Needham High School Speech And Debate Team Competing In Nationals

NEEDHAM, MA — The Needham High School Speech and Debate team is hard at work preparing for two national tournaments. The Grand National Tournament in Milwaukee over Memorial Day weekend and the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Dallas next month will see 13 Needham students proudly represent their school and community.

Team captain, senior Shayan Raza, last year's national runner-up in original oratory competition, will be joined in that event by juniors Henry Huvos and Annie Stein in Milwaukee. Like Raza , Stein was awarded for excellence at nationals in 2018.

They will be joined at Marquette University in Milwaukee by sophomore Abby Hynes and ninth grader Lily Koplan. Junior Kelsey Rondini will fly the current events flag in extemporaneous speaking and classmate Simone Hernandez in dramatic performance.

In debate events, junior Zachary Lu, fresh off an appearance at the Elite Tournament of Champions in Kentucky, will be joined in that event by sophomore Sasha Rieser. Junior Matt Peljovich will represent Eastern New England in Congressional Debate, and the policy team of juniors Noah Basson and Sam Cogen fill out the Needham roster.

Coach Paul Wexler said "the lucky thirteen" have excelled all year and should represent Needham proudly in "America's Dairyland."

In mid-June, Lu will compete the National Speech in Dallas in a Lincoln-Douglas Debate, while Riser and junior John Lively do so as part of the New England World Debate Team. Lively, Lu, Raza, and Stein have also been recognized as Academic All-Americans by the National Speech and Debate Association.

Wexler said the cost of attending nationals is quite high. Anyone willing to help support the team may do so here.

Wexler said the Rockets have a long time tradition of excellence, earning recognition as a top five school in speech at the Grand National Tournament, along with an individual national championship and Raza's second-place ranking in 2018 and a top five school in debate twice, most recently in 2017. One hundred and fifty-four Needham students have qualified to nationals since the team founding in 1995, one-third of whom have won awards.

As competitive as the competition gets, Wexler said fun is the priority. If students "are having fun and learning, the winning shall take care of itself," he said.