The Hastings College Forensics team competed at two synchronous tournaments October 10 and 11. On Saturday, October 10, students competed for the Bulldog Tournament hosted by Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, and on Sunday, October 11, four students competed at the Forensics Flyover hosted by Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas, placing first in the team sweepstakes.
Throughout the weekend, the team found many successes, qualifying five new events to the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) to be held virtually in April, and the four-person team at the Forensic Flyover won the tournament.
Senior Samantha Burke qualified Prose Interpretation, senior Courtney Hanson qualified After Dinner Speaking and Communication Analysis, junior Brendan Kachnowski qualified Program Oral Interpretation and sophomore Kiante Stuart qualified Persuasive Speaking.
Results from this weekend are below.
Bulldog Tournament Results
October 10, 2020
- Mae Heater, a first-year student from Bennington, Nebraska, placed sixth in Poetry Interpretation.
- Jacob Stulken, a first-year student from Doniphan, Nebraska, placed sixth in After Dinner Speaking.
- Nikki DeSeriere, a sophomore from Westminster, Colorado, placed second in Duo Interpretation with senior Courtney Hanson.
- Brendan Kachnowski, a junior from Rock Springs, Wyoming, placed third in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, placed seventh in Poetry Interpretation and second in Prose Interpretation.
- Courtney Hanson, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed first in After Dinner Speaking, third in Communication Analysis and second in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Nikki DeSeriere. She also placed first in individual sweepstakes.
Forensic Flyover Results
October 11, 2020
- Kiante Stuart, a sophomore from Nassau, The Bahamas, placed first in Persuasive Speaking.
- Brendan Kachnowski, a junior from Rock Springs, Wyoming, placed first in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Samantha Burke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, placed fifth in Extemporaneous Speaking, third in Informative Speaking, first in Poetry Interpretation and second in Prose Interpretation.
- Courtney Hanson, a senior from Brookings, South Dakota, placed first in After Dinner Speaking and second in Communication Analysis.
The team placed first 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 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.
