Lincoln Public Schools students held championship-level conversations this summer in their national speech and debate contests.

More than four dozen LPS students traveled to Richmond, Va., for the National Speech and Debate Tournament. Nearly 6,000 people from 48 states, two United States territories and six countries came together for competitive events, medal ceremonies and networking opportunities.

The tournament showcased the strength of LPS speech and debate programs in Nebraska. Fifty-one students from Lincoln High (2), East (27), North Star (4), Northwest (3), Southeast (6) and Southwest (9) competed at nationals. The rest of Nebraska had 38 attendees from nine schools.

Lincoln High

Mahshid Farahmand and Keyonte’ Goodman represented Lincoln High with their performances. Farahmand competed in the Program Oral Interpretation and Storytelling contests and Goodman participated in the Prose Reading and Poetry categories.

Lincoln High head speech coach C Meier-Bates said both Links did well in their events.

“It’s incredible to see both Mahshid and Keyonte’ compete and succeed at the national level, finishing top 120 in the nation in storytelling and poetry, respectively,” Meier-Bates said. “These students work hard year-round to earn the experience of traveling to this competition, and it’s an honor to watch them learn and grow at the highest level of competitive speaking.”

East

Twenty-seven Spartans filled their Eastern Standard Time trip with East Winning Time moments. Nine students vaulted into the top 20 spots of their speech contests, and two debate team members earned a top 15 award in their event.

The Spartans finished among the top ten schools for overall speech and debate team points. This allowed East to receive a School of Outstanding Distinction honor for the fourth consecutive year. There were four schools from California, two from Florida and one from Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina and Texas on the prestigious list.

Seniors Zach Johannes, Gavin Foust, Claire Rooney and Ethan Phan highlighted the week with major speech trophies. Johannes became the first student in LPS history to win a national championship in a main speech category. He finished first out of 263 Dramatic Interpretation competitors.

Foust placed third out of 260 Program Interpretation competitors, and Rooney earned fourth place in the 275-person Informative Speaking contest. Phan joined Johannes on the Dramatic Interpretation medal stand with a fifth-place finish.

East head speech coach Nick Herink said he was extremely proud of all four Spartans.

“Most speech students spend their careers performing in classrooms for a few judges and a handful of spectators,” Herink said. “To watch Claire, Gavin, Ethan and Zach step onto a large stage in front of hundreds of people and under the brightest lights our activity has to offer was surreal. And to watch Zach win this first main event national championship in LPS history was the cherry on top.”

Judges rewarded Johannes for his detailed performance in the Dramatic Interpretation event, which requires contestants to convey emotion found in a dramatic text. Students could base their ten-minute presentation on a play, short story or other published work.

Johannes said he would treasure his final EHS appearance because of the support he received from teammates.

“The thing I enjoyed most about nationals were the final memories I made as a high schooler with my peers,” Johannes said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my high school career, and I’m so glad I got to share the stage with my best friends.”

Foust and Phan also felt the group’s close-knit nature put them in a position to do well.

“When we were in Richmond, our team was constantly looking out for one another and pushing for each other to meet a higher standard,” Foust said. “From hotel room coaching to nightly pep talks to car jams before the tournament, the positivity and unity is what led to my success.”

“I was able to make a multitude of memories alongside my friends,” Phan said. “From screaming at our favorite songs on the way to the tournament to laughing non-stop throughout the trip, it was an unforgettable experience for me.”

East head debate coach John Holen said he was also pleased with his team’s performances. Arnav Agarwal and Ronav Ganesh stepped into the spotlight with a 14th-place finish in the Public Forum contest. They earned a national award with their result.

“Arnav and Ronav are just the second and third four-time qualifiers from East debate in the last 15 years,” Holen said. “They were also in the top four last year. So, it was awesome seeing them end their storied career together on the big stage again.”

Holen said many other Spartans gained important knowledge about various debate styles found throughout the country.

“The first year at nationals gives kids an opportunity to start to understand those different perspectives earlier in their career,” Holen said. “So many of our younger students are walking away with a better understanding of their judges for future trips to nationals, which should give them the opportunity to help us see continued success in years to come.”

Other Spartans who attended nationals included Brad Bobaru, Wade Combs, Cooper Doell, Sloan Donahoo, Jason Granquist, Sukruth Jangala, Emery Jobst, Cora Jones, Jackson Lynch, Lucas Neamu, Nolan Peterson, Belinda Qiao, Charlie Sanchez-Masi, Shriish Sathish, Cinae Schneider, Amelia Schupbach, Sawyer Shaner, Erin Suh, Gabe Wick, Grayson Williams and James Yu.

