<![CDATA[Lanier Debate - Latest Lanier Speech & Debate News]]>Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:43:19 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Team Returns to Klein Oak - First Time Since 2019]]>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 02:09:57 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/team-returns-to-klein-oak-first-time-since-2019Congressional Debate
Serena Bentsen - 1st
Amy Li - 2nd
Paul Nguyen - 5th
Adi Sanghavi - 6th
Everette Schmidt - 7th
Anirudh Sheshadri - 8th
Maxwell Taylor - Finalist
Henry Lee - Finalist
Lillian Kantor - Finalist
Thamizhko Rajarajan - Finalist

Public Forum Debate
Viren Keswani & Ashwin Mohan - 2nd
Killian Chao & Adam Razouki - Semifinalists
Michael Chen & Caden Cheng - Quarterfinalists
Keshav Narkar & Charles Somers - Quarterfinalists
Kyle Hu & Kanish Kalla - Quarterfinalists

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Neel Shah - Octafinalist

Declamation
Danna Wu - 3rd

Dramatic
Maggie James - 2nd

Duet Improvisation
Maggie James & Diya Vachani - 3rd
Pardis Angeles & Camila Carrette - 4th
Amy Li & Abbi Perry - 5th
Alina ElAnnan & Sofia Ramos - 6th
Victoria Debbouzzi & Eiley Walsh - Finalist
Gabi McCauley & Emma Wallace - Finalist

Duo Interpretation
Pardis Angeles & Abbi Perry - 1st

Extemporaneous Speaking
Catherine Blackwell - 1st
Thamizhko Rajarajan - 3rd
Neel Shah - 5th

Humorous
Maggie James - 5th

Impromptu Speaking
George Xue - 4th
Adi Sanghavi - 5th

Informative Speaking
Karina Witono - 3rd
Emelie Lu - 4th
Maggie James - 5th

Original Oratory
Camila Carrette - 4th
Elinam Dzakpasu - 6th

Program of Oral Interpretation
Jade Cruz - 1st

Poetry
Mia Varughese - 1st
Stella Taurel - 3rd
Mila Tengberg - 7th

Prose
Jadiah Freeman - 1st
Talia Torrez - 2nd
Jade Cruz - 3rd
Nellie Witz - 5th

Television Commercial
Srihith Gadigota - 1st
Kennedy McDonald Williams - 4th
Bea Deyon - 5th

Storytelling
Rayan Bhardwaj - 4th
Sofia Bishop - 5th

Vocal Solo
Olivia Sawakuchi - 4th

Lip-Sync
Emelie Lu & Danna Wu - 2nd

]]><![CDATA[Team + 6th Graders Shine at Top Dawg Invitational]]>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:56:06 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/team-6th-graders-shine-at-top-dawg-invitationalCongressional Debate
Serena Bentsen - 1st
Harvey Dai - 4th
Paul Nguyen - 6th
Adi Sanghavi - 7th
Amy Li - Finalist
Everette Schmidt - Finalist
Henry Zhao - Finalist

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Alexander Beddar - Quarterfinalist

Public Forum Debate
Keshav Narkar & Charles Somers - Semifinalists
Killian Chao & Adam Razouki - Quarterfinalists
Viren Keswani & Ashwin Mohan - Quarterfinalists
Michael Chen & Caden Cheng - Quarterfinalists

Public Forum Speaker Awards
Killian Chao - 2nd
Adam Razouki - 3rd

Dramatic 
Jade Cruz - 3rd
Mahaneeya Karthik - 5th

Duo Interpretation
Rayan Bhardwaj & Aiden Vettical - 2nd
Yara Hakki & Jinisha Singhaniya - 5th

Extemporaneous Speaking
Jasper Lin - 1st
Neel Shah - 2nd
Viren Keswani - 3rd
Caden Cheng - 5th

Humorous
Maggie James - 4th

Impromptu Speaking
Lucas Gates - 1st
Angela Quintanilla - 4th
Jasper Lin - 5th

Original Oratory
Kiran Shah - 4th

Original Spoken Word Poetry
Kaylynn Chen - 1st
Lara Borasino - 6th

Informative Speaking
Emelie Lu - 1st
Karina Witono - 3rd
Maggie James - 4th
Zain Mohsin - 5th

