Saratoga, SJ Students Win National Speech & Debate Tournaments

SANTA CLARA VALLEY, CA — Several San Jose metro area students won big at this year’s National Speech & Debate Championship, taking home a National Championship in Public Forum Debate as well as finalist placement in seven other national awards. Students from six area high schools — Mission San Jose High School, Leland High School, The Harker School, Saratoga High School, Archbishop Mitty High School and BASIS Independent Silicon Valley High School — made it to the prestigious final round of the national tournament.

Additionally, middle school students from two area middle schools — The Harker School and Joaquin Miller Middle School — finished as finalists in their events at the 2018 National Speech & Debate middle school tournament.

This year, the weeklong tournament was held in Fort Lauderdale. With more than 8,000 students, coaches, educators and parents from across the country participating in the tournament each year, it is the largest academic competition in the world. More than 150,000 students are members of the National Speech & Debate Association, and only 3 percent qualify to compete at the national tournament. The national champions make up less than 1 percent of of all speech and debate competitors.

“Our national champions are the future leaders of our country,” said J. Scott Wunn, executive director of the National Speech & Debate Association. “These students not only have extraordinary talent, but they are passionate, smart, dedicated, and hard working. We’re extremely proud of their accomplishments and look forward to all of the great things they will do in the future.”

The 2018 National Speech & Debate Tournament high school finalists from the San Jose metro area include:

National Champions in Public Forum Debate: Ishan Maunder and Devesh Kodnani, Mission San Jose High School, coached by Jasmine Liu.

Third place in Extemporaneous Debate: Prerna Agarwal, Leland High School, coached by Chris Wardner.

Third place in Original Oratory: Haris Hosseini, The Harker School, coached by Scott Odekirk.

Fourth place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking: Kyle Wang, Saratoga High School, coached by Christopher Harris, Steve Clemmons, Mylan Gray, Eddie Wang and Ronin Storm

Fourth place in Humorous Interpretation: Conor Sherry, Archbishop Mitty High School, coached by Benjamin and Karen Cruz.

Semifinalists in Public Forum Debate (Fourth place): Akash Shanmugam and Kayra Ilkbahar, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley High School, coached by Nathan Leal and Mark Mabie

Sixth place in International Extemporaneous Speaking: Eshan Gupta, Archbishop Mitty High School, coached by Mark Woodhead

Sixth place in Original Oratory: Sanjeev Vinodh, Leland High School, coached by Bob Ickes

The National Speech & Debate Tournament middle school finalists from the San Jose metro area include:

Second place in Public Forum Debate: Tim Jing and Derrick Cai, Joaquin Miller Middle School, coached by Victor Rivas Umana

Fifth place in Impromptu Speaking: Michelle Jin, The Harker School, coached by Chris Thiele

Semifinalists in Policy Debate: Deven Shah and Deeya Viradia, The Harker School, coached by Chris Thiele

Quarterfinalists in Policy Debate: Sarah Mohammed and Saavi Kumar, The Harker School, coached by Chris Thiele

Photo: 2018 Public Forum Debate champions Ishan Maunder and Devesh Kodnani, of Mission San Jose High School (Photo courtesy National Speech & Debate Tournament)