Solon Speech, Debate Team Wins Honors At State Competition

SOLON, OH — Solon's Speech and Debate team placed second in state competition this month.

The team competed in the 2021 Ohio Speech and Debate Association State Finals, taking on 87 other schools. The squad was led by Solon High sophomore Dev Ahuja, the 2021 state champion in United States Extemporaneous Speaking. Thirty-five team members placed in the multi-category state competition.

“This year has been so successful for our team,” said Dan Ceci, Solon Speech and Debate advisor. “Our team went undefeated in the regular season and placed first in team sweepstakes at all of the 13 tournaments we attended. We are excited to announce that we qualified 20 students to the June National Speech and Debate Association’s Virtual National Tournament, which is the most in our school history! Previously, 13 team members qualifying for Nationals was our best showing.”

Solon High sent 67 team members to states, a school record, Ceci said.

Here is the full list of Solon Speech and Debate team members who took home honors from the state competition:

United States Extemporaneous Speaking:
Dev Ahuja – State Champion
Vikram Sundaram - 3rd place
Andrew Li - Semifinalist
Scott Zhao - Semifinalist
Piyush Chitnis - Quarterfinalist
Mehak Sankhla - Quarterfinalist

Duo Interpretation:
Mira Atwah/Tyler Murray - 2nd place, State Runners Up

Humorous Interpretation:
Nandana Ahuja - 2nd place, State Runner Up

Dramatic Interpretation:
Seth Rendon - 2nd place, State Runner Up

Program Oral Interpretation:
Orimilo Oresanya - 2nd place, State Runner Up
Iris Yu - 6th place

Informative Speaking:
Srihan Anand - Quarterfinalist
Vaibhav Bhargava - Quarterfinalist
Nishaan Patel - Quarterfinalist

Original Oratory:
Myiesha Alam - Quarterfinalist
Nilima Patel - Quarterfinalist

International Extemporaneous Speaking:
Aditya Kalahasti - 2nd place, State Runner Up
Pinak Chitnis - 4th place
Eric Liao - Quarterfinalist
Michelle Park - Quarterfinalist

Policy Debate:
Harry Sanjeevan/Viresh Mittal - Octafinalist

Lincoln Douglas Debate:
Shree Ghosh - Double-octas
Eugenia Karulina - Double-octas

Public Forum Debate:
Anushree Jakate/Angad Dhillon - Quarterfinalist
Matt Wilson/Victor Xie- Octafinalist
Rithika Goli/Matthew Li - Octafinalist

Congressional Debate:
Aidan Cullers - 2nd place
Aparna Srikanth - Finalist (7th place)
Eshan Haq - Semifinalist
Aakarsh Garg - Quarterfinalist