A portion of the Hastings College Forensics team traveled to the University of Nebraska at Kearney to compete at the I-80 Swing co-hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on October 8-9. The “small but mighty” Hastings team placed fourth on Saturday, beating UNL, UNK and Creighton University. Hastings placed fifth on Sunday, finishing ahead of Concordia University (Nebraska), UNK and Creighton.
The Broncos forensics team sent a larger group to compete again the following weekend at the Southern Minnesota Swing in Mankato, Minnesota. The competition was co-hosted by Southwest Minnesota State University. Hastings College continued to showcase “Hastings quality” at the fourth tournament of year, taking second place overall and rising above Concordia College (Minnesota), the University of Nebraska–Omaha and University of South Dakota.
The Hastings College Forensics will compete at the Halloween Swing hosted by University of Nebraska Omaha and Doane University on October 29-30.
Individual results from the I-80 Swing and Southern Minnesota Swing are listed below:
Saturday, October 8th Results (I-80 Swing):
- Kenzie Shofner, a junior from Maple Plain, Minnesota, placed second in Communication Analysis and second Program Oral Interpretation. Shofner also won second in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Andrew Boge, a junior from Johnston, Iowa, placed fifth in Dramatic Interpretation and first in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Austin Heinlein, a sophomore from Hutchinson, Kansas, placed fourth in After Dinner Speaking.
- Jadah Morrison, a freshman from Chaska, Minnesota, placed fifth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Nathan Navratil, a freshman from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed third in After Dinner Speaking.
Sunday, October 9th Results (I-80 Swing):
- Kenzie Shofner, a junior from Maple Plain, Minnesota, placed first in Communication Analysis, second Program Oral Interpretation and sixth in Prose Interpretation. Shofner also won second place in Individual Sweepstakes for the day, as well as second in Individual Sweepstakes for the I-80 Swing overall.
- Andrew Boge, a junior from Johnston, Iowa, placed third in Dramatic Interpretation and first in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Austin Heinlein, a sophomore from Hutchinson, Kansas, placed fifth in After Dinner Speaking and fourth in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Jadah Morrison, a freshman from Chaska, Minnesota, placed fifth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Nathan Navratil, a freshman from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed sixth in After Dinner Speaking.
Saturday, October 15 Results (Southern Minnesota Swing):
- Eunice Adounkpe, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska, placed fifth in Poetry Interpretation and first in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a sophomore, from Wayzata, Minnesota.
- Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed first in Poetry, second in Informative and sixth in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota. Merritt also won third in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Sabrina Maxwell, a sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, placed fourth in Dramatic Interpretation and sixth in Persuasive Speaking.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a sophomore from Wayzata, Minnesota, placed third in Poetry Interpretation, fourth in Prose Interpretation, first in Informative Speaking, first in Dramatic Interpretation and first in Duo Interpretation with Eunice Adounkpe, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska. Spotts-Falzone also won first in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Alli Kennon, a freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota, placed sixth in Program Oral Interpretation and sixth in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota.
- Nathan Navratil, a freshman from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed fourth in After Dinner Speaking.
- Karina El-Refai, a freshman from New York Mills, Minnesota, placed fourth in Informative Speaking.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a freshman from Fremont, Nebraska, placed sixth in Informative Speaking.
Sunday, October 16 Results (Southern Minnesota Swing):
- Eunice Adounkpe, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska, placed first in Poetry Interpretation, second in Dramatic Interpretation and seventh in Impromptu Speaking. Adounkpe also won fourth in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed second in Prose Interpretation and second in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota.
- Camryn Sharratt, a sophomore from Savage, Minnesota, placed third in Prose Interpretation and fifth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a sophomore from Wayzata, Minnesota, placed first in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Alli Kennon, a freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota, placed seventh in Program Oral Interpretation, fifth in Informative Speaking, fifth in Prose Interpretation and second in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota. Kennon also won fifth in Individual Sweepstakes.
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.
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.
