The WKU Forensics Team won its 11th American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament championship, hosted virtually this year April 1-5.
WKU sent 23 competitors with a total of 66 entries (the maximum allowed at the competition) to the national tournament. Of the 66 total entries, 44 advanced to quarterfinal rounds (top 24), 30 advanced to the semifinal round (top 12), and 19 events made it to the final rounds (top 6) of competition.
WKU was crowned team sweepstakes champion with 609 points, while the University of Texas at Austin placed second with 433 points and Bradley University placed third with 376.5 points. This is the largest margin of victory in at least the past decade. The AFA National Speech Tournament hosted 420 students with 1,200 total entries from 72 universities including the University of Alabama, George Mason University, Yale University, Cornell University and Vanderbilt University.
In addition to the team’s success, forensics team members captured seven of the top 20 individual sweepstakes awards -- a measure of individual success across multiple events of competition. Senior Derek Collins of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was named second overall; senior Ryan Gosling of West Palm Beach, Florida, was named third overall; and senior Rahmane Dixon of Houston, Texas, placed 10th overall.
WKU seniors Derek Collins and Emma Warnecke of Detroit, Michigan, were recognized as two of the 19 members of the AFA All-American Team for their work in the community, as scholars, and as leaders. One school receiving two such awards is a rare achievement.
WKU Director of Forensics Ganer Newman believes this victory has a special significance in the history of the team and the activity at large. “The pandemic forced us to completely rethink our approach to the competition. Speech and debate has been ‘in person’ for the last century.”
However, Newman said the virtual nature of this season required students and their coaches to innovate completely new ways to practice and compete in a remote format. “Our students and coaches understood that most audiences are experiencing a degree of Zoom fatigue, so team members had to think outside the box in order to make every speech as entertaining, thought-provoking, and moving as possible,” Newman said.
In the 11 categories offered at the tournament, WKU students captured five national championship titles, tying the record for number of individual event championships at the tournament. Students winning national titles include Ryan Gosling and Derek Collins in Duo Interpretation, Ryan Gosling in Poetry Interpretation, Rahmane Dixon in Impromptu Speaking, Jo Headrick in After Dinner Speaking, and Paige Allbright in Dramatic Interpretation.
The success of the freshman class was also a point of pride for the team as a whole, Newman said. “WKU had three different freshman team members reach the final rounds of the competition, with other first-year students reaching the semifinal and quarterfinal rounds. This is a rare feat for our team and signals a bright future for the organization moving forward,” he said.
Ultimately, the coaching staff was inspired by the way the team came together under profoundly challenging circumstances. “Some of our students, like so many around the world, have suffered devastating losses during the pandemic,” Newman said. “The leadership of our outstanding senior class and the incredible instruction and planning from our coaches Ben Robin, Jeremy Frazer, Chad Meadows, Seth Peckham, our graduate assistant coaches Camille Acosta and Anthony Survance, and our office coordinator Debra Gensheimer enabled the team to come together with passion, creativity, and perseverance. We all felt a sense of triumph long before the awards ceremony. We are proud to see that effort culminate in a team national championship title.”
Next up, the WKU team will compete at the National Forensics Association Championship Tournament, hosted virtually April 16-19.
Results from AFA National Speech Tournament
National Finalists
After Dinner Speaking
Communication Analysis
Dramatic Interpretation
Duo Interpretation
Impromptu Speaking
Informative Speaking
Poetry Interpretation
Program Oral Interpretation
Prose Interpretation
Semifinalists (top 12)
Communication Analysis
Dramatic Interpretation
Extemporaneous Speaking
Impromptu Speaking
Informative Speaking
Persuasive Speaking
Poetry Interpretation
Program Oral Interpretation
Quarterfinalists (top 24)
After Dinner Speaking
Communication Analysis
Dramatic Interpretation
Duo Interpretation
Extemporaneous Speaking
Informative Speaking
Program Oral Interpretation
Prose Interpretation
Individual Sweepstakes
More: Check out the WKU Forensics Facebook page or follow @wkuforensics and @DebateWku on Twitter.
Photo caption: The WKU Forensics Team won its 10th American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament. Top to bottom, left to right: Office Coordinator Debra Gensheimer, Coach Jeremy Frazer, Joseph Eberle, Caitlyn Woitena, Ryan Gosling, Derek Collins, Rickey Williams, Director of Individual Events Ben Robin, Director of Forensics Ganer Newman, Kellin Robinson, Autumn Howard, Rashon Leday, Jo Headrick, Reggie Jefferson, Corey Newsome, Madelynn Einhorn, Samantha Sallee, Tess Welch, Daliss Hicks, Paige Allbright, Kelly Lingen, Stefani Giles, Rahmane Dixon, Tani Washington, Emma Warnecke, Tayland Ratliff, and Reese Johnson. Not pictured are Director of Debate Chadwick Meadows, Coach Seth Peckham, graduate assistant coaches Camille Acosta, and Anthony Survance.
Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340
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