The winners of the 14th annual Penn State Beaver Forensics Tournament held on campus recently have been announced. At the tournament, 125 students competed in six events.
Participating schools were Beaver Middle School, Beaver High School, Beaver County Christian High School, Freedom High School, New Brighton High School, Quigley Catholic High School and West Allegheny High School.
Twenty teachers and parents from area schools served as judges for the competition, and 20 Beaver campus students and faculty members served as judges and volunteers. First- through third-place winners received trophies, and fourth- through sixth-place winners received certificates.
Categories and winners were as follows:
Oral Interpretation for Middle School - Students performed humorous or dramatic short stories from published books or plays.First Place: Ahnika Hay, Beaver Middle School
Dramatic Interpretation for High School - Students performed short stories or cuttings from published books or plays.First Place - Sarah Belsterling, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSecond Place - Ellen Kruczek, Quigley Catholic High SchoolThird Place - Jeff Biers, West Allegheny High SchoolFourth Place - TJ Belsterling, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFifth Place - Kathryn Scott, Beaver High SchoolSixth Place - Madelyn Smith, Beaver County Christian High School
Humorous Interpretation for High School - Students performed humorous short stories or cuttings from published books or plays.First Place - Maura Vulakovich, West Allegheny High SchoolSecond Place - Emily Bower, West Allegheny High SchoolThird Place - Austin Kuntz, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFourth Place - Jacob Stumm, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFifth Place – Nathan Elia, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSixth Place – George Burnet, Quigley Catholic High School
Original Oratory for High School - Students delivered memorized original speeches to inform the audience about a topic or to persuade the audience regarding an important issue.First Place – Michaela Morreale, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSecond Place – Anna Marie Lovre, Quigley Catholic High SchoolThird Place – Nathan Elia, Quigley Catholic High School
Impromptu Speaking for Middle School - Students were given a topic, then required to deliver a three- to five-minute speech with only one to two minutes of preparation. In a twist on traditional forensics competitions, this tournament used fortune cookies to determine the topics.First Place – Bethany Bonner, Beaver Middle SchoolSecond Place – Joey Sestito, Beaver Middle SchoolThird Place – Tabitha Schrecengost, Beaver Middle School
Impromptu Speaking for High School - Students were given a topic, then required to deliver a three- to five-minute speech with only one to two minutes of preparation. In a twist on traditional forensics competitions, this tournament used fortune cookies to determine the topics.First Place – Anthony Kuntz, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSecond Place – George Burnet, Quigley Catholic High SchoolThird Place – TJ Belsterling, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFourth Place – Jacob Stumm, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFifth Place – Emily Smith, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSixth Place – Austin Kuntz, Quigley Catholic High School
Dramatic Duo for Middle School - Partners performed dramatic or humorous cuttings from published plays.First Place – Cooper Dalmaso and Elizabeth Romero, Beaver Middle SchoolSecond Place – Cooper Dalmaso and Frankie Speerhas, Beaver Middle SchoolThird Place – Hannah Dougherty and Hannah Oberg, Beaver Middle SchoolFourth Place – Brittany Ratkovich and Alexis DeSanzo, Beaver Middle SchoolFifth Place – Gwen Jones and Jenny Jurich, Beaver Middle SchoolSixth Place – Meagan Crossland and Alexis DeSanzo, Beaver Middle School
Dramatic Duo for High School - Partners performed dramatic or humorous cuttings from published plays.First Place – TJ Belsterling and Sarah Belsterling, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSecond Place – Taylor Schmac and Spencer Sinclair, West Allegheny High SchoolThird Place – Michaela Morreale and Emily Smith, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFourth Place – Hadley Neish and Laura Onuska, Beaver High SchoolFifth Place – Haley Weeks and Maddi Cicconi, Beaver High SchoolSixth Place – Ashley Malinak and Amanda Fischer, Freedom High School
Wretched Interpretation for High School - A novelty event in which students perform intentionally bad (melodramatic) interpretations of the material of their choice.First Place – George Burnet, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSecond Place – Anthony Kuntz, Quigley Catholic High SchoolThird Place – Ellen Kruczek, Quigley Catholic High SchoolFourth Place – Betsy Corcoran, Beaver County Christian High SchoolFifth Place – Nathan Elia, Quigley Catholic High SchoolSixth Place – Jacob Stumm, Quigley Catholic High School
Team Award - Teams earned one point for each student or duo that placed and one additional point for each first-place finish.First-Place Middle School: BeaverFirst-Place High School: Quigley Catholic
“Forensics allows students to face fears of public speaking and builds confidence,” said John Chapin, professor of communications and coordinator of the annual Forensics Tournament. “The tournament also provides an opportunity for schools to encourage academic growth and competition in a non-athletic forum.”
For more information about the Forensics Tournament, contact Chapin at jrc11@psu.edu or 724-773-3877.