The Hastings College Forensics team traveled across Nebraska and to Minnesota the last three weekends to compete in their final tournaments of the year.
At the Battle for the Capitol, hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Omaha February 24-25, the team qualified four events for nationals, including first-year student Samantha Burke, sophomore Alli Kennon, sophomore Nathan Navratil and senior Kenzie Shofner.
After their success in Lincoln, the team traveled to Doane University March 3-4, to compete in the Feline Frolic tournament, where first-year student Maggie Rogers and sophomore Melissa Loney qualified two more events to the national competition. The team also won the tournament in team sweepstakes, taking home numerous awards.
For their last tournament of the year, the team went to Marshall, Minnesota, to compete in the Last Leg Tournament on March 9, where Hastings College earned first place in the team sweepstakes.
The team also finished strong at District 4 tournament on March 10, qualifying three more events for nationals.
For the year, the team qualified a total of 51 events for nationals, which is April 7-9 at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado.The last time Hastings College Forensics took more than 50 events was 12 years ago, making this a historical year for the Broncos.
In addition, Andrew Boge and Kenzie Shofner were forwarded to the national committee to be considered for the American Forensics Association All-American Team. This team consists of students who possess high competitive success, academic achievement and a significant focus on community service.
The results from the past three weekends are below.
Saturday, February 24:
- Samantha Burke, a first-year student from Denver, Colorado, placed first in Extemporaneous Speaking and fifth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed second in Prose Interpretation.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Orono, Minnesota, placed third in After Dinner Speaking.
Sunday, February 25:
- Samantha Burke, a first-year student from Denver, Colorado, placed sixth in Program Oral Interpretation and first in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Maggie Rogers, a first-year student from Birmingham, Alabama, placed fifth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed first in Impromptu Speaking.
- Alli Kennon, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota, placed first in Dramatic Interpretation.
Saturday, March 3:
- Samantha Burke, a first-year student from Denver, Colorado, placed third in After Dinner Speaking and seventh in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Maggie Rogers, a first-year student from Birmingham, Alabama, placed fourth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Derek Monie, a first-year student from Arapahoe, Nebraska, placed fourth in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Courtney Hanson, a first-year student from Brookings, South Dakota, placed first in After Dinner Speaking.
- Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota, placed fourth in Prose Interpretation.
- Brook McCurdy, a sophomore from Hastings, Nebraska, placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Melissa Loney, a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, placed first in Extemporaneous Speaking and third in Communication Analysis.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed third in Impromptu Speaking.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a sophomore from Fremont, Nebraska, placed fourth in Communication Analysis.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Orono, Minnesota, placed second in Communication Analysis.
Hastings College placed second in team sweepstakes for the day.
Sunday, March 4:
- Samantha Burke, a first-year student from Denver, Colorado, placed third in After Dinner Speaking and fifth in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Maggie Rogers, a first-year student from Birmingham, Alabama, placed first in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Derek Monie, a first-year student from Arapahoe, Nebraska, placed fourth in Dramatic Interpretation and first in Communication Analysis.
- Courtney Hanson, a first-year student from Brookings, South Dakota, placed first in After Dinner Speaking.
- Jesse McCollum, a first-year student from Kansas City, Kansas, placed third in Prose Interpretation.
- Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota, placed first in Prose Interpretation.
- Brook McCurdy, a sophomore from Hastings, Nebraska, placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Melissa Loney, a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, placed second in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed third in Impromptu Speaking.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a sophomore from Fremont, Nebraska, placed fourth in Communication Analysis.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Orono, Minnesota, placed first in Communication Analysis.
Hastings College placed first in team sweepstakes, winning the day.
Friday, March 9:
- Samantha Burke, a first-year student from Denver, Colorado, placed third in Program Oral Interpretation.
- Jesse McCollum, a first-year student from Kansas City, Kansas, placed fourth in Prose Interpretation and second in Duo Interpretation with Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota.
- Derek Monie, a first-year student from Arapahoe, Nebraska, placed first in Dramatic Interpretation.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed second in Impromptu Speaking.
- Brook McCurdy, a sophomore from Hastings, Nebraska, placed fifth in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Jadah Morrison, a sophomore from Chaska, Minnesota, placed first in Prose Interpretation.
- Melissa Loney, a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, placed second in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Kenzie Shofner, a senior from Orono, Minnesota, placed second in Communication Analysis.
Hastings College placed first in team sweepstakes.
Saturday, March 10:
- Samantha Burke, a first-year student from Denver, Colorado, placed sixth in Program Oral Interpretation and third in Impromptu Speaking.
- Derek Monie, a first-year student from Arapahoe, Nebraska, placed sixth in Communication Analysis.
- Elizabeth Hansen, a sophomore from Fremont, Nebraska, placed third in Communication Analysis.
- Nathan Navratil, a sophomore from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, placed second in Impromptu Speaking.
- Brook McCurdy, a sophomore from Hastings, Nebraska, placed fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking.
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.