Sanchez-Masi (16th place) and Qiao (17th) both advanced to the Original Oratory quarterfinals, and Combs and Sawyer (19th) advanced to the quarterfinals in the Duo Interpretation category. Schupbach (33rd) and Donahoo (37th) were octafinalists in Humorous Interpretation, and both Spartans also did well in the Prose Reading contest. Schupbach earned ninth place and Donahoo captured 23rd place in the competition. Doell was a double octafinalist in the Expository Speaking category.

Herink said he believes the future is bright for East’s speech and debate teams.

“Victories like these are the key to making the impossible feel possible,” Herink said. “We had a group of underclassmen who did great at this tournament as well. On our ride back to the hotel from the awards ceremony, they were all excitedly talking about next year and how the success of these seniors made them believe they could do it as well. We’ve been fortunate enough to have kids on the national stage the last three years in a row. Success has a way of echoing forward.”

North Star

Hadila Abdalla, Baraah Abdalla, Mabruka Mumade and Emily Truong showcased their talents in Virginia. Baraah Abdalla finished in the top 120 of the Expository Speaking contest, and Hadila Abdalla participated in the Duo Interpretation and Prose Reading contests. Mumade competed in both Duo Interpretation and Expository Speaking, and Truong participated in the Extemporaneous Commentary category.

North Star head speech coach Alison Finn-Couch said everyone was inspired by the creativity they witnessed at nationals.

“I enjoyed getting to see the different styles, adaptations and performances from across the nation,” Finn-Couch said. “Every state has their own twist on the events we do, so it was fun to see the variety and get fresh ideas for next season.”

Many blueprints for 2026-27 began to take shape after they attended the final round. Finn-Couch said the experience encouraged the Navigators.

“It was the highlight of their trip getting to see competitors they have watched and admired perform live and in the theater,” Finn-Couch said.

Northwest

Alfredo Ramirez, Jubilee Lathrop and Emersyn Smith made memories from their East Coast trip. Ramirez graduated from Northwest in May and Smith finished her sophomore year at school. Lathrop advanced to nationals as a ninth grader.

Northwest head debate coach Britton Teply said she was happy watching the trio of Falcons compete. They represented Northwest on the Nebraska South Gold team in the World Schools Debate contest. Southeast students Sophia Allen and Braxton Wiebke joined them on the five-person squad.

“Last year, we only took one student to nationals. This year, that number tripled,” Teply said. “It is amazing how much this team has grown from non-existent to a flourishing team of hardworking and intelligent young people. This is a huge feat and we cannot wait to see how they grow next year!”

Teply said she was proud of Ramirez’s senior leadership throughout the season. She felt he had made a major impact on Northwest’s program.

“Watching Alfredo finish out his debate career was bittersweet, but we are so excited for his new journey into college and collegiate debate!” Teply said.

Teply said she was impressed with the poise Lathrop and Smith displayed. The younger Falcons both faced many experienced opponents in their debate contests.

“I loved watching Jubilee and Emersyn grow as debaters so early on in their high school careers,” Teply said. “Traveling across the country to compete against people they’ve never met before can be daunting, but they handled it so well.”

Southeast

Six Knights put their debate skills to the test in Richmond. Sophia Allen and Braxton Wiebke both competed in the World Schools Debate category, and Baran Safa represented Southeast in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate contest. Beau Cassell (House of Representatives), Elise Weisser (Senate) and Marin Weisser (House of Representatives) participated in Congressional Debate events.

Southwest

Nine Southwest students made appearances in Virginia throughout the week. Ezra Erickson (Duo Interpretation, Storytelling and Expository Speaking), Grant Johnson (Dramatic Interpretation and Prose Reading) and Claire Timperley (Duo Interpretation, Expository Speaking and Impromptu Speaking) participated in speech categories.

Maarib Basi (Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Extemporaneous Debate), Addison Watchorn (Congressional Debate: House of Representatives and Extemporaneous Debate), Mayuha Kadiri (Public Forum and Extemporaneous Debate), Hussein Keshk (Public Forum and Extemporaneous Debate), Mason Rathje (Public Forum and Extemporaneous Debate) and Payton Wilkason (Public Forum and Extemporaneous Debate) took part in debate contests.

Timperley and Johnson advanced deep into their competitions. Both finished among the top 120 in Impromptu Speaking and Prose Reading.

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