McMINNVILLE – The Linfield College Forensics Team triumphed last week with ten top ten finishers, two finalists and two semifinalists.
The forensics team competed at the Steve Hunt Invitational at Lewis & Clark College in Portland Oct. 9-11. Jackson Miller, associate professor of communications arts and director of forensics, led the team to success against more than 25 schools from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Louisiana.
The forensics team tackled six preliminary rounds of British Parliamentary debate in one division and three preliminary rounds of 12 individual events.
“It was a fantastic start to our competitive season overall,” Miller said. “I’m proud of the fine accomplishments of all our students.”
The team placed first in five categories overall, including seniors Kaitlyn Vannoy of McMinnville in forensics criticism and Kyle Helm of Bremerton, Wash., in novice prose. Freshman Nick Zimmers of McMinnville and junior Darren Valenta of Klamath Falls teamed up for first place in open duo. Valenta obtained another first placement in open prose and junior Colin Jones of Hilo, Hawaii, secured a first place speaker award in British-Parliamentary debate.
“The challenge of the competition and the opportunity to bond with my teammates was one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences I’ve had at Linfield,” Helm said.
Other placements included Jones with second place in open communication analysis, junior Stephanie Heuser of Tualatin with third place in novice prose, sophomore Chris Forrer of Gresham with fourth place in open after dinner speaking and freshman Kole Krawcaw of Winnemucca, Nev., with sixth place speaker award in British-Parliamentary debate. Vannoy and Zimmers were semifinalists in British-Parliamentary debate and Jones and Krawcaw were finalists.
“It was nice to taste a little success during the first tournament of the year,” Valenta said.
The Linfield Forensics team is one of the oldest in the country and focuses on competitive speech and debate. For more information about Linfield forensics, contact Jackson Miller at 503-883-2625, jmiller@linfield.edu.
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