UNO Forensics Bests Top Competition to Start Season

OMAHA – Following a fifth-straight year in the national top 10, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Forensics team has hit the ground running to begin the 2014-2015 season.

With their sights set on a sixth-straight Top-10 finish next April at the American Forensics Association tournament, the UNO Forensics team has already won its first two tournaments of the year, besting four other teams from ranked in the top 20 – all with the team’s largest ever incoming freshmen class.

The UNO team’s first-place victories have been led by Karlee Currin, who earned first place in the Individual Sweepstakes both last weekend, Saturday, Oct. 4, and Sunday Oct. 5, at the “Clover Classic” in Crete, NE, as well as at the “Debates on the Plain” tournament at Hutchinson, KS, on Saturday, Sept. 27, and Sunday, Sept. 28.

All told, UNO won a team record-setting 28 individual event championships across their first two tournaments. In addition to Currin’s individual championships, junior Catie Zaleski finished second overall in three of the four days of competition and seniors Dan Cutter and Natalie Brooks were close behind, finishing in the top three overall speakers repeatedly throughout both weekends.

A full list of results is included below.

Up next, UNO Forensics will head to the “Sunflower Swing” in Newton, KS, followed by a pair of tournaments in Minnesota at Minnesota State University – Mankato and Gustavus Aldophus College before returning home on Saturday, Oct. 25 and Sunday, Oct. 26 to host the “Halloween Swing” tournament on the UNO campus.

For more information about UNO Foresnics, please contact head coach Abbie Syrek at 402.554.3952 or abbie.syrek@gmail.com.


“Debates on a Plain” Results, Day 1 - Sept. 27

Extemporaneous Speaking
Doug Morris (Sophomore) – 1^st place
Dan Cutter (Senior) – 4^th place

Communication Analysis
Natalie Brooks (Senior) – 2^nd place

Dramatic Interpretation
Karlee Currin (Senior) – 1^st place
Catie Zaleski (Junior) -2^nd place
T'eyrr Bynum (Freshman) – 3^rd place
Abbie Herbert (Sophomore) – 4^th place
Dominic Hernandez (Freshman) – 5^th place

Program of Oral Interpretation
Julia Quigley (Sophomore) – 2^nd place
Stephanie Henderson (Senior) – 3^rd place
Dominic Hernandez – 4^th place

Impromptu Speaking
Natalie Brooks – 1^st place
Dan Cutter – 4^th place
Doug Morris – 5^th place

Prose Interpretation
Karlee Currin – 1^st place
Stephanie Henderson – 2^nd place
Catie Zaleski – 3^rd place
Dan Cutter – 4^th place
Dominic Hernandez – 6^th place

After Dinner Speaking
Natalie Brooks – 3^rd place
Karlee Currin – 5^th place

Persuasive Speaking
Bridget Hames (Junior) – 2^nd place
Doug Morris – 3^rd place
Natalie Brooks – 4^th place
Dan Cutter – 5^th place
Alyssa Harter (Freshman) – 6^th place

Poetry Interpretation
Dan Cutter – 1^st place
Stephanie Henderson – 2^nd place
Julia Quigley – 3^rd place
Catie Zaleski – 4^th place
T'eyrr Bynum – 5^th place

Duo Interpretation
Dominic Hernandez/T'eyrr Bynum – 1^st place
Stephanie Henderson/Karlee Currin – 4^th place
Karlee Currin/Catie Zaleski – 5^th place

Individual Sweepstakes
Karlee Currin – 2^nd place
Dan Cutter – 3^rd place
Natalie Brooks – 4^th place
Stephanie Henderson – 5^th place

Team Sweepstakes
UNO – 1^st place
UNL – 2^nd place
Hastings – 3^rd place



“Debates on a Plain” Results, Day 2 – Sept. 2

Extemporaneous Speaking
Natalie Brooks – 1^st place
Doug Morris – 5^th place
Dan Cutter – 6^th place

Communication Analysis
Natalie Brooks – 1^st place

Dramatic Interpretation
Abbie Herbert – 1^st place
Karlee Currin – 2^nd place
Catie Zaleski – 4^th place

Program of Oral Interpretation
Stephanie Henderson – 1^st place
Abbie Herbert – 2^nd place
Catie Zaleski – 3^rd place
Julia Quigley – 4^th place
Dominic Hernandez – 5^th place

Impromptu Speaking
Dan Cutter – 3^rd place
Doug Morris – 4^th place

Prose Interpretation
Karlee Currin – 1^st place
Dan Cutter – 2^nd place
Catie Zaleski – 3^rd place
Julia Quigley – 5^th place
Stephanie Henderson – 6^th place

