The Boise State Speech and Debate team finished fourth overall at the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament at the University of Kentucky in Lexington on March 16-20. Out of 2,300 entries, 87 schools from across the nation – including fellow Idaho competitors College of Western Idaho and Idaho State University – were selected to compete in the tournament, which is known for its experimental events. The Talkin’ Broncos won numerous individual awards and had the first-place team finish in public debate.
“The national comprehensive tournament is a free-for-all,” said Manda Hicks, director of forensics. “You have competitors from all of the different speech and debate organizations – some of them dedicated Lincoln-Douglas debate programs, others high performance individual event schools. To be in that top four is quite an accomplishment.”
Janice Witherspoon (freshman, Caldwell) was the top debater from Boise, finishing as a semi-finalist in junior public debate. Freshman Kortni Klements (Meridian) went undefeated in six preliminary rounds and finished as a quarter-finalist in junior public debate. Witherspoon received the third-place speaker award and Klements received the tenth-place speaker award. The team of Ryan Orlando(junior, Meridian) and Jamie Maas (sophomore, Rapid City, SD) were quarter-finalists in parliamentary debate and were recognized as the tournament’s fifth and fourth best speakers in their debate format. Justin Henry (junior, Kennewick, WA) took fourth-place overall in a field of 88 competitors in congressional debate. Fred Swanstrum (senior, Kuna) received the ninth-place speaker award and finished as a quarter-finalist in public debate. Other tournament public debate finalists included: Luke Yeates (senior, Boise), who received the second-place speaker award; Kacie Hoch (junior, Boise), who received the eighth-place speaker award; Taylor Ashe (senior, Star); Brandon Sams (junior, Mountain Home); Justin Fields (junior, Star); and Scott Ludwig (junior, Pocatello). Cate Floate(junior, Meridian) received the tenth-place speaker award in public debate.
In individual events, Swanstrum led the Talkin’ Broncos with semi-finalist finishes in both persuasive speaking and program oral interpretation. Sams was a quarter-finalist in both editorial impromptu and informative speaking. Maddie Grady (sophomore, Whitefish, MT) was a quarter-finalist in both extemporaneous speaking and informative speaking. Hailie Johnson-Waskow (sophomore, Nampa) was a quarter-finalist in persuasive speaking. Maas was a quarter-finalist in impromptu speaking. Witherspoon was a quarter-finalist in extemporaneous speaking. Klements was a quarter-finalist in extemporaneous speaking. Orlando was recognized as a top competitor in the interviewing event, which had 174 competitors.
Other top speech competitors included: Yeates, Fields, Orlando and Witherspoon, who all received excellent awards in impromptu speaking; Henry and Floate, who received excellent awards in extemporaneous speaking; Ludwig, who received excellent awards in both interviewing and persuasive speaking; Floate, who received an excellent award in editorial impromptu; and Swanstrum, who received an excellent award in poetry interpretation.
The Talkin’ Broncos finish the national season at the International Public Debate Association Championship on April 1. The Talkin’ Broncos are the 2015-2016 Pi Kappa Delta National Champions in Speech and Debate and are supported in part through the generosity of the Jeker Family Trust. For more information about the Talkin’ Broncos, contact Hicks at mandahicks@boisestate.edu.
BY: CIENNA MADRID PUBLISHED 2:03 PM / MARCH 29, 2016