Program of Oral Interpretation
Jade Cruz - 1st

Senior Poetry
Michelle Trewick - 5th
Lucas Gates - 6th

Junior Poetry
Zoe Hill - 4th

Junior Prose
Sofia Bishop - 1st
Emilia Karamanian - 5th
Seren Mason - 6th

Senior Prose
Jade Cruz - 4th
Dulce Nunez - 6th

Storytelling
Yara Hakki - 1st
Rayan Bhardwaj - 5th
Maddie McKenzie - 6th

Duet Improvisation
Serena Bentsen & Cecilia Waterhouse - 2nd
Aaliyah Adjei & Emerson Morin - 6th

Solo Improvisation
Greta Seidel - 5th

TV Commercial
Lucas Gates - 4th
Srihith Gadigota - 6th

Vocal Solo
Janelle Johnson - 6th

]]><![CDATA[Debate Update - 10/20/25]]>Sat, 18 Oct 2025 15:20:35 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/debate-update-1020258th GRADE
​While preparing for the upcoming Austin HS tournament, the 8th graders are in the process of selecting their book to read for the Winter Final. Books must be chosen and confirmed with Mr. Hill by November 3 & 4.

7th GRADE
This week, 7th graders are presenting their Informative/Oratory speeches. Students are submitting a final draft for the content grade and presenting 3 minutes of their speech (memorized) for the delivery grade. Rubric can be found in FILES in Canvas.

6th GRADE
We just completed our Speech & Interpretation Unit and are starting our Congressional Debate Unit. Students are role-playing in a congressional session with fictional bills and resolutions that they'll speak and debate on. This week, the 6th graders will receive information about the Henley Memorial Sixth Grade Tournament at Lanier this December.

TUTORIALS
Here is the tutorial schedule for this week (Note which events are invited which days)

Mon. 10/20 - 4pm to 5:30pm - Speech & Interp.
Tues. 10/21 - 7am - Debate
Wed. 10/22 - 7am - Speech & Interp
Thur. 10/23 - 7am - Debate
Fri. 10/24 - 7am - Speech & Interp]]><![CDATA[Revised Tournament Schedule - Oct. 4, 2025]]>Sun, 05 Oct 2025 01:39:30 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/revised-tournament-schedule-oct-4-2025DATE                                EVENT                                                                     LOCATION
Sat. Oct. 25                      Top Dawg MS Tournament                                   Austin HS (Fort Bend ISD)
Sat. Nov. 8                        MS Fall Classic                                                       Klein Oak HS
Sat. Nov. 15                      MS Classic                                                              Woodlands HS
Fri & Sat Dec 12 & 13.    Henley Memorial 6th Grade Tournament           Lanier MS
Sat. Jan. 17                      Middle School Invitational                                    Katy-Taylor HS
Fri & Sat Feb 6 & 7.         Olle Owl Invitational                                               E.A. Olle MS
TBA                                    TJSDA State                                                           TBA
Jun. 8-15                          Nats Camp (noon to 3pm)                                   Lanier MS
Jun. 16-20                        NSDA MS Nationals                                              Richmond, VA

*We are likely to have another tournament sometime in January or the Spring               ]]><![CDATA[Tournament Schedule as of August 11, 2025]]>Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:09:30 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/tournament-schedule-as-of-august-11-2025Here is our CURRENT schedule. This is subject to change in that other tournaments may pop up and we might not go everywhere on this schedule. As the schedule changes, check the class Canvas page under FILES for the most up to date schedule.

