Ridge Forensics Team Shines at National Competitions

Students advance to elimination rounds and earn top placements at prestigious tournaments

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The Ridge Forensics Speech & Debate Team had a strong start to 2026, securing individual and team awards at multiple national tournaments. Students advanced to elimination rounds and earned top placements at events like the Harvard Invitational, with several seniors and underclassmen achieving success in a variety of speech and debate events.

Why it matters

The Ridge Forensics team's performance at these national competitions highlights the school's commitment to speech and debate programs and the talent of its students. Strong showings at prestigious tournaments can help raise the profile of the team and the school, potentially attracting more students to the program and leading to continued success.

The details

At the Harvard Invitational, senior Faye Fletcher placed third in Dramatic Interpretation and fifth in Program Oral Interpretation. Many other Ridge students advanced to elimination rounds, including seniors Shresta Antil, Amulya Kollipara, Hasini Namburi, Aadi Sateeja, Jia Aggarwal, Sameer Kandra, Aparna Iyer, Eden Chacko, and Neel Tripathi, as well as juniors Jaina Solanki, Shivank Jha, Raghav Shekhar, Arjun Kumar, Madhavi Mohanakrishnan, Aman Manda, Naitik Narang, Anya Hira, and Rishav Portrevu. Earlier in the year, senior Aparna Iyer won sixth place in the national MBA Extemporaneous Round Robin, and the Ridge Forensics team took first place at the Pennsbury Falcon Invitational.

  • The Harvard Invitational took place during President's Weekend.
  • The NJ Speech & Debate League State Championship is scheduled for the end of March.

The players

Faye Fletcher

A senior who placed third in Dramatic Interpretation and fifth in Program Oral Interpretation at the Harvard Invitational.

Aparna Iyer

A senior who won sixth place in the national MBA Extemporaneous Round Robin earlier in the year.

Dr. David Yastremski

The Team Director of the Ridge Forensics Speech & Debate Team.

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What they’re saying

“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.”

— Dr. David Yastremski, Team Director (Patch.com)

What’s next

The Ridge Forensics team will compete in the NJ Speech & Debate League State Championship at the end of March.

The takeaway

The Ridge Forensics team's strong performance at national competitions demonstrates the school's commitment to speech and debate programs and the talent of its students. This success can help raise the profile of the team and the school, potentially attracting more students to the program and leading to continued achievements.