barald2@lopers.unk.edu

Justin Machard and Dylan Hicks performed at the American Forensics Association  National Speech Tournament on April 2-3 in Lincoln. 

Machard and Hicks reached the preliminary round of the competition and while representing UNK Forensics team.

“We do a lot of work during practice, and I was pretty surprised,” Hicks said. “I was passionate about my program oral interpretation about Christianity. There are people who are hurt by people claiming to be Christians, and I wanted them to know not everyone is like that.”

Machard qualified in program oral interpretation and dramatic interpretation.

“My dramatic piece — basically the main theme was taking a break from burnout from the pandemic and these past two years,” Machard said. “It’s a funny piece, giving us a little breather.”

Machard, Hicks and Avery Dutton also competed in National State Championships and reached the quarterfinals. The students were among the top 24 students in that competition.

The team participated in 22 tournaments this semester, 20 of which were online. 

“We were able to compete with teams we wouldn’t normally be seeing in our regional tournaments,” Blackman said.  

The team is officially done for the season, however, they are training for the next semester.