College Park TFA Tournament                Aug. 29 & 30        College Park High School

Afterschool Debate Club                          Sept. 16        North “Hutch” Patio - 4 pm to 5 pm

Spring Woods/Memorial Swing TFA    Sept. 26 & 27        Spring Woods & Memorial High Schools

Top Dawg Tournament                           Oct. 24 & 25        Austin High School (Fort Bend)

Tournament                                             Nov. 8            Klein Oak High School

Middle School Classic Tournament    Nov. 15        College Park High School

6th Grade Tournament                          Dec. 12 & 13        Lanier Middle School

Tournament                                            Jan. 23 & 24        Hastings High School

Olle Owl Invitational Tournament       Feb. 6 & 7        E.A. Olle Middle School

TJSDA State                                           May 1 & 3        Dallas, TX (Host TBD)

Debate Banquet                                    May 2025        TBD

Nats Camp                                            June 8 - 15        Lanier Middle School - Noon to 3 pm

NSDA MS Nationals                           June 16-20        Richmond, Virginia


]]><![CDATA[Lanier Speech & Debate Earns Their 13th Overall School of Excellence Award at NSDA Middle School Nationals.]]>Sat, 05 Jul 2025 02:20:28 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/july-04th-2025
Congressional Debate
Amanuddin Mohammed - Finalist
Kanishka Iyer - Finalist
Jayden Shin - Semifinalist
Serena Bentsen

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Zoe Ralhan

Public Forum Debate
Colin Donovan & Joseph Hurtado - Quarterfinalists
Preston Kyle & Luka Rahman - Quarterfinalists
Jiayang Chen & Vivaan Sadare - Octafinalists
Sohum Bhardwaj & Aarav Saini - Double Octas
Dhruv Goyal & Adarsh Mohanty - Double Octas
Pierce Ozoude & Adam Razouki

Public Forum Speaker Awards
Vivaan Sadare - 6th
Colin Donovan - 7th

Extemporaneous Speaking
Rohin Joshi - 4th
Aditya Lavi
Jasper Lin

Declamation
Kiran Bansal

Duo Interpretation
Mo Bynum & Nyla Phillips-Lockett
Kennedy Kimbrough & Anna Mamonkina
Abigail Perry & Danna Wu
Rayan Bhardwaj & Aiden Vettical

Humorous
Maggie James
Aiden Vettical
Anna Mamonkina
Danna Wu
Rayan Bhardwaj

Original Oratory
Jasper Lin

Dramatic
Jade Cruz - Semifinalist
Maggie James - Quarterfinalist

Informative Speaking
Kiran Bansal - Semifinalist

Impromptu
Nyla Phillips-Lockett - Quarterfinalist
Jasper Lin - Quarterfinalist
Aditya Lavi
Sophia Bush
Rohin Joshi

Program Oral Interpretation
Talia Torrez
Amy Li
Abigail Perry

Original Spoken Word Poetry
Dulce Nunez
Jade Cruz
Kadence Smith
Talia Torrez

Prose
Dyllan Ellis - 3rd
Amy Li
Kadence Smith
Sophia Bush

Storytelling
Dulce Nunez
Kennedy Kimbrough
Maggie James

Poetry
Dyllan Ellis - 6th
Amy Li
Kadence Smith



]]><![CDATA[Team Takes 2nd At Taylor HS]]>Sun, 26 Jan 2025 19:49:46 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/team-takes-2nd-at-taylor-hsCongressional Debate
Amanuddin Mohammed - 4th
Kanishka Iyer - 6th
Jayden Shin - 8th

Public Forum Debate
* Finals Close Out
Dhruv Goyal & Vivaan Sadare - 1st*
Preston Kyle & Luka Rahman - 2nd*
Sohum Bhardwaj & Aarav Saini - Semifinalists
Misha Fabre & Diego Santos - Quarterfinalists
Rohin Joshi & Adarsh Mohanty - Quarterfinalists
Killian Chao & Pierce Ozoude - Quarterfinalists

Lincoln-Douglas
Zoe Ralhan - 1st
Ari Desai - 3rd

Duet Acting
Yara Hakki & Dulce Nunez -1st
Gabi McCauley & Emma Wallace - 2nd
Emelie Lu & Rowan Russell - 3rd
Pardis Angeles & Jinisha Singhaniya - 4th
Daisy McPherson & Caroline Miller - 6th

Duo Interpretation
Mo Bynum & Nyla Phillips-Lockett - 3rd
Ellery Orton & Maria Vassallo-Lezaun - 4th

