The Hastings Forensics team split up to attend two different tournaments November 2-3. A group of seven attended the Harvest Swing hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and a group of five attended the 72nd Annual L.E. Norton National Tournament hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
The crew in Lincoln placed second in Team Sweepstakes on Sunday, with Elizabeth Hansen, a senior from Fremont, Nebraska; and Sam Burke, a junior from Denver, Colorado; qualifying events to the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament in April.
The Norton crew placed fourth place in Team Sweepstakes for the overall tournament amongst 28 schools. Senior Alli Kennon from Spicer, Minnesota, placed first in Individual Sweepstakes for the overall tournament.
The team is preparing for their fall semester home tournament, the Broncolope, hosted with the University of Nebraska–Kearney. The tournament will run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. November 23 and 24 in the Morrison-Reeves Science Center. The tournament is free and open to the public.
The results from both tournaments are below.
Harvest Swing
November 2, 2019
- Sam Burke, a junior from Denver, Colorado, placed fourth in Informative Speaking.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a senior from Fremont, Nebraska, placed fifth in Impromptu Speaking and fifth in Program Oral Interpretation.
November 3, 2019
- Nikki DeSeriere, a first-year from Westminster, Colorado, placed fourth in After Dinner Speaking.
- Claire Nelson, a sophomore from Bagley, Minnesota, placed fifth in Impromptu Speaking.
- Sam Johnson, a sophomore from Hastings, Nebraska, placed fourth in Communication Analysis.
- Sam Burke, a junior from Denver, Colorado, placed second in Poetry Interpretation, third in Extemporaneous Speaking, and first in Informative Speaking. Burke also placed first in Individual Sweepstakes
- Elizabeth Hansen, a senior from Fremont, Nebraska, placed second in Impromptu Speaking and third in Program Oral Interpretation.
The Hastings College Speech team placed second in Team Sweepstakes.
72nd Annual L.E. Norton
November 3, 2019
- Natalie Watson, a first-year from Franklin, Tennessee, was a semi-finalist in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Isaabella Munoz, a junior from Worland, Wyoming, placed fifth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Courtney Hanson, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, was a semi-finalist in After Dinner Speaking and placed third in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a senior from Spicer, Minnesota.
- Nathan Navratil, a senior from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, was a semi-finalist in After Dinner Speaking and Poetry Interpretation.
- Alli Kennon, a senior from Spicer, Minnesota, placed first in Prose Interpretation, second in Dramatic Interpretation, second in Persuasive Speaking, and third in Duo Interpretation with Courtney Hanson, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota. She also placed first in Individual Sweepstakes.
The team placed fourth in Team 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 9th at AFA-NIET 2019.
Nebraska’s premier private college, Hastings College is a 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.
