The Hastings College Forensics team has been busy in the past two weeks with four different tournaments. Students competed asynchronously for the Fighting Scots Halloween Bash hosted by the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and synchronously at the Trick or Speak Tournament hosted by The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 31.
A group of students also competed synchronously November 6-7 for the Harvest Festival Tournament hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Nebraska, Lincoln, and for the first time, through a hybrid format for the LE Norton hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
For the LE Norton, the team sent in asynchronous videos for their preliminary rounds and then competed synchronously for out rounds. All five members that competed at the Norton broke into an out-round.
The three students who competed in the Trick or Speak Tournament placed fifth in overall team sweepstakes against top schools in the country such as George Mason University and Western Kentucky University.
The team also qualified more events to the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) that will happen virtually in April. Junior Chloe Carson Prose Interpretation and qualified Duo Interpretation with sophomore Kiante Stuart, junior Brendan Kachnowski qualified Poetry Interpretation, junior Sam Johnson qualified Informative Speaking and sophomore Nikki DeSeriere qualified Prose Interpretation.
The results from the weekends are below.
Fighting Scots Halloween Bash Results
October 31, 2020
- Kiante Stuart, a sophomore from Nassau, The Bahamas, placed first in Duo Interpretation with junior Chloe Carson.
- Chloe Carson, a junior from Eagan, Minnesota, placed first in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Kiante Stuart.
- Brendan Kachnowski, a junior from Rock Springs, Wyoming, placed first in Poetry Interpretation.
Trick or Speak Tournament Results
October 31, 2020
- Victoria Caplinger, a first-year student from Effingham, Kansas, placed fourth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Sam Johnson, a junior from Hastings, Nebraska, placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking and sixth in Informative Speaking.
- Brendan Kachnowski, a junior from Rock Springs, Wyoming, placed first in Poetry Interpretation.
The team placed fifth in team sweepstakes.
Harvest Festival Tournament Results
November 6, 2020
- Ally Banks, a first-year student from Shawnee, Kansas, placed second in After Dinner Speaking.
- Nikki DeSeriere, a sophomore from Westminster, Colorado, placed third in Duo Interpretation with senior Courtney Hanson and first in Prose Interpretation.
- Kiante Stuart, a sophomore from Nassau, The Bahamas, placed first in Duo Interpretation with junior Chloe Carson.
- Chloe Carson, a junior from Eagan, Minnesota, placed first in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Kiante Stuart.
- Sam Johnson, a junior from Hastings, Nebraska, placed first in Informative Speaking.
- Samantha Burke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, placed fifth in Informative Speaking.
- Courtney Hanson, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed third in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Nikki DeSeriere.
Hastings College placed third in Team Sweepstakes.
November 7, 2020
- Chloe Carson, a junior from Eagan, Minnesota, placed second in Prose Interpretation.
LE Norton Results
November 10, 2020
- Nikki DeSeriere, a sophomore from Westminster, Colorado, placed sixth in Duo Interpretation with senior Courtney Hanson.
- Brendan Kachnowski, a junior from Rock Springs, Wyoming, was a semifinalist in Poetry Interpretation, placed fourth in Duo Interpretation with senior Isaabella Munoz, and third in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, was a semifinalist in Informative Speaking.
- Courtney Hanson, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, was a semifinalist in After Dinner Speaking, placed sixth in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Nikki DeSeriere, and placed third in Prose Interpretation.
- Isaabella Munoz, a senior from Worland, Wyoming, placed fourth in Duo Interpretation with junior Brendan Kachnowski and placed fourth in Poetry 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 Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) for many of the past 10 years. Most recently, Hastings College placed 9th at AFA-NST 2019.
Hastings College is Nebraska’s premier private college. A four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement, Hastings’ student-centered initiatives include providing books, an iPad and a two-week study away experience at no additional cost. A block-style semester schedule allows professors and students to focus on fewer classes at a time and promotes hands-on experiences. Discover more at hastings.edu.
