The WKU Forensics Team won the 2012 Kentucky State forensics tournament on Saturday (Feb. 18), keeping alive a streak that began in 1990. This year’s tournament, hosted at Berea College, featured teams from all across the Commonwealth participating in speech and debate events.
Six members of the WKU Forensics team also traveled to Houston, Texas, to compete in two tournaments at Rice University.
WKU was crowned the Kentucky State Grand Sweepstakes Champions for the 22nd consecutive year. The Grand Champion Sweepstakes are determined by combining each team’s debate points and their individual events points earned over the course of the weekend.
The team also won the state championship in debate sweepstakes and the state championship in individual events sweepstakes. The state tournament also recognizes the individual success of students competing in at least four events: the quadrathon award. WKU received all of the top four rankings, with junior Amanda Waid the state champion, junior Mitchell Grogg placing second, senior Khristan Solliday placing third, and freshman Ellis Fraser placing fourth. In all, the team earned 14 individual state championships.
In Houston, WKU’s squad of six placed second in overall team sweepstakes, earning six individual tournament championships in the process. All WKU students advanced to a final round. Other schools competing included the University of Texas at Austin and Illinois State University. WKU sophomore Nick Gilyard also placed fourth in individual sweepstakes, a measure of overall individual success.
Individual results for KFA State are as follows:
- Amanda Waid, a junior from Symsonia, state champion in dramatic interpretation, state champion in persuasive speaking, state champion in poetry interpretation, second in prose interpretation, and third in after-dinner speaking.
- Tyler Dailey, a junior from Blue Springs, Mo., state champion in programmed oral interpretation, state champion in after-dinner speaking, second in poetry interpretation.
- Mitchell Grogg, a junior from Evansville, Ind., state champion in editorial impromptu, state champion in parliamentary debate (with Robert Hollar) fifth in radio broadcasting, fifth in extemporaneous speaking, and sixth debate speaker.
- Khristan Solliday, a senior from Mitchell, Ind., state champion in communication analysis, second in editorial impromptu, fourth in extemporaneous speaking, fifth in after-dinner speaking, and sixth in persuasive speaking.
- Tiffany McLarty, a freshman from Bronx, N.Y., state champion in informative speaking, fourth in dramatic interpretation, and fifth in prose interpretation.
- Janniqua Dawkins, a freshman from Hollywood, Fla., state champion in duo interpretation (with Austin Groves) fourth in persuasive speaking, and fifth in dramatic interpretation.
- Ellis Fraser, a freshman from Hodgenville, state champion in impromptu speaking, fourth in after-dinner speaking, and fourth in poetry interpretation.
- Liz Owens-Courtney, a senior from San Antonio, Texas, state champion in extemporaneous speaking, fourth in communication analysis, and quarter-finalist in parliamentary debate (with Alexis Elliott).
- Alexander Wozencraft, a senior from Tulsa, Okla., state champion in prose interpretation and fourth in duo interpretation (with Layton Garlington).
- Austin Groves, a freshman from Blue Springs, Mo., state champion in duo interpretation (with Janniqua Dawkins).
- Robert Hollar, a freshman from Los Angeles, Calif., state champion in parliamentary debate (with Mitchell Grogg).
- Marshall Covert, a sophomore from St. Paul, Minn., second in dramatic interpretation, second in communication analysis, second in informative speaking, second in duo interpretation (with Ray Roberts) and fifth in duo interpretation (with Laura Myers).
- Ray Roberts, a freshman from Houston, Texas, second in duo interpretation (with Marshall Covert) and second in after-dinner speaking.
- Tyler Prochazka, a freshman from Newton, Kan., second in extemporaneous speaking, fourth debate speaker, and quarter-finalist in parliamentary debate (with Susan Taylor).
- Spencer Orlowski, a sophomore from Davie, Fla., second in persuasive speaking, fourth in informative speaking, and quarter-finalist in parliamentary debate (with Frank Murdock).
- Susan Taylor, a junior from Kansas City, Mo., second in impromptu speaking, fifth debate speaker, and quarter-finalist in parliamentary debate (with Tyler Prochazka).
- Nefertiti Dukes, a freshman from Miami Gardens, Fla., second debate speaker.
- Laura Myers, a junior from Goodlettesville, Tenn., third in communication analysis, fifth in informative speaking, and fifth in duo interpretation (with Marshall Covert).
- Kristina Medero, a freshman from Davie, Fla., third in poetry interpretation and fifth in communication analysis.
- Mario Nguyen, a senior from Plano, Texas, third in editorial impromptu and fifth in poetry interpretation.
- Matt Whitman, a senior from Austin, Texas, third in informative speaking and third debate speaker.
- Alexis Elliott, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., third in extemporaneous speaking, quarter-finalist in parliamentary debate (with Liz Owens-Courtney) and ninth debate speaker.
- Frank Murdock, a senior from Kingston, Wash., third in impromptu speaking, quarter-finalist in parliamentary debate (with Spencer Orlowski) and 10th debate speaker.
- Layton Garlington, a sophomore from Ruston, La., fourth in duo interpretation (with Alex Wozencraft) and fifth in persuasive speaking.
Results from the University of Houston/Rice University “Owl and Pussycat Swing” are as follows:
- Nick Gilyard, a sophomore from Miami Gardens, Fla., tournament champion in informative speaking, second in duo interpretation (with Richard Heyne) and fourth in after-dinner speaking at the Houston tournament; tournament champion in duo interpretation (with Richard Heyne) and second in after-dinner speaking at the Rice tournament.
- Sarah Brazier, a junior from Wadsworth, Ohio, tournament champion in poetry interpretation, second in prose interpretation, and fifth in informative speaking at the Rice tournament; second in prose interpretation and third in informative speaking at the Houston tournament.
- Justin Rodriguez, a sophomore from Coos Bay, Ore., tournament champion in dramatic interpretation and seventh in persuasive speaking at the Houston tournament; tournament champion in dramatic interpretation at the Rice tournament.
- Richard Heyne, a sophomore from Sunrise, Fla., tournament champion in duo interpretation (with Nick Gilyard) and fourth in persuasive speaking at the Rice tournament; second in duo interpretation (with Nick Gilyard) at the Houston tournament.
- Gabriella Devia-Allen, a sophomore from Davie, Fla., fourth in communication analysis and sixth in prose interpretation at the Rice tournament; fifth in communication analysis and sixth in programmed oral interpretation at the Houston tournament.
- Ian Dowty, a freshman from Valley Center, Kan., sixth in after-dinner speaking at the Rice tournament.
Next weekend, the team will travel to Northwestern University, in DeKalb, Ill., and Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio, to compete in four tournaments.
Contact: Jace Lux: (270) 745-6340.
