This past weekend, the Hastings College Forensics team competed at the American Forensics Association’s National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) hosted by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Out of 58 schools, the team brought home 18th place — a top 18 placing for the 9th year in a row.
The team’s top performer at nationals was Bri Narick, a sophomore from Bellevue, Nebraska, who advanced to national finals, earning 6th out of 86 competitors in poetry interpretation, semifinals (top 12 out of 91) in communication analysis and quarterfinals (top 28 of 135) in prose interpretation.
Lilac Ramsey, a sophomore from Wilson, North Carolina, also had a good tournament, advancing to quarterfinals (top 28 of 123) in impromptu speaking.
“This is the third year in a row that Hastings College has produced at least one national finalist. That’s impressive for any team, but it’s especially incredible given our team is exclusively made up of students in their first two years of college competition. We’re very proud of what they accomplished this year and we’re excited for the future,” said Jordan Johnson, director of forensics.
Also representing Hastings College Forensics at the AFA-NST were:
- Morgan Ashcraft, a sophomore from Limon, Colorado
- Margie Osorio Barrios, a first-year from Aurora, Colorado
- Korey Bond, a first-year from Cimarron, Kansas
- Brooke Brockman, a junior from Elwood, Nebraska
- Meg Dedic, a sophomore from Auburn, Nebraska.
- Hailey Gifford, a sophomore from Eagle, Colorado
- June Houlihan, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska
- Abby Klatt, a first-year from Hastings, Nebraska
- Natalie Miles, a first-year from Onida, South Dakota
- Avery Usher, a first-year from Lincoln, Nebraska
Full tournament results are available here.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
