Oregon State University’s Forensics (speech and debate) Team competed at the Fred Scheller Invitational Forensics Tournament on Jan. 23-25, 2026. The virtual tournament was hosted by Pacific University, Forest Grove. This was the third regional designated tournament for the Northwest Forensics Conference (NFC).
Senior Veronica Robinson, a Psychology major from Portland, took sixth place in Open Informative Speaking and competed in Open Impromptu Speaking and Open IPDA Debate. Junior Shawn Horrocks, a Computer Science major from Salem, was best overall speaker and took second place in Novice IPDA Debate. Sophomore Preetam Roy, a Computer Science major from Portland, was a quarterfinalist in Junior IPDA Debate and competed in Junior Impromptu Speaking. Freshman Casey Hermanson, a Climate Science and Economics major, from Bend, was also a quarterfinalist in Junior IPDA Debate.
“This was a great showing against some truly talented competition,” said Mark Porrovecchio, director of the team. “It was nice to see a range of our students—from open to novice—do well.”
The tournament featured dozens of schools from across the Northwest, including Whitworth University, Spokane, Wash.; Carroll College, Helena, Mont.; and Boise State University, Idaho.
Also participating in the tournament were Senior Nadir Isweesi, an Economics major from Benghazi, Libya, who competed in Novice IPDA Debate; Senior Waleed Nahedh, a Business Administration major from Salem, who competed in Novice IPDA Debate and Novice Impromptu Speaking; Freshman Evrek Smith, a Psychology and Political Science major from Banks, who competed in Novice IPDA Debate; and Freshman Kaitlyn Johnson, a Biology major from Abilene, Texas, who competed in Junior IPDA Debate.
The team was coached by graduate student Megan Baus from Salem. Baus is a former competitor for OSU and a current MAIS graduate student in the Speech Communication area of the School of Communication. Team alumni and former assistant coach Evan Steele of Concord, Calif., also judged for the team at the tournament.
“Megan took the lead at this tournament,” continued Porrovecchio. “I am lucky to have her as my assistant. It was also nice to have our alumni Evan help out the team.”
Celebrating its 133rd season, OSU Forensics is one of the oldest clubs on campus and a member of the Performing Arts Board in the School of Communication. The team is open to all students in good academic standing regardless of experience or academic background. If you are a student interested in participating, or a member of the community who would like to support the team, please contact Porrovecchio at [email protected].
CONTACT:
Mark Porrovecchio
205 Shepard Hall`
737-8230
Photo: OSU Forensics Team members taking a break from competing on- and off-campus (in the top, left-hand panel, Casey is joined by Nadir Isweesi and Kaitlyn Johnson).