BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University Speaking Bearcats captured the overall
sweepstakes award at the Scott Jensen Gorlok Gala Tournament on Jan. 26-28, hosted
by Webster University in St. Louis.
The “Gorlok” (named for the Webster University mascot) is traditionally one of the largest intercollegiate speech and debate tournaments in the nation. This year’s tournaments drew teams from 37 colleges and universities from 17 states.
SBU competed in public forum and parliamentary debate, as well as individual speech events. The Bearcats won second place in individual event (speech) sweepstakes and fourth in debate sweepstakes. The combined efforts and points resulted in the overall sweepstakes victory.
The team also was named the “Top Pi Kappa Delta School” at the tournament and won the “Traveling Gorlok” trophy by combining this year’s score with those it has posted over the previous years.
Debate highlights included:
- Kensey Dressler and Reece Tabor (seniors) – second place (out of 31 teams) in varsity parliamentary debate. Dressler finished 12th and Tabor was 14th in the parliamentary debate speaker awards competition.
- Mikayla Throne and Marisa Mayo (juniors) – semifinalists in varsity parliamentary debate. Mayo finished eighth in public forum speaker awards.
- Breanna Prater (freshman) – eighth place in the junior parliamentary speaker awards and third in the public forum speaker awards. Prater was a semifinalist in public forum with freshman Katelyn Bloom.
- Katelyn Bloom (freshman) – semifinalist in parliamentary debate with freshman Breanna Prater and 10th in the public forum speaker awards.
- Tiana Brownen (senior) – 10th place in public forum speaker awards.
- Yani McHugh and Sam Carr (juniors) – octofinalists in parliamentary debate.
Individual highlights included:
- Jeffrey Metzler (sophomore) – semifinalist in prose interpretation.
- Mariah Gilmore (sophomore) – fourth place in prose interpretation.
- Breanna Prater (freshman) – Top Novice in communication analysis.
- Tiana Brownen (senior) – second place in persuasion, third in impromptu and third in extemporaneous.
- Reece Tabor (senior) – champion in informative speaking, semifinalist in impromptu. His combined points in speech events resulted in a fifth-place finish in the pentathlon competition.
- Kensey Dressler (senior) – fifth place in impromptu, fifth in communication analysis. Her combined points resulted in a third-place finish in the pentathlon competition.
- Marisa Mayo (junior) - fourth in after-dinner speaking and fifth in extemporaneous.
- Mikayla Throne (junior) – sixth place in informative.
The Speaking Bearcats are preparing for the Missouri State Championship Tournament on Feb. 16-17 at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., and the 2018 Pi Kappa Delta National Championship Tournament on March 14-17 at Tennessee State University in Nashville.
For more information about SBU Speech and Debate, please contact Dr. David Bailey, director of forensics, at dbailey@SBUniv.edu.
CUTLINE 1: Seated (left to right): Tiana Brownen, Marisa Mayo, Mariah Gilmore, Mikayla Throne and Katelyn Bloom. Back row (left to right): Dr. David Bailey, director of forensics, Mr. Jordan Compton, assistant director, Kensey Dressler, Andrew DeShon, Russell Jackson, SBU alumnus who hosted the team in his home for dinner, Reece Tabor, Jeffrey Metzler, Sam Carr, Breanna Prater and Yani McHugh.
CUTLINE 2: Seniors Kensey Dressler (left) and Reece Tabor pose with two of the many awards the team won at the Gorlok Gala Tournament.
*Published: 1-30-18