Thirty-five Academy students competed at the 2024 Speech & Debate Championship in Rio Rancho in February — more students than any other participating school.
“One unique aspect of having such a large and strong program is that in many cases, students’ largest competitors in the late elimination rounds were in fact their own Academy teammates — a hallmark of an incredibly competitive program,” said Coach Elise Matton. “One can imagine how tense this could make things for students, but I’ve nevertheless been amazed by how gracefully our students have taken on that reality.”
Speech & Debate is unique because it is a team event, but most results and awards are individual. However, in addition to individual recognition, the Academy was named Overall School of Excellence in both Speech and Debate — “the highest honor a school program can receive at the state tournament,” Matton said.
The team moves on to the District National Qualifier, March 22-23 at the Academy.
Speech Awards
- Gabby Sanchez ’25 & Sara Chehy ’25 — 3rd place in Duo Interpretation
- Xen Shafer ’28 — Top Novice and State Finalist in Dramatic Interpretation
- Thomas Wray ’24 — 2nd place in Humorous Interpretation
- Ashna Singh ’24 — 3rd place in Humorous Interpretation
- Charlotte Sinkus ’28 — State Finalist in Humorous Interpretation
- Selah Gloyd ’26 — 2nd place in Informative Speaking
- Ayla Zomermaand ’25 — 3rd place in Informative Speaking
- Valerie Meza ’26 — State Finalist in Original Oratory
- Ben Raihane ’24 — State Finalist in Original Oratory
- Elizabeth Hiller ’25 — 3rd place State Finalist in International Extemporaneous Speaking
- Ayla Zomermaand ’25 — State Finalist in International Extemporaneous Speaking
- Abbott Carothers ’25 — State Finalist in International Extemporaneous Speaking
- Petra Sipos ’25 — 3rd place and Top Novice in United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Debate Awards
- Meryem Anderoglu ’25 — 1st place State Co-Champion in Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate
- Becca Faber ’24 — 1st place State Co-Champion in Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate
- Leo Crowley ’24 — 3rd place semi-finalist in Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate
- Sowmya Sankaran ’27 — 2nd place State Finalist in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate
- Eesha Gunukula ’27 — 3rd place semi-finalist in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate
- Sohum Kopalle ’28 — Quarter-finalist in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate
- Jaycee Sanchez ’26 & Anagha Devarakonda ’26 — 1st place State Co-Champions in Varsity Public Forum Debate
- Elizabeth Hiller ’25 & Petra Sipos ’25 — 1st place State Co-Champions in Varsity Public Forum Debate
- Abbott Carothers ’25 & Aarush Tutiki ’26 — Quarter-finalists in Varsity Public Forum Debate
- Hayden Roth ’26 & Dillon Taylor ’26 — Quarter-finalists in Varsity Public Forum Debate
- Rosa Duvall ’26 & Camilla Lujan ’26 — 1st Place State Champions in Novice Public Forum Debate
