WKU News

Caption: Pictured in the photo are WKU Forensics team members. Back row (from left): Sage Carter, Chad Meadows, Vaden Kumar, Anderson Hendrix; middle row (from left): Killian Reck, Niklas Schintgen, Riley Ney, Camron Ingram; front row (from left): Kai Niendorf, Abigail Mike

WKU Forensics’ college policy debate program started the NDT/CEDA season reaching new heights, with elimination round appearances at both of the major tournament season openers.

At the 61st Owen L. Coon Memorial Debates at Northwestern University held from September 12-14, freshman Kai Niendorf and sophomore Cameron Ingram advanced to the Elite 8.

Their run consisted of wins against debaters from University of Kansas; Liberty University; University of California, Berkeley; Emory University and Michigan State University, before finally losing to the returning National Debate Tournament champion from Emory University. 

This was WKU’s first major tournament elimination debate since reviving policy debate in earnest in the fall of 2024. 

WKU followed up its performance at Northwestern University two weeks later by clearing a team at the 56th Annual JW Patterson Debates hosted by the University of Kentucky.

Sophomores Riley Ney and Vaden Kumar advanced to the Top 32, winning five of their six preliminary debates against students from Harvard University, the United States Naval Academy, the University of Michigan and the University of Kansas before losing a close 2-1 decision from the University of Southern California.

The national tournament intercollegiate policy debate schedule includes around six tournaments considered major indicators of national ranking where the top students from the most competitive policy debate programs vie for a spot in the coveted elimination rounds.

The tournaments at Northwestern University and the University of Kentucky jump-start the season, both in September, acting as a key barometer for a team’s strength.

A combined 260 entries, composed of two debaters each, debated between the two tournaments, representing nearly 50 universities. Only 12 other schools have advanced to elimination rounds at both tournaments with at least two distinct partnerships and won an elimination round.

“Teams returning to the NDT/CEDA circuit will sometimes take a decade to begin clearing at major tournaments, so we’re very proud of our growth in this event,” said Chad Meadows, Director of Debate.

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

Contact: Ganer Newman, (270) 745-6340

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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.