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Capping an outstanding season, Forensics Society placed eighth in its division at the National Forensic Association’s annual championship tournament. Western Kentucky University won top honors at the event held April 13-18 at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Teams from 84 schools competed in the event.
At the national tournament, colleges are assigned divisions based on the total number of team entries for the event. Lafayette’s assignment in Division 2 indicates it was among schools with the second largest number of entries. Nine students represented Lafayette at the tournament, and three were among the top competitors in individual events.
Government and law major Joe Borland ’06 (Wilkes Barre, Pa.) was ranked among the top 12 competitors in extemporaneous speaking, a category with 126 entries, and competed in impromptu speech. Computer science major and Marquis Scholar Mark Kokoska ’08 (Bloomsburg, Pa.) was among the top 24 competitors in impromptu speech, a category with 185 entries, and competed in extemporaneous speech and Lincoln-Douglas debate. A double major in history and government & law and a Marquis Scholar, Christian Dato ’07 (Poway, Calif.) was in the top 32 speakers in debate, a category with 95 entries, and competed in impromptu speech.
“It has been an unbelievable experience being on this team over the past four years,” says Borland. “I am proud of all my team members because of the great people they are. The amount of young talent on this team will make it a force to be reckoned with over the next few years.”
Other competitors included law and philosophy major and Marquis Scholar Colby Block ’06 (Boca Raton, Fl.), debate; Trustee Scholar Joe Dudek ’09 (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.), debate and impromptu speech; Ng’ang’a Muchiri ’09 (Nairobi, Kenya), extemporaneous speech, impromptu speech, and rhetorical criticism; history major Bill O’Brien ’07 (Elmont, N.Y.), informative speech, persuasive speech, and rhetorical criticism; Marquis Scholar Amy Solomito ’09 (Coopersburg, Pa.), persuasive speech and rhetorical criticism; and Trustee Scholar Beth Wehler ’09 (Gettysburg, Pa.), extemporaneous speech and debate.
“At this tournament, I really saw the team come together, and it made me realize how glad I am to be a part of this successful, supportive group of people,” says Solomito. “I’ve enjoyed seeing how everybody’s hard work throughout the year has paid off. Best of luck to Joe [Borland] and Colby [Block]. It has been a pleasure to compete with them this year. This tournament showed me how much I’ve grown as a competitor since my first tournament in September.”
Scott Placke, director of forensics, and John Boyer, debate coach, accompanied the team. Boyer was elected by other coaches to the National Forensic Association’s debate committee. He will help select next season’s debate topic.
“My first national tournament with the Lafayette team was a humbling experience,” says Boyer. “Getting to spend time with this group of students has taught me a lot about being a coach, member, and friend. For a team of our size, we proved we are a program on the rise. I was especially proud of the debaters. They came together as a team, and it was satisfying to see the hard work pay off. This was a year of new beginnings after replacing four seniors and the team showed this was not just a rebuilding year.”
“I am very proud of the team and their accomplishments,” says Placke. “They are a great group of people and total joy to work with. John Boyer has been a great addition this year. He is an amazing coach, so full of ideas and new creative strategies. He is very deserving of his post on the national debate committee. I am sure he will represent Lafayette very well in the national debate community.”
Solomito and Placke are currently at University of West Florida for the Interstate Oratorical Association’s annual competition. Solomito was one of two competitors chosen at the annual state tournament to represent Pennsylvania in the competition.
Prior tournament reports
· Novice National Tournament (Berry College), March 11-12
· Pennsylvania State Tournament (St. Joseph’s University), Feb. 24-25
· Webster University, Jan. 27-29
· Hugs and Kisses Swing Tournament (West Chester University), Jan. 21-22
· Ohio State University and Otterbein College, Dec. 2-4
· Big Apple Swing Tournament (NYU), Nov. 12-13
· Saint Anselm Tournament, Nov. 5