The Art of McNeese Forensics: Beautiful and Just

March 21-23 marked the final large trip for the McNeese State University forensics team this school year.  The team took eleven students to Indianapolis, IN to compete in the Pi Kappa Delta (PKD) National Comprehensive Tournament (NCT), hosted by Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI).  The PKD NCT is McNeese State University's primary national tournament so the team kept busy throughout the trip.  Students competed in a number of events ranging from Poetry Interpretation to Public Forum Debate.  At the end of the weekend, the team returned to Lake Charles with some hardware.

Competitor Davante Lewis excelled in preliminary rounds of Extemporaneous Speaking, eanring him a spot in the quarterfinal round.  He narrowly missed breaking to semifinals.  Lewis also earned a 4th place finish among Public Forum Debaters.

Competitors Morgan Authement, Stephen Doerfler II, Jonathan Hensley, A'renica Mumford, and Alex Reinauer all earned Excellent Awards (top 30 % in the nation) in Impromptu Speaking.

In Student Congress, Authement and Hensley were elected Presiding Officers by their peers.  Authement also won an Outstanding Legislator award in her chamber.  Hensley earned 1st place in his chamber and was named Superior Legislator.

This tournament ended the season for many of the Pokes, but two will travel to Ypsilante, MI in April for the National Forensics Association (NFA) National Championship.  Best of luck to Morgan Authement and Stphen Doerfler II with the trip!

Pokes Celebrate Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge

On the weekend of February 28 to March 2, the McNeese State University forensics team traveled to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge to compete in the Mardi Gras Classic.  Dances were danced, beads were thrown, food was consumed, and trophies were won.

Competitor Morgan Authement broke to the semifinal round of Impromptu Speaking on Saturday, missing a break to the final round by a small margin.

Stephen Doerfler II earned a sixth place finish in Extemporaneous Speaking on Sunday.

Authement and Doerfler also teamed up for Parliamentary Debate.  They fought their way through quarterfinals and semifinals to earn a second place finish.

The team welcomed new member Michelle Gauthier to her first weekend of competition.

Next on the Pokes' schedule is the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament in Indianapolis on the weekend of March 21.