Ridge Forensics Shines Nationally, Prepares for State Championship

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Ridge Forensics Speech & Debate Team began 2026 with strong performances at multiple national tournaments. The team secured individual and team awards at these events.

At the Harvard Invitational during President’s Weekend, senior Faye Fletcher ranked third overall in Dramatic Interpretation and fifth overall in Program Oral Interpretation. The Harvard Invitational is traditionally considered a challenging annual tournament.

Many students also advanced to elimination rounds at this competition:

Seniors

• Shresta Antil (Extemporaneous Speaking, Semi-finalist)
• Amulya Kollipara (Original Oratory, Octo-finalist)
• Hasini Namburi (Duo Interpretation, Semi-finalist & Informative Speaking, Octo-finalist)
• Aadi Sateeja (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Octo-finalist)
• Jia Aggarwal (Congressional Debate, Quarter-finalist)
• Sameer Kandra (Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, Double Octo-finalist)
• Aparna Iyer (Extemporaneous Speaking, Octo-finalist)
• Eden Chacko (Duo Interpretation, Semi-finalist & Program Oral Interpretation, Octo-finalist)
• Neel Tripathi (Humorous Interpretation, Octo-finalist)
• Shrey Sharma (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Quadruple Octo-finalist)

Juniors

• Jaina Solanki (Informative Speaking, Octo-finalist)
• Shivank Jha (Congressional Debate, Quarter-finalist)
• Raghav Shekhar (Impromptu, Quarter-finalist)
• Arjun Kumar (Extemporaneous Speaking, Octo-finalist & Impromptu, Octo-finalist)
• Madhavi Mohanakrishnan (Impromptu, Octo-finalist)
• Aman Manda (Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, Triple Octo-finalist)
• Naitik Narang (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Quadruple Octo-finalist)
• Anya Hira (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Quadruple Octo-finalist)
• Rishav Portrevu (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Quadruple Octo-finalist)

Sophomores

• Sahil Jiwani (Original Oratory, Double Octo-finalist)
• AnnaBella Vergel (Dramatic Interpretation, Octo-finalist)
• Matthew Li (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Octo-finalist)
• Shlok Janani (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Quadruple Octo-finalist)
• Samarbir Arora (Varsity Public Forum Debate, Quadruple Octo-finalist)

Freshmen

• Myesha Jain (Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, Double Octo-finalist)
• Sehyun Park (Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, Triple Octo-finalist)
• Samridhi Singh (Novice Public Forum Debate, Double Octo-finalist)
• Rupert Zhang & Junshuo Liu (Novice Public Forum Debate, Double Octo-finalists)

Earlier in the year, senior Aparna Iyer attended the MBA Extemporaneous Round Robin in Nashville, TN, and won sixth place among extemporaneous speakers nationally. Ridge Forensics also took first place overall at the Pennsbury Falcon Invitational. This tournament served as a qualifier for the NIETOC and TOC National Tournaments, which will take place this spring.

Tournament champions included seniors Amulya Kollipara in Original Oratory and Faye Fletcher in Poetry Interpretation and Program Oral Interpretation. Freshmen Myesha Jain and Sehyun Park were champions in the Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate.

"Our students have shown strong commitment and growth this season, and I’m excited to see that momentum carry us into the upcoming state championship and national tournaments,"said Team Director Dr. David Yastremski.

The NJ Speech & Debate League State Championship is scheduled for the end of March.