Marshall University’s Thundering Word, the school’s speech and debate team, took fourth place in combined sweepstakes and enjoyed some individual success last weekend in the Fall Forensic Fiesta at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.
Coach Danny Ray said his team enjoyed “remarkable success” in its first tournament of the season. Only about one-third of the team took part and the competition included some of the nation’s top teams, such as Western Kentucky University, the University of Alabama, Ball State University and Rice University.
Here is a look at some of Marshall’s performances:
- Victoria Ledford, a sophomore chemistry/pre-med major from Braxton, W.Va., placed fourth in Persuasion, seventh in Rhetorical Criticism, and fourth in Duo Interpretation with Christian Adams, a junior biomedical sciences major from Ona, W.Va.
- Taryss Mandt, a University College student from Arlington, Va., and last year’s high school national champion in Oral Interpretation, was the top novice in Programmed Oral Interpretation and Informative Speaking.
- Matthew Osteen, a sophomore biochemistry major from Jefferson, W.Va., was the third top novice speaker in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, going 2-2 in his first debate competition ever.
- Eric Newfeld, a junior psychology major from Barboursville, W.Va., competed in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking.
Marshall’s debaters travel to Lafayette College this weekend and the entire team will travel to West Chester, Pa., Oct. 12-13.