Extemporaneous Speaking
Rohin Joshi - 1st
Dhruv Goyal - 4th
Viraj Keswani - 5th

Humorous
Maggie James - 2nd

Impromptu Speaking
Amanuddin Mohammed - 2nd
Ahilan Eswaran - 5th
Anaya Arain - 6th

Informative Speaking
Kiran Bansal - 2nd
Karina Witono - 4th
Nora Feld - 6th



Original Oratory
Ahilan Eswaran - 1st
Camila Carrette - 6th

Original Spoken Word Poetry
Dulce Nunez - 3rd
Jade Cruz - 5th

Program of Oral Interpretation
Jade Cruz - 1st
Amy Li - 5th
Talia Torrez - 6th
Zain Mohsin - Finalist
Diyan Jagushte - Finalist

Senior Poetry
Dyllan Ellis - 1st
Amy Li - 3rd
Kadence Smith - 4th
Michelle Trewick - 5th
Nyla Phillips-Lockett - 6th

Senior Prose
Kadence Smith - 2nd
Jade Cruz - 3rd
Dyllan Ellis - 4th
Kiran Bansal - 5th

Storytelling
Rayan Bhardwaj - 3rd
Yara Hakki - 4th
Ellery Orton - 5th

Solo Improvisation
Sophia Bush - 2nd
Maggie James - 6th

Readers Theatre
Mo Bynum, Sophia Bush, Taylor Browning, Gianni Ravizzini & Javier Josic - 1st

Duet Improvisation
Mo Bynum & Gianni Ravizzini - 1st
Ben Haren & Javier Josic - 2nd
Pardis Angeles & Camila Carrette - 3rd
Yara Hakki & Catherine Blackwell - 4th

​]]><![CDATA[2nd Place Sweeps - PF Semis Close-Out at Austin HS]]>Mon, 21 Oct 2024 22:29:22 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/2nd-place-sweeps-pf-semis-close-out-at-austin-hsCongressional Debate
Amanuddin Mohammed - 2nd
Anaya Arain - Finalist
Ahilan Eswaran - Finalist
Serena Bentsen - Finalist

Public Forum Debate
(1st, 2nd and Semis based on seeding)
Rohin Joshi & Adarsh Mohanty - 1st
Preston Kyle & Luka Rahman - 2nd
Colin Donovan & Joseph Hurtado - Semifinalists
Killian Chao & Pierce Ozoude - Semifinalists
S. Bhardwaj & Aarav Saini - Quarterfinalists
Adam Razouki & Andrew Taaffe - Quarterfinalists

PF Speaker Awards
Rohin Joshi - 1st
Adarsh Mohanty - 2nd
Colin Donovan - 3rd

Declamation
Amy Li - 6th

Extemporaneous Speaking
Rohin Joshi - 1st
Colin Donovan - 2nd
Jasper Lin - 4th
Aditya Lavi - 6th

Humorous
Maggie James - 3rd
Ben Haren - 6th

Impromptu
Rohin Joshi - 2nd
Anaya Arain - 3rd
Sophia Bush - 4th
Jasper Lin - 5th
Nyla Phillips-Lockett - 6th

Informative Speaking
Kiran Bansal - 3rd
Kennedy McDonald Williams - 4th
Shayna Hassid - 5th
Taylan Sahin - 6th

Junior Poetry
Amy Li - 1st

Junior Prose
Amy Li - 1st

Duet Acting
Pardis Angeles & Abbi Perry - 1st
Rayan Bhardwaj & Aiden Vettical - 2nd
Camila Carrette & Luna Frangulie - 3rd
Yara Hakki & Jinisha Singhaniya - 4th
Azariyah Adjei & Avni Vachani - 5th
Lillian Eoff & Emma Ledford - 6th

Duo Interpretation
Mo Bynum & Nyla Phillips-Lockett - 4th
Hadley Hall & Joselle McPherson - 5th

Original Oratory
Amanuddin Mohammed - 3rd
Jasper Lin - 5th

Original Spoken Word Poetry
Jade Cruz - 1st
Ellery Orton - 2nd
Talia Torrez - 4th
Zain Mohsin - 5th

