The Hastings College Forensics Team split into groups December 1-2 to attend the Valley Forensics League Tournament in Vermillion, South Dakota, hosted by the University of South Dakota, and the Final Stage Tournament in Crete, Nebraska, hosted by Doane University and the University of Nebraska–Kearney.
The team finished the semester strong with first-year student Claire Nelson from Bagley, Minnesota, qualifying her first event to the AFA-NIET in After Dinner Speaking. Others qualified numerous events to AFA-NIET and junior Jadah Morrison of Chaska, Minnesota, placed second in Individual Sweepstakes at Doane University the second day.
The team will head home for winter break until they travel again in January.
The results from the weekend are below.
Saturday, December 1:
Valley Forensics League Tournament:
- Claire Nelson, a first-year from Bagley, Minnesota, placed second in After Dinner Speaking.
- Sam Johnson, a first-year from Hastings, Nebraska, placed fifth in Impromptu Speaking.
- Sam Burke, a sophomore from Denver, Colorado, placed first in Persuasive Speaking and second in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Nathan Navratil, a junior from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed first in Informative Speaking and second in Program Oral Interpretation.
The team placed third in Team Sweepstakes.
The Final Stage Tournament:
- Alli Kennon, a junior from Lakeville, Minnesota, placed second in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a senior from Wayzata, Minnesota and third in Duo Interpretation with Jadah Morrison, a junior from Chaska.
- Jadah Morrison, a junior from Chaska, Minnesota, placed third in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a junior from Lakeville, Minnesota, and fifth in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a senior from Wayzata, Minnesota, placed first in Dramatic Interpretation, second in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a junior from Lakeville, Minnesota and fourth in Prose Interpretation.
Sunday, December 2:
Valley Forensics League Tournament:
- Claire Nelson, a first-year from Bagley, Minnesota, placed first in After Dinner Speaking.
- Sam Johnson, a first-year from Hastings, Nebraska, placed fourth in Impromptu Speaking and fifth in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Sam Burke, a sophomore from Denver, Colorado, placed first in Persuasive Speaking, first in Extemporaneous Speaking, and sixth in Impromptu Speaking.
- Nathan Navratil, a junior from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed first in Informative Speaking, first in Program Oral Interpretation, and third in Impromptu Speaking.
The team placed third in Team Sweepstakes.
The Final Stage Tournament:
- Alli Kennon, a junior from Lakeville, Minnesota, placed first in Duo Interpretation with Jadah Morrison, a junior from Chaska.
- Jadah Morrison, a junior from Chaska, Minnesota, placed first in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a junior from Lakeville, Minnesota, second in Dramatic Interpretation, and fifth in Persuasive Speaking.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a senior from Wayzata, Minnesota, placed second 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 8th at AFA-NIET 2018.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. 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.
