The Hastings College Bronco Forensics team placed second overall in team sweepstakes at their first tournament of the year, the Al Johnson Memorial Swing hosted by Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Over the two-day event, September 23 and 24, the team participated in an incredible 42 events.
The Bronco Forensics team also saw large success on September 29 and October 1 in the Once a Bearcat Swing hosted by Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, with Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa, placing 1st for the weekend in Individual Sweepstakes.
The team placed 1st overall in Team Sweepstakes and 1st overall in the quality award. The quality award is won by the team that pulls the most points divided by the number of events they brought to the tournament. With an average of eight points in each category, the Hastings team was a clear winner.
Individual results from the Al Johnson Memorial Swing and Northwest Missouri State University tournaments are listed below.
September 23 results:
- Daniel Trevithick, a first year student from Denver, Colorado: 5th in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a first year student from Denver, Colorado: 7th in After Dinner Speaking.
- Courtney Hanson, a first year student from Brookings, South Dakota: 6th in Poetry Interpretation.
- Maggie Rogers, a first year student from Birmingham, Alabama: 5th in Dramatic Interpretation, 2nd in After Dinner Speaking.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota: 4th in Prose Interpretation, 5th in Informative Speaking and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota.
- Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota: 6th in Dramatic Interpretation, 7th in Prose Interpretation and 6th in Persuasive Speaking.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota: 6th in After Dinner Speaking and 3rd in Poetry Interpretation.
- Melissa Loney, a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska: 2nd in Persuasive Speaking.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota: 1st in Program Oral Interpretation and 2nd in Poetry Interpretation.
- Austin Heinlein, a junior from Hutchinson, Kansas: 6th in Impromptu.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota: 5th in Prose Interpretation, 4th in Impromptu Speaking, 5th in Persuasive Speaking and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota.
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa: 1st in Communication Analysis, 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking, 3rd in Persuasive Speaking and 4th in Informative Speaking.
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota: 2nd in Program Oral Interpretation.
September 24 results:
- Courtney Hanson, a first year student from Brookings, South Dakota: 6th in Persuasive Speaking and sixth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Maggie Rogers, a first year student from Birmingham, Alabama: 5th in After Dinner Speaking and 6th in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Jesse McCollum, a first year student from Kansas City, Kansas: 4th in Duo Interpretation with Austin Heinlein, a Junior from Hutchinson, Kansas.
- Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota: 5th in Dramatic Interpretation and 5th in Prose Interpretation.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota: 4th in Informative Speaking and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota: 3rd in Poetry Interpretation, 6th in After Dinner Speaking and 6th in Prose Interpretation.
- Melissa Loney, a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, placed as a semi-finalist in Impromptu Speaking.
- Austin Heinlein, a senior from Hutchinson, Kansas: 4th in Duo Interpretation with Jesse McCollum, a first year from Kansas City, Kansas.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota: 1st in Program Oral Interpretation, 2nd in Poetry Interpretation and 1st in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota.
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota: 2nd in Program Oral Interpretation, 5th in Poetry Interpretation, 5th in Informative Speaking and 1st in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota.
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa: 2nd in Communication Analysis, 5th in Persuasive Speaking and 6th in Informative Speaking.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota: 4th in persuasive speaking, 6th in impromptu speaking and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota.
September 29 results:
- Samantha Burke, a first year student from Denver, Colorado, won the title of Top Novice while placing 2nd in After Dinner Speaking.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota: 3rd in After Dinner Speaking and 6th in Poetry Interpretation.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota: 2nd in Prose Interpretation and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota: 4th in Informative Speaking, 3rd in Poetry Interpretation, 3rd in Program Oral Interpretation, 1st in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota and 3rd in overall Individual Sweepstakes.
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota: 3rd in Informative Speaking, 2nd in Poetry Interpretation, 6th in Program Oral Interpretation, 1st in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota and 4th in overall Individual Sweepstakes.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota: 4rth in Persuasive Speaking, 3rd in Prose Interpretation and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota.
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa: 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking, 2nd in Persuasive Speaking, 1st in Communication Analysis, 1st in Informative Speaking and 1st in overall Individual Sweepstakes.
Hastings College takes first in Team Sweepstakes and wins the Quality Award.
October 1 results:
- Samantha Burke, a first year from Denver, Colorado, won the title of Top Novice and placed 4th in After Dinner Speaking.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota: 1st in After Dinner Speaking.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota: 6th in Informative Speaking, 5th in Prose Interpretation and 2nd in Duo Interpretation with Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota.
- Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota: 1st in Poetry Interpretation, 1st in Informative Speaking, 1st in Duo Interpretation with Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota and 2nd overall in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Caleb Merritt, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota: 4th in Poetry Interpretation, 1st in Program Oral Interpretation, 1st in Duo Interpretation with Carly Spotts-Falzone, a junior from Wayzata, Minnesota and 4th overall in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Maple Plain, Minnesota: 3rd in Persuasive Speaking, 2nd in Prose Interpretation, 2nd in Duo Interpretation and 5th overall in Individual Sweepstakes.
- Andrew Boge, a senior from Johnston, Iowa: 2nd in Persuasive Speaking, 3rd in Extemporaneous Speaking, 2nd in Informative Speaking, 1st in Communication Analysis and 1st overall in Individual Sweepstakes.
Hastings College takes first in Team Sweepstakes and wins the Quality Award again. Boge takes first in Individual Sweepstakes for the entire weekend.
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 12th at AFA-NIET 2017.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 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.
