On October 16, the Hastings College Forensics team sent in videos for an asynchronous tournament, the Mustang Stampede, hosted by Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. The team competed against 25 different teams and placed third in overall team sweepstakes.
The team competed asynchronously and synchronously October 23-24 for the Halloween Swing hosted by the University of Nebraska–Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, and Doane University in Crete, Nebraska.
During these two weeks, the Forensics team qualified two events to the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST), which will happen virtually in April. Samantha Burke, a senior, qualified Poetry Interpretation, and senior Courtney Hanson qualified Prose Interpretation.
Results from the recent competitions are below.
Mustang Stampede Results
October 16, 2020
- Ally Banks, a first-year student from Shawnee, Kansas, placed first and received top novice in Poetry Interpretation.
- Victoria Caplinger, a first-year student from Effingham, Kansas, received top novice in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Brooklyn Elwood, a first-year student from Sutherland, Nebraska, received top novice in After Dinner Speaking.
- Nikki DeSeriere, a sophomore from Westminster, Colorado, placed fifth in Prose Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, placed second in Poetry Interpretation. She also placed sixth in individual sweepstakes.
The team placed third in team sweepstakes.
Halloween Swing Results
October 23, 2020
- Victoria Caplinger, a first-year student from Effingham, Kansas, received top novice in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Nikki DeSeriere, a sophomore from Westminster, Colorado, placed third in Prose Interpretation.
- Kiante Stuart, a sophomore from Nassau, The Bahamas, placed second in Duo Interpretation with junior Chloe Carson.
- Chloe Carson, a junior from Eagan, Minnesota, placed second in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Kiante Stuart.
- Brendan Kachnowski, a junior from Rock Springs, Wyoming, placed first in Duo Interpretation with senior Isaabella Munoz and fourth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, placed sixth in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Courtney Hanson, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed second in Prose Interpretation.
- Isaabella Munoz, a senior from Worland, Wyoming, placed first in Duo Interpretation with junior Brendan Kachnowski.
October 24, 2020
- Jacob Stulken, a first-year student from Doniphan, Nebraska, placed third in After Dinner Speaking.
- Courtney Hanson, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, 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 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.
