WKU News

The WKU Forensics team was crowned debate sweepstakes champion and placed second in individual events at the NFA National Championship April 16-20. Back row (from left): Sage Carter, Vaden Kumar, Kilian Reck, Chase Shockley, Tiley Net, Ryder Hebert, Finn Larson, Hayden Johnson, Sophie Todaro; middle row (from left): Tess Segal, Jade Ismail, Aquilla Dunn, Joshua St. Peter, Mia Carver, Victory Okoroji, Joie Willoughby, Aly Johnson, Elizabeth Allen, Nik Schintgen; front row (from left): Ameya Ouranik, Rae Fournier, JaKayla Brown, Fadé Akinbayo, Kirsten Eversmann, Sydney Retrig, Somtoo Nkuruhmeh

The WKU Forensics team was crowned debate sweepstakes champion and placed second in individual events at the National Forensics Association National Championship tournament April 16-20 at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn.

The other top five debate schools were Missouri State in second, University of Pittsburg in third, Washburn University in fourth and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in fifth. The nation’s top five in individual events were University of Texas at Austin, Western Kentucky University, Bradley University, Wayne State University and George Mason University.

WKU students also captured two individual national championships. Junior Jade Ismail was named the national champion in Program Oral Interpretation and junior Tess Segal won the Rhetorical Criticism national championship. Three WKU students were ranked among the top 15 overall competitors in the nation. Senior Somtoo Nkruhmeh placed 15th overall, senior Fadé Akinbayo placed 14th and junior Jade Ismail placed fifth.

In the Lincoln Douglas Debate, WKU earned the team debate championship by advancing seven of its 10 students to elimination rounds. In the single elimination bracket, WKU logged key wins against the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Missouri State University, to advance three of their students to the final four. Freshman Vaden Kumar of Newton, Kansas, advanced to the final round and finished second place individually. 

Of the 10 speaker awards recognized by the National Forensics Association, five were WKU students. Vaden Kumar placed second, junior Sage Carter of Salina, Kansas, placed third, Senior JaKayla Brown of Kansas City, Kansas, placed sixth, Senior Rae Fournier of Woodbridge, Virginia, placed seventh, Senior Joshua St-Peter of Canton, Georgia, placed eighth.

“WKU is incredibly proud to bring the NFA-LD team sweepstakes National Championship back to the hill. WKU’s record of team success in Lincoln-Douglas debate is unparalleled in any speech and debate competition,” Director of Debate Chad Meadows said. “Since 1995, WKU has captured 22 team sweepstakes National Championships in Lincoln-Douglas debate. No other program has more than two. Winning a championship as a team is the most gratifying because it belongs to every member of the program. Every hour of research, practice round and supportive pep-talk all culminated in a convincing win over some other incredibly talented teams from stellar universities.”

Earlier this spring, WKU finished first at the Asynchronous Speech Championship and won its 33rd consecutive Kentucky Forensic Association State Tournament. WKU Director of Forensics Ganer Newman said that work will begin this week for the 2026-2027 season. 

“We spend the final weeks advising our students and celebrating their accomplishments at our end of season banquet. We are already back to the drawing board for next season,” Newman said. “I’m extremely encouraged by the fact that we have a strong incoming class of recruits, and we will begin the season making full use of our brand new facilities at the Tim and Sarah Ford Fieldhouse. We’re going to do what we can to continue building on the legacy of WKU Forensics, and we aim to make WKU and Bowling Green proud.”

Individual results from the National Forensic Association National Tournament are as follows:

Lincoln Douglas Debate

Top 32

Riley Ney of Newton, Kansas

Top 16

Chase Shockley of Carthage, Missouri

Joshua St-Peter of Canton, Georgia

Nik Schintgen of Lansing, Kansas

Top 4

Sage Carter of Salina, Kansas

Rae Fournier of Woodbridge, Virginia

National Runner-Up

Vaden Kumar of Newton, Kansas

After Dinner Speaking: Fadé Akinbayo, semifinalist; Jade Ismail, semifinalist, Ryder Hebert, quarterfinalist; Tess Segal octofinalist; Elizabeth Allen, octofinalist

Communication Analysis: Tess Segal, National Champion; Victory Okoroji, 3rd; Fadé Akinbayo, 5th; Joie Willoughby, semifinalist; Aquila Dunn, semifinalist; Nik Schintgen, quarterfinalist; Finn Larson, octofinalist

Dramatic Interpretation: Fadé Akinbayo, 4th; Mia Carver, quarterfinalist; Somtoo Nkuruhmeh, quarterfinalist; Elizabeth Allen, octofinalist, Aquila Dunn, octofinalist; Hayden Johnson, octofinalist; Sydney Rettig, octofinalist

Duo Interpretation: Somtoo Nkurumeh and Victory Okoroji, 4th; Aquila Dunn and Jade Ismail, 5th; Finn Larson and Jade Ismail, semifinalists; Hayden Johnson and Joie Willoughby, semifinalists; Somtoo Nkurumeh and Hayden Johnson, octofoinalists

Impromptu Speaking: Sophie Todaro, octofinalist

Informative Speaking: Elizabeth Allen, semifinalist; Nik Schintgen, semifinalist; Kirsten Eversmann, quarterfinalist; Joie Willoughby, quarterfinalist; Jade Ismail, octofinalist; Aly Johnson, octofinalist

Persuasive Speaking: Tess Segal, semifinalist; Sydney Rettig, octofinalist

Poetry Interpretation: Aquilla Dunn, quarterfinalist; Victory Okoroji, quarterfinalist; Hayden Johnson; quarterfinalist

Program Oral Interpretation: Jade Ismail, National Champion; Somtoo Nkurumeh, semifinalist;  Fadé Akinbayo, quarterfinalist, Finn Larson, quarterfinalist; Elizabeth Allen, quarterfinalist;

Prose Interpretation: Jade Ismail, semifinalist; Elizabeth Allen, octofinalist; Kirsten Eversmann, octofinalist; Somtoo Nkuruhmeh, octofinalist; Tess Segal, octofinalist

More: Check out the WKU Forensics Facebook page or follow @wkuforensics and @DebateWku on X/Twitter.

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340.

-- WKU –

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.