Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s Forensics Club made quite an impression when it competed in the Montville Middle and High Schools Tournament on Saturday, January 18.

The 71 students from Bridgewater-Raritan went up against hundreds of other students from various high schools.

The tournament included an exciting day of debate and ended in numerous victories for Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s Forensics Club.

Those achievements are as follows:

• Anik Shah and Marko Gvozdenovic placed second, Viraaj Marathe and Rishabh Sankar placed fourth, Om Shah and Rithvik Krish placed fifth and Abhay Sankar and Atharva Manche placed sixth in Varsity Public Forum Debate.
• Anaya Tejani and Anagha Sukhtankar placed third, and Harish Ramakrishnan and Pranav placed fifth in the Junior Varsity Public Forum Debate.
• Shantan Budamakayala and Aarush Shah placed third, and Rishi Khanna and Arav Jain placed sixth in the Novice Public Forum Debate.
• Aidan Mannathukkaran placed first, Arshiya Aggarwal placed second, Vivian Chao placed third, Dhruv Rakhade placed fourth and Arihaan Mallick placed sixth in Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate.
• Andy Wang and Sameer Tijare placed first in Varsity Parliamentary Debate.
• Colin Hawley and Jadon Kim were both finalists for Congress.
• Tharun Naguleswaran was a finalist for Improvisational Acting.

Paritosh Bhole, a junior who participated in Public Forum Debate, commented on the day’s event.

“It was great to see a lot of teams and competitors from Bridgewater-Raritan break and place in their respective categories. It really goes to show the amount of progress the team has made and I’m grateful to be a part of this team,” he said.

Aarush Shah, a sophomore competing in Novice Public Forum, commented on his experience at the tournament.

“(My partner) and I were anxious about our second Public Forum tournament. We resolved that the countless hours of preparation we’d poured into this weren’t going to be wasted. Earning third place was one of the most exhilarating moments I’ve ever experienced, and I thank Shantan for being an amazing partner,” he said.

Jagadish Nuli, a parent judge at the Montville tournament, shared his opinion on the event.

“This tournament really showcased the best of both worlds: stellar organization and fantastic competitive spirit. Having judged these events for years now, I was very impressed by how well-prepared these students were, which speaks a lot about their coaches, Mr. Fischer and Ms. Pierce, whose dedication really shines through in how professionally their students carried themselves and performed… year after year, these tournaments prove themselves to be incredible for these students. They’re building critical thinking skills, becoming confident public speakers, and developing leadership qualities that they’ll carry for a long time,” he said.

Amarender Gade, another parent judge, was also impressed with the tournament and the club’s mission.

“Forensics speech is an awesome event and gives the students the exposure to showcase their skills while being an eye-opening experience for the judges.”

The team is looking forward to many more victories his year!