Basking Ridge Team Wins 24th Straight NJ Speech And Debate League State Title

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Ridge Forensics Speech & Debate Team has won the New Jersey Speech and Debate League State Champion Team title for the 24th year in a row.

This year, the Ridge team finished ahead of more than 30 other New Jersey high schools to take the top team honor.

Summit High School, Millburn High School, Montville Twp. High School, Montgomery Township High School and University High School in Newark rounded out the top six.

Twelve Ridge students were named champions in their events:

• Faye Fletcher in Dramatic Interpretation and Program Oral Interpretation
• Arjun Kumar in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking
• Neel Tripathi in Humorous Interpretation
• Anjni Naik in Improvisational Acting
• Aparna Iyer in International Extemp
• Meera Shah with Rosa Qin in Varsity Parliamentary Debate
• Himnish Koul with Aman Manda in Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate
• Aadi Ram in Novice Congress
• Rupert Zhang with Oscar Liu in Novice Parliamentary Debate

Other Ridge students reached final rounds and placed in the top six in their categories:

• Sherry Antil in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking
• Hasini Namburi with Eden Chacko in Duo Interpretation
• Milie Gupta in Impromptu Speaking
• MJ Chu in International Extemporaneous Speaking
• Eden Chacko in Program Oral Interpretation
• Zoey Qin, Aanvi Khade and Shivank Jha in Congressional Debate
• Aadi Sateeja with Matthew Li in Varsity Public Debate

Quarterfinalists and semifinalists across grade levels and events were also recognized:

Seniors

Junior Semifinalists

Junior Quarterfinalists

Sophomore Semifinalists

Sophomore Quarterfinalists

Freshman Semifinalists

Freshman Quarterfinalists

• Seyhun Park in Novice Lincoln-Douglas
• Lin Huang and Sam Singh, and Alessia Piancazzo and Vaari Doshi in Novice Public Forum

Team Coach and Director David Yastremski said, "Year after year, these students continue to surprise me with their hard work and focus."

He added, "While studies continue to profess the benefits of oral communication, argumentation and critical thinking skills, these students are practicing those skills which will advance them in whatever field or goal they pursue."

The season is not over for Ridge. The team is scheduled to compete in several national-level tournaments, including the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Shakopee, Minnesota, the National Tournament of Champions in Debate in Lexington, Kentucky, the National Parliamentary Debate Tournament of Champions in San Diego, California, the National Catholic Forensic League Grand Nationals in Washington, D.C., and the National Speech and Debate Association National Championships in Richmond, Virginia.

In July, the team will host a summer camp for rising fifth through ninth graders who want to learn from the state champion team and its coaches. More information is available at www.RFSDI.com.