The Riverside High School Speech and Debate Team won its sixth consecutive state championship at R. B. Stall High School on March 3-4. Riverside claimed both the AAAAA state title and the overall sweepstakes award.
Senior Devin Remley won three state championships: in Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, and Expository Speaking.
For the second year in a row, the team of seniors Nicole Patterson and Neil Gramopadhye were champions in Public Forum Debate.
Three more seniors won state championships: Daniella Diaz in Program Oral Interpretation Dean Lage in Congressional Debate and Bjore Samard in Impromptu Speaking.
Other state champions include Sooruj Bhatia, junior, in Humorous Interpretation; Shalyn Drakeford, freshman, in Novice Reading; Janine D’Souza, freshman, in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate; Phillip Martin, sophomore, in Storytelling; Elizabeth Sanchez, sophomore, in Declamation; Parth Vashi, sophomore, in SPAR debate; and the team of Ahva Zadeh and Stephan Voelk in Duo Interpretation.
The following students were named outstanding novices in their events: Daniella Diaz, senior, in both Dramatic Interpretation and Program Oral Interpretation; Ryan Du, freshman, in Storytelling; Shantal Gomez, junior, in Poetry; Abby Hickey, junior, in Congressional Debate; and Priyanka Shah, freshman, in both Extemporaneous Debate and Impromptu Speaking.
Senior officers include Captains Manu Budidi and Devin Remley, Speech Chairman Faith Ingle, Debate Chairman Nicole Patterson, and House Leader Carolyn Bubanich. The team is coached by David Dejesa, school adviser and debate coach; Greg Cook, speech coach; and volunteer coaches Heather Brown, Mel Gaddy, Pete Martin, Rhett Reese and John Williams.?