Senior Prose
Lillian Eoff - 1st
Sophia Bush - 2nd
Jade Cruz - 3rd
Rowan Russell - 4th
Norah Morosan - 6th

Senior Poetry
Dyllan Ellis - 1st
Lillian Eoff - 3rd
Jade Cruz - 4th
Nyla Phillips-Lockett - 5th
Emma Ledford - 6th 

Storytelling
Ellery Orton - 4th 

TV Commercial
Norah Morosan - 3rd
Adon Sergeant - 6th
Yara Hakki - 7th
Ellie Moody - 8th

Duet Improvisation
Mo Bynum & Gianni Ravizinni - 3rd
Pardis Angeles & Camila Carrette - 6th

Vocal Solo
Sophia Bush - 1st

]]><![CDATA[Team Makes Strong Showing at Elkins]]>Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:17:19 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/team-makes-strong-showing-at-elkins2nd PLACE OVERALL SWEEPSTAKES
Champ Public Forum Debate
Colin Donovan & Joseph Hurtado - Quarterfinalists

Champ PF Speaker Awards
Colin Donovan - 1st

Novice Public Forum Debate
Rohin Joshi & Adarsh Mohanty - 2nd
Jiayang Chen & Vivaan Sadare - Semifinalists
Preston Kyle & Luka Rahman - Quarterfinalists
Sohum Bhardwaj & Aarav Saini - Quarterfinalists

Novice PF Speaker Awards
Aarav Saini - 3rd

Congressional Debate
Amanuddin Mohammed - 3rd
Ahilan Eswaran - Finalist
Kanishka Iyer - Finalist
Jayden Shin - Finalist

Novice Congressional Debate
Serena Bentsen - 1st
Adi Sanghavi - 4th

Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking
Rohin Joshi - 1st

Original Oratory
Ahilan Eswaran - 5th

Duet Acting
Zoey Mandevill & Giuliana Presenti - 4th
Emelie Lu & Rowan Russell - 5th
Pardis Angeles & Camilla Carrette - 7th

Duo Interpretation
Ellery Orton & Maria Vassallo Lezaun - 3rd
Abigail Perry & Danna Wu - 5th

Impromptu Speaking
Amanuddin Mohammed - 2nd
Jasper Lin - 3rd
Rohin Joshi - 4th
Nyla Phillips-Lockett - 5th
Sophia Bush - 6th
Aditya Lavi - 7th

Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
Micah Lindsey - 2nd
Bayden Brandt - 3rd
Arius Desai - 4th
Srihith Gadigota - 5th
Simon Jefferis - 6th

Poetry
Kadence Smith - 3rd
Cecilia Waterhouse - 5th
Maya Sriramula - 6th

Prose
Sophia Bush - 1st
Serena Bentsen - 2nd
Amy Li - 5th
Lillian Eoff - 6th
Cecilia Waterhouse - 7th

]]><![CDATA[LSD Starts Strong At College Park]]>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 19:03:17 GMThttp://www.lanierspeechanddebate.org/latest-lanier-speech--debate-news/lsd-starts-strong-at-college-parkCongressional Debate
Amanuddin Mohammed - 7th
Harvey Dai - Finalist

Varsity Public Forum
Colin Donovan & Joseph Hurtado - 2nd
Preston Kyle & Luka Rahman - Quarterfinalists

Duo Interpretation
Hadley Hall & Joselle McPherson - 6th
Nihira Lingamaneni & Mia Varughese - 7th

Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate
(3 Round - Round Robin)
Zoe Ralhan - 1st
Elizabeth Cheng - 4th

Poetry
Dyllan Ellis - Semifinalist
Amy Li - Semifinalist

Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
Marylou Keller - 5th
Taylan Sahin - 6th

Impromptu Speaking
Amanuddin Mohammed - 3rd
Rohin Joshi - 4th
Aditya Lavi - 5th
Sophia Bush - 6th
Dhruv Goyal - Semifinalist
Nyla Phillips-Lockett - Semifinalist

Informative Speaking
Kiran Bansal - 4th

Prose
Cecilia Waterhouse - 6th
Sophia Bush - Semifinalist

Original Oratory
Ahilan Eswaran - 5th

​]]>