After Dinner Speaking
Karlee Currin – 2^nd place
Natalie Brooks – 6^th place

Persuasive Speaking
Bridget Hames – 1^st place
Doug Morris – 4^th place
Alyssa Harter – 6^th place

Poetry Interpretation
Catie Zaleski – 1^st place
Dan Cutter – 2^nd place
Stephanie Henderson – 3^nd place
T'eyrr Bynum – 4^th place

Duo Interpretation
Julia Quigley/Abbie Herbert – 1^st place
Karlee Currin/Catie Zaleski – 2^nd place
Dominic Hernandez/T'eyrr Bynum – 3^rd place
Stephanie Henderson/Karlee Currin – 5^th place

Individual Sweepstakes
Karlee Currin – 1^st place
Catie Zaleski – 2^nd place
Abbie Herbert – 3^rd place
Dan Cutter – 5^th place

Team Sweepstakes
UNO – 1^st place
UNL – 2^nd place
Doane – 3^rd place

“Clover Classic” Results, Day 1 – Oct. 4

After Dinner Speaking
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Natalie Brooks (Senior) – 2^nd
Bridget Hames (Junior) – 4^th

Prose Interpretation
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Dan Cutter (Senior) – 2^nd
Catie Zaleski – 3^rd
T’eyrr Bynum (Freshman) – Top Novice

Communication Analysis
Natalie Brooks – 1^st

Duo Interpretation
Dominic Hernandez (Freshman)/T’eyrr Bynum – 1^st
Catie Zaleski/Karlee Currin – 2^nd
Julia Quigley (Sophomore)/Abbie Herbert (Sophomore) – 3^rd

Poetry Interpretation
Catie Zaleski – 1^st
Dan Cutter – 2^nd
T’eyrr Bynum – 3^rd
Julia Quigley – 5^th

Dramatic Interpretation
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Catie Zaleski – 2^nd
Julia Quigley – 3^rd
T’eyrr Bynum – Top Novice

Extemporaneous Speaking
Natalie Brooks – 2^nd
Dan Cutter – 4^th
Doug Morris (Sophomore) – 5^th
Anthony Naperstak (Freshman) – Top Novice

Program of Oral Interpretation
Abbie Herbert – 2^nd
Catie Zaleski – 3^rd
Dominic Hernandez – 4^th
Julia Quigley – 5^th

Persuasive Speaking
Doug Morris – 2^nd
Dan Cutter – 3^rd
Bridget Hames – 4^th
Natalie Brooks – 5^th

Impromptu Speaking
Natalie Brooks – 3^rd
Dan Cutter – 4^th
Doug Morris – 5^th
Alyssa Harter (Freshman) – Top Novice

Individual Sweepstakes
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Catie Zaleski – 2^nd
Natalie Brooks – 3^rd

Team Sweepstakes
UNO – 1^st
UNL – 2^nd
Doane – 3^rd



“Clover Classic” Results, Day 2 - Oct. 5

After Dinner Speaking
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Bridget Hames – 2^nd
Natalie Brooks – 4^th

Prose Interpretation
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Dan Cutter – 2^nd
Catie Zaleski – 6th
Dominic Hernandez – Top Novice

Communication Analysis
Natalie Brooks – 1^st

Duo Interpretation
Catie Zaleski/Karlee Currin – 1^st
Dominic Hernandez/T’eyrr Bynum – 2^nd
Julia Quigley/Abbie Herbert – 4^th

Poetry Interpretation
Catie Zaleski – 1^st
Dan Cutter – 2^nd
T’eyrr Bynum – 3^rd
Julia Quigley – 4^th

Dramatic Interpretation
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Abbie Herbert – 2^nd
T’eyrr Bynum – 4^th
Julia Quigley – 5^th

Extemporaneous Speaking
Doug Morris – 1^st
Dan Cutter – 3^rd
Dylan Morris (Freshman) – Top Novice

Program of Oral Interpretation
Abbie Herbert – 2^nd
Catie Zaleski – 3^rd
Dominic Hernandez – 4^th
Julia Quigley – 5^th

Persuasive Speaking
Natalie Brooks – 1^st
Dan Cutter – 3^rd
Doug Morris – 5^th

Impromptu Speaking
Dan Cutter– 3^rd
Natalie Brooks – 4^th
Alyssa Harter – Top Novice

Individual Sweepstakes
Karlee Currin – 1^st
Catie Zaleski – 2^nd
Dan Cutter – 3^rd

Team Sweepstakes
UNO – 1^st
UNL – 2^nd
Hastings – 3^rd

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