The John Brown University Forensics team won the Arkansas State Speech Championship at the 2014 Southern Forensics Championship Tournament (SCFT) held at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss.

“I’m very proud of our team,” says Erik Roebuck, Assistant Professor of communication and fine arts at John Brown University. “They exhibited professionalism and really represented JBU well in their speeches, and it’s been an honor working with them.”

This tournament serves as the Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi state championships where over 30 colleges and universities compete for the southern region. From these, twelve schools advance to the SCFT.

The team from JBU, consisting of Josh McBride, Justin Burchfiel and Broderick Wilson, won the Arkansas State Speech Championship. In addition to their Arkansas State team title, each won individual awards as well.

Josh McBride, junior, was named top Overall Speaker in the state of Arkansas as well as winning state titles in the categories of Communication Analysis and Dramatic Interpretation.

Justin Burchfiel, junior, took home state titles in Extemporaneous Speaking and Informative Speaking.

Broderick Wilson, senior, won the state title in Program Oral Interpretation.

The JBU Forensics team will be host next year’s 2015 SCFT on John Brown University campus in March of 2015.

John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked No. 2 overall and No. 1 Best Value among Southern regional colleges by U.S. News and World Report. JBU enrolls more than 2,500 students from 42 states and 44 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, degree completion and concurrent education programs. JBU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a founding member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.