28-29 for the Halloween Swing Tournament hosted by University of Nebraska–Omaha and Doane University.
After having a great weekend in Omaha, the team split up to take on the competition in multiple locations November 4-5. One group went to Peoria, Illinois, for Bradley University’s 70th Annual L.E. Norton Memorial, which is the largest national tournament of the year before nationals in the spring. While those Broncos fought their way to the top in Illinois, the other group was competing in Fremont, Nebraska, at the Rodeo Swing, hosted by Midland University, where they took third in Team Sweepstakes.
This weekend, November 11-12, the Forensics team is hosting a competition on campus. Rounds will be posted in Morrison-Reeves Science Center, with additional competitions happening in McCormick Hall and Daughtery Center. This theme for this year’s home event is “Figures of Speech,” headed by senior Andrew Boge from Johnston, Iowa. The tournament will run primarily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The results previous weekends are as follows:
October 28 results
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa, placed fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking and third in Informative Speaking.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota placed second in Informative Speaking, third in Prose Interpretation and fourth in Duo Interpretation with Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed fourth in After Dinner Speaking and fourth in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville Minnesota.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota placed fourth in Informative Speaking, fifth in Poetry Interpretation and second in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota.
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed seventh in Prose Interpretation, sixth in Program Oral Interpretation and second in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a sophomore from Fremont, Minnesota, placed fifth in Communication Analysis.
October 29 results
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed third in Prose Interpretation and fourth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota placed first in Informative Speaking and fourth in Duo Interpretation with Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota.
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa placed second in Communication Analysis, fourth in Persuade and fifth in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota, placed first in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a first-year from Denver, Colorado, was the Top Novice in Program Oral Interpretation.
November 4 results
- Daniel Trevithick, a first-year from Denver, Colorado, placed seventh in After Dinner Speaking and 5th in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Jesse McCollum, a first-year Kansas City, Kansas placed third in After Dinner Speaking.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a first-year from Fremont, Nebraska placed third in Communication Analysis.
- Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota, placed first in Persuasive Speaking and fourth in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Courtney Hansen, a first-year from Brookings, South Dakota, placed fourth in Poetry Interpretation.
Hastings College placed third for the day in team sweepstakes.
November 5 results
- Elizabeth Hansen, a first-year from Fremont, Nebraska placed first in Communication Analysis.
- Jesse McCollum, a first-year Kansas City, Kansas placed sixth in After Dinner Speaking and second in Prose Interpretation.
- Daniel Trevithick, a first-year from Denver, Colorado, placed sixth in Program Oral Interpretation and seventh in After Dinner Speaking.
- Courtney Hansen, a first-year from Brookings, South Dakota, placed second in Poetry Interpretation.
Hastings College placed third for the day in team sweepstakes.
November 5 results
- Maggie Rogers, a first-year from Birmingham, Alabama, was a semi-finalist in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa, was a semi-finalist in Communication Analysis and Informative Speaking.
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed second in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota placed third in Prose Interpretation.
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 12th at AFA-NIET 2017.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 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.
