Speech team wins season-opening tournament

The Simpson College speech and debate team opened the 2021-22 season in impressive fashion, winning the speech competition and placing second in debate at the Forensic 500 Indianapolis at Butler University held Sept. 25-26. 

A top-10 Pi Kappa Delta program, Simpson competed virtually at the Forensic 500, taking first place out of 16 teams in speech. The Storm scored 150 points to edge second-place Weber State University, which finished with 146.5 points. The four-time national champion debate team began its title defense with a second-place finish in the team standings.

Select team members also competed in the Western Kentucky University Tournament to round out the weekend.

Mo Marks led Simpson with six individual speech championships, Abby Fry took home two titles and Elise Sturgeon added one championship for the Storm. Simpson finished with nine total individual champions. 

Full individual results are below. To learn more about Speech and Debate at Simpson College, visit simpson.edu/SpeechandDebate.

Forensic 500 Indianapolis at Butler University

Individual Speech Results
Extemporaneous Speaking – Mo Marks, first place
Impromptu Speaking – Mo Marks, first place; Kylie Doupnik, fourth place
Communication Analysis – Mo Marks, first place
After-Dinner Speaking – Mo Marks, first place; Kylie Doupnik, third place
Informative Speaking – Mo Marks, first place
Persuasive Speaking – Elise Sturgeon, first place; Mo Marks, second place
Novice Impromptu Speaking – Abby Fry, first place
Novice Extemporaneous Speaking – Abby Fry, first place

Individual Debate Results
Parliamentary Debate Awards – Ryan Magalhaes, top speaker; Elise Sturgeon, second speaker
Parliamentary Debate Competition – Elise Sturgeon and Kylie Doupnik, quarterfinalists; Ryan Corcoran and Ryan Magalhaes, quarterfinalists

Western Kentucky University Tournament

Speech and Debate Results
After-Dinner Speaking – Mo Marks, first place; Kylie Doupnik, second place
Communication Analysis – Mo Marks, third place
Persuasive Speaking – Elise Sturgeon, sixth place
Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate – Teagan Townsend, first place

About Simpson College
Simpson College is a private, liberal arts college located in Iowa with campuses in Indianola, West Des Moines and online. Founded in 1860, the college has 1,268 undergraduate and graduate students. Simpson offers 74 majors, minors and programs in addition to three graduate programs. Outside of the classroom, Simpson is a member of the NCAA Division III American Rivers Conference, hosts eight Greek houses on campus and sponsors many extracurricular options for student involvement.
 
Contact Information
Bryan Geelan, marketing communication director
Direct: 515-961-1608
Email: bryan.geelan@simpson.edu