Courtesy
of
Media Services
The speech and debate team at the University of Arkansas at
Monticello brought home 27 awards, including second place overall, at the
Louisiana State University-Shreveport Swing Tournament Nov. 9-11.
LSU-S and the University of Louisiana-Monroe hosted the
tournament.
In the varsity debate division, Joel Brown of Monticello earned
first place while Kate Kelly of Monticello, Brian Rauls of Bearden and Rebekah Heflin of Russellville reached round 16. Chris Halley of North
Little Rock made the quarterfinals, while Lauren Raynor of Covington, Tenn.,
reached the semifinals. Brown also earned a first place speaker award and
Rauls took fourth.
In the novice debate division, Joy Vallas of Crossett reached the
semifinals, while Ashley Williamson of Monticello reached the quarterfinals.
Also contributing to the winning effort were Zach Baumgartner of
Monticello and Shiann Ryals of Dardanelle.
In individual and team speaking events, Brown and Rauls were
awarded fourth place in duo-dramatic interpretation while Davis and Kelly
earned sixth place and were named the top novice duo competitors of the
tournament. Rauls was also a semifinalist in impromptu speaking, while Brown
earned fifth in prose and third in pentathlon.
In the ULM portion of the tournament, Halley and Raynor were
awarded first place in team debate. Chip Davis of Bentonville was awarded
sixth place in dramatic interpretation and fourth in program oral
interpretation. Davis and Kelly earned fourth in dramatic duo. Brown was
awarded fifth in informative speaking and Brooke Flemister of Monticello
earned sixth in communication analysis. Brown also reached the semifinals in
impromptu speaking and earned fifth in pentathlon.
“We had a really great weekend,” said Scott Kuttenkuler, debate
coach and director of forensics. “This success is a result of hard
work and each member of the team doing what it takes to fulfill their
individual responsibilities.” 
The team’s next competition took place Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 at
Mississippi College.
