The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Speech and Debate Team finished fourth at the American Forensic Association’s National Speech Tournament at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. The team finished behind Cornell University, George Mason University and tournament champions, the University of Texas at Austin.
Nebraska took 13 qualified students to the tournament, where they competed against 58 universities and colleges across the country. There are 11 events in college speech, ranging from public speaking events like informative and persuasive speaking to limited preparation events like extemporaneous and impromptu speaking. Nebraska had a total of 45 qualified events at the national tournament, advancing 24 events to the elimination rounds. This marks the second highest number of events reaching elimination rounds in the team’s history.
Three Huskers in six events went to the final round of the tournament. Sophomore Marissa Crosby of Grand Island took fourth place in the nation in poetry interpretation. Senior Reed Greger of Plattsmouth took home fourth place in program oral interpretation, third place in impromptu speaking, and Greger and duo partner, senior Sydney Kwasa of Omaha, were national runners-up in duo interpretation. Kwasa set a UNL record by being the first student to take home multiple national championships at the tournament, winning both poetry interpretation and program oral interpretation.
Three Huskers also placed in the top 20 in the nation in the all-around individual sweepstakes category. Crosby placed 15th, Greger placed fourth and Kwasa placed third. Fellow senior and co-captain Sydney Wenninghoff advanced to elimination rounds in impromptu speaking.
Aaron Duncan, director of speech and debate at Nebraska, was honored at the tournament receiving the Larry Schnoor Distinguished Service Award for his service to the speech and debate community.
“The speech and debate community is a wonderful group people and it privilege be a part of it and it was a honor to be recognized by members of this community for my work," Duncan said.
The speech team was also led to success by Allison Bonander, director of speech; assistant directors Cassidy Emmerich and Brooke Hornberger; and assistant coaches Daniel Wheaton and Brendan Kachnowski.
“It’s an honor to work with students who demonstrate such a strong sense of integrity and demonstrate both skill and a sense of conviction in what they believe in," Bonander said. "These students are remarkable and it’s a pleasure to watch them grow as performers and advocates.”
Duncan said the team never fails to inspire him.
"There are no NIL deals for speech and debate and no full ride scholarships — I wish there were," Duncan said. "But, it means that every student on this team competes solely out of passion for the causes they believe in and dedication to this team.”
Next up for the Speech and Debate Team is the National Tournament for Lincoln Douglas Debate, April 16-20, at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. The team won the national championship in Lincoln Douglas Debate in 2022 and 2024 and finished second at the tournament in 2025. Speech and Debate is the oldest student activity on campus, founded in 1871.
The Speech and Debate team is part of UNL’s Department of Communication Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Find more information on the department or the Speech and Debate Team online.
