Riverside Speech Boosters

10/18/2026

Congratulations to the Riverside High School Speech and Debate Team for winning the 2026 Gamecock Invitational, hosted online by Sumter High School, on October 17th. In addition to winning the overall sweepstakes award, several students won individual championships: Keris Garcia in Children’s Literature, Juliana Lopez Africano in Dramatic Interpretation, Anamika Nair in Extemporaneous Speaking and Informative Speaking, Tanvi Chelasani in Varsity Impromptu Speaking, Maria Sweeney in Novice Reading, Aahanna Das in Original Oratory, Lina Nguyen in Prose and Poetry, Leila Salim in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Aneesh Nannapuraju in Senate Congressional Debate. A complete list of Riverside award winners follows:

Keris Garcia, 1st in Children’s Literature
Yaazhini Sudherson, 6th in Children’s Literature

Arna Patel, 3rd in Declamation
Anshika Pudipeddi, 6th in Declamation

Juliana Lopez Africano, 1st in Dramatic Interpretation
Ben Lin, 3rd in Dramatic Interpretation
Avi Bhatia, 4th in Dramatic Interpretation
Zoe Liney-Stantial, 6th in Dramatic Interpretation

Ben Lin and Zoe Liney-Stantial, 2nd in Duo Interpretation
Rania Gupta and Cohen Clark, 4th in Duo Interpretation
Marie Schmit and Esme Nguyen, 5th in Duo Interpretation

Anamika Nair, 1st in Extemporaneous Speaking
Navmika Anish, 4th in Extemporaneous Speaking
Tanvi Chelasani, 6th in Extemporaneous Speaking

Aahanna Das, 2nd in Humorous Interpretation
Jackson Robinson, 5th in Humorous Interpretation

Tanvi Chelasani, 1st in Varsity Impromptu Speaking
Navmika Anish, 2nd in Varsity Impromptu Speaking
Nirvan Gupta, 4th in Varsity Impromptu Speaking
Kashvi Bhavsar, 5th in Varsity Impromptu Speaking
Samhitha Kalluri, 6th in Varsity Impromptu Speaking

Logan Korallis, 3rd in Novice Impromptu Speaking
Unnati Mishra, 6th in Novice Impromptu Speaking

Anamika Nair, 1st in Informative Speaking

Maria Sweeney, 1st in Novice Reading
Logan Korallis, 2nd in Novice Reading
Jackson Robinson, 3rd in Novice Reading
Cohen Clark, 4th in Novice Reading
Arna Patel, 5th in Novice Reading
Marie Schmit, 6th in Novice Reading

Sarthak Sonker, 2nd in House Congressional Debate
Jennah Wani, 4th in House Congressional Debate
Evan Salinas, 6th in House Congressional Debate

Aneesh Nannapuraju, 1st in Senate Congressional Debate
Adith Bandakadi, 2nd in Senate Congressional Debate
Gabriel Killian, 3rd in Senate Congressional Debate

Aahanna Das, 1st in Original Oratory
Juliana Lopez Africano, 2nd in Original Oratory
Eli Golob, 3rd in Original Oratory

Avi Bhatia, 2nd in Program Oral Interpretation
Akshara Yuvaraj, 4th in Program Oral Interpretation
Eli Golob, 5th in Program Oral Interpretation
Keris Garcia, 6th in Program Oral Interpretation

Lina Nguyen, 1st in Prose and Poetry
Lucia Callahan, 2nd in Prose and Poetry
Amina Makalo, 3rd in Prose and Poetry
Unnati Mishra, 6th in Prose and Poetry

Leila Salim, 1st in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Arshi Patel, 3rd in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate
RudhviCharan Kosgi, 6th in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Isabella Weavil, 4th in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Ethan Alexander, 5th in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Lahari Vellanki and Sanya Kