Forensics Team

By Katie Deem
On Nov. 5, the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Forensics team traveled to Marietta College to compete in the 56th annual Ruth A. Wilcox Forensics Invitational Tournament. The team, coached by Barbara Harris and Lawrence McKenzie, continued its tradition of excellence at this competition. The team won 3rd place overall out of ten schools, and many students won trophies. The trophy winners include Brittany Huffman (1st place in Informative speaking, 2nd place in Poetry, 2nd place in Prose, and 6th place in Public Relations Extemporaneous); Rebecca McClung (2nd place in Informative Speaking); Kaleb Smith (3rd place in Dramatic Interpretation, 5th place in After Dinner Speaking, and 4th place in Dramatic Duo with Brittany Huffman).

In the Mad Hatter Tournament, held at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA, Scott Cain competed and won 1st place in the Lincoln-Douglass debate. The subject of the debate was U.S. foreign policy legislation and the protection of human rights.

The team took third place overall last year as well at the Ruth A. Wilcox Forensics Invitational Tournament, in which 14 colleges and 100 students participated. In 2004 at the Intercollegiate Forensics Association’s state tournament, the WVUP Forensics team took four first-place individual awards and second place overall.

The forensics team will compete again at The Ohio State University on Dec. 2 and 3.

The team currently has 11 members. They are Jenny Metz, Candi Jacenkiw, Candace Hinzman, Kaleb Smith, Jon Corra, Molly Robrecht, Brittany Huffman, Traci Peters, Scott Cain, David Strock, Rebecca McClung, Amanda Whitlow, Christina Clancy and Matt Brothers. Anyone interested knowing more about the forensics team can contact Coach Barbara Harris at 424-8229 or b.harris@mail.wvu.edu.