The Bridgewater-Raritan High School Forensics Speech and Debate team joined over 50 schools at the Ridge Invitational Tournament on January 25.

Held at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, the tournament featured a wide range of competitive events, including the Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Parliamentary Debate, Congressional Debate, and various speech categories.

Bridgewater-Raritan High School made a strong showing at the tournament, with 61 students participating across multiple events. The competition, now in its 21st year, drew competitors from across New Jersey and neighboring states, making it one of the largest speech and debate tournaments in the region.

The tournament took place across three locations: Ridge High School and Cedar Hill School for high school students, and Mount Prospect School for middle school students, accommodating the large number of participants.

Events included both novice and junior varsity and varsity divisions, giving students of all experience levels a fair opportunity to compete.

Bridgewater-Raritan  students’ achievements are as follows:

• Anik Shah and Marko Gvozdenovic; Ohmal Suresh and Paritosh Bhole; Luvyakrish Manche and Sreyash Sinha; and Jasmeet Singh and Om Shah were finalists for Varsity Public Forum Debate
• Bryan Zou and Romir Dedhia placed sixth; Esha Bande and Gayatri Krishnan; and Esha Bande and Gayatri Krishnan were finalists for JV Public Forum Debate
• Aarush Shah and Shantan Budamakayala placed fourth and Darsh Gaur and Mohnish Gumedelli placed sixth in Novice Public Forum Debate. Chayan Malkari and Rishi Khanna and Aaditya Jambhekar and Anay Mathur were finalists for the category.
• Dhitika Madduri placed fourth, Advika Prakash placed fifth in Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate. Along with, Saanvi Goel, Arnav Dham, Paras Gawas, Matthew Yu, Harshit Kondle, Sanvi Parikh and Jeffrey Pravin being finalists for the category.
• Aidan Mannathukkaran placed second, Sophia Liu placed fourth, Mythili Madhusoodanan placed sixth and Dhruv Rakhade was a finalist for JV Lincoln Douglas Debate
• Ajay Dinesh placed third, and Aishanya Makode and Eveleen Chander were finalists for Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate
• Advik Joshi and Suraj Shah placed third, and Arav Kewalia and Manas Gumedelli were finalists for Varsity Parliamentary Debate
• Jadon Kim placed fourth in Congressional Debate
• Anay Gade placed fifth in Impromptu Speaking

Sohum Korgaonkar, a sophomore competing in Declamation, reflected on his thoughts about the tournament.

“The tournament was very well run and it was clear a lot of effort was put in by the volunteers. I would definitely come back next year,” he said.

Tharun Naguleswaran, a freshman competing in Declamation and Impromptu Speaking, also shared his thoughts.

“Ridge was a very important tournament for me and it was a very exciting and exhilarating experience. I am quite proud of my achievement,” he said.

Profe Christine Peliotis, a Spanish teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School,  helped volunteer at the tournament. She shared about her experience.

“This was my first time volunteering for a Forensics Tournament and I was genuinely astonished by the effort and dedication of the students, coaches, judges, parents and advisors. I had never seen an event like this in action. Walking around and seeing all the students dressed up, practicing together, giving each other feedback, and helping each other improve was really heartwarming. Overall, the day was an awesome opportunity for me to get a better understanding of what my students are up to when they say they have a Forensics tournament. It’s clear that this club is a labor of love and I applaud Mr. Fischer and Ms. Pierce for offering their time and energy to allow our BR students to continue to thrive in Forensics!” she said.

This tournament was an important milestone in the competitive season for the Bridgewatwer-Raritan Speech and Debate team as they continue to develop their skills and prepare for upcoming regional and national competitions. The next tournament will take place this upcoming weekend at the Pennsbury Falcon Tournament in Pennsylvania, starting January 31.