Kansas Wesleyan University’s Debate and Forensics team capped its 2020-21 season March 25–28 with a spectacular performance at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational (NCCFI), a national competition centered around Christian educational institutions. The team won three individual national titles and finished third in the team standings.
Bryce Boyd (Oklahoma City, Okla.) won the national title in both parliamentary debate and the varsity extemporaneous speaker competition. The former marked Boyd’s second straight NCCFI title in the event and the fourth time in the last five years a KWU competitor had won varsity extemporaneous speaking. Boyd is also the seventh KWU competitor in team history to win at least three national championships.
Abby Wray (Wichita, Kan.) took home a national title in dramatic interpretation.
“The future is bright for our program,” said assistant debate coach Kiefer Storrer. “We have a very young team, as our roster has no seniors and just one junior, and now we have a great deal of experience.”
Wray also finished third in program of oral interpretation and sixth in varsity extemporaneous speaking, helping her to a seventh-place finish across the entire tournament. Boyd was a quarterfinalist in parliamentary debate with Madi Mitchell (Mulvane, Kan.) and finished fifth in persuasive speaking.
Other results included Savannah Bonilla (Salina, Kan.) finishing second in both novice extemporaneous speaking and Lincoln-Douglas debate, while Elizabeth Schaefer (Lyons, Kan.) was third in dramatic interpretation and fourth in program of oral interpretation. Finally, Mitchell was third in communication analysis and fifth in parliamentary debate, while Madeline Norrell (Chandler, Okla.) was fifth in individual debate and a quarterfinalist in novice individual debate.
