KL
Kristofer Lewis
  • English
  • Class of 2017
  • Salina, KS

Kristofer Lewis Contributes to KWU Debate Team Success at the Jackrabbit Jousts Oct. 9-10, 2015

2015 Oct 20

Kristofer Lewis was among the Kansas Wesleyan University Debate and Forensics team members who traveled to host South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, South Dakota's largest university, for the annual Jackrabbit Jousts, Oct. 9-10, 2015.

Fourteen schools from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas competed. After two days of parliamentary debating, Kansas Wesleyan was one point ahead of the University of South Dakota in combined school debate team results. This was definitely a small but mighty David (KWU) vs. a much larger Goliath (USD) scenario, as South Dakota's enrollment is approximately 13 times that of Kansas Wesleyan.

In the Team Parliamentary Debate competition, the KWU team of senior Kristofer Lewis (Salina, KS) and sophomore Dakota Yates (El Dorado, KS) finished behind one of two teams from the University of South Dakota and claimed second place. The KWU team of senior Nick Fowler (El Dorado, KS) and junior Alex Vore (Fort Scott, KS) placed third.

In individual events, Yates won first place in Extemporaneous Speaking among a field of 30 speakers, and placed fifth out of 30 in Impromptu Speaking. He also finished in second place in the Quadrathon, which recognizes those students who accumulate the most total points over the course of the entire tournament.

KWU DEBATE & FORENSICS

The Kansas Wesleyan University competitive Debate & Forensics Program has won 29 national championships and has been competitive each year in the regional and national tournaments it attends. The KWU squad attends about twelve tournaments per year. These tournaments include schools from throughout the United States, including yearly or bi-annual visits to Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and California.