TSU Debate Team Thrives at State Championship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – It’s been a busy few months for the Forensics team at Tennessee State University and they have the proof of their endeavors. They won more than 50 awards in February alone and now boast one of the “Best Speakers” in the state. The Forensics team continues their winning ways bringing home 50 awards during February and the "Best Speaker" in the state. Members of the team include: Top row (L-R): Aaron Walker, John Nix, Kavon Coleman, and Tyler Kinloch Bottom Row (L-R): Ricky Madden, Shaylyn Rice, Ashley Doxy, Tyra Laster, Tristan Halfacre, Kevon Graves (courtesy photo) This semester the 11-member team of undergraduate students have netted impressive results, bringing home awards wherever they compete. Nowhere was this more prevalent than at the recent Tennessee Intercollegiate Forensics State Championship when they placed third in the state and brought home 28 more awards. The team also placed third in combined debate and Individual Events School Sweepstakes. More than 100 students gathered at TSU Feb. 14-15 to see who would be crowned the “best of the best” in the state. John Nix, a junior Political Science major from Franklin, Tennessee, took home the coveted first place Pentathlon speaker, qualifying him for the “Best Speaker in the State.” Nix also won numerous awards including third place Persuasive Speaking, Top Novice Persuasive Speaking, first place Poetry Interpretation, Top Novice Poetry Interpretation, first place Prose Interpretation, Top Novice Prose Interpretation, third place Impromptu Speaking, Top Novice Impromptu Speaking, NPDA Novice Semi-Finalist, and fifth place Novice NPDA speaker. Other team winners included:

Kevon Graves, freshman Urban Studies major, Kansas City, Missouri – NPDA Novice Semi-Finalist, fourth place Novice NPDA Speaker

Kavon Coleman, junior Civil Engineering major, Grand Rapids, Michigan – third place International Public Debate Association Varsity Speaker

Shaylyn Rice, junior Mass Communications major, Birmingham, Alabama - second place Poetry Interpretation, second place Dramatic Interpretation, Top Novice Dramatic Interpretation, fifth place Programmed Oral Interpretation, first place Radio Broadcasting, Top Novice Radio Broadcasting

Aaron Walker, junior English major, Memphis, Tennessee - third place Poetry Interpretation

Tyler Kinloch, senior Aeronautical Engineering major, Canton, Michigan – fourth place Prose Interpretation, first place Dramatic Interpretation

Tyra Laster, junior Mass Communications major, Marietta, Georgia – second place Radio Broadcasting

Tyra Laster and Ashley Doxy, sophomore Biology and Chemistry major, Chicago – fourth place Duo Interpretation

Shaylyn Rice and Aaron Walker - first place Duo Interpretation, Top Novice Duo Interpretation

This was the second competition during February for the team, having earned 22 awards at the Jackson-Purchase Swing at Murray State University Feb. 6-8. Award winners included: Friday, Feb. 6 – National Parliamentary Debate Association tournament (NPDA)

Fifth place team sweepstakes in NPDA

Tyler Kinloch and Barbra Dudley - semifinalists in Novice NPDA

John Nix and Kevon Graves - quarterfinalists in Novice NPDA

Tyler Kinloch - fifth place novice NPDA speaker

Barbra Dudley, sophomore economics major from Indianapolis - eighth place Novice NPDA speaker

Saturday, Feb. 7 – MSU Swing

Third place Small School Sweepstakes

John Nix - fourth place Extemporaneous Speaking, first place Poetry Interpretation, sixth place Pentathlon Speaker

Shaylyn Rice - sixth place Poetry Interpretation

Kevon Graves - fourth place novice Extemporaneous Speaking

Sunday, Feb. 8 - Alumni swing

Second place Small School Sweepstakes

John Nix – fourth place Persuasive Speaking, first place Poetry Interpretation, sixth place Pentathlon Speaker

Tyler Kinloch – sixth place Dramatic Interpretation

Shaylyn Rice – first place Radio Broadcasting

Kevon Graves – third place Novice Impromptu Speaking, first place Novice Extemporaneous Speaking

Shaylyn Rice and Aaron Walker – fifth place Duo Interpretation

The TSU Forensics Team closed out the month attending the Rock & Roll Swing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Feb. 27-March 1.   Department of Media Relations Tennessee State University 3500 John Merritt Boulevard Nashville, Tennessee 37209 615.963.5331 About Tennessee State University With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 42 undergraduate, 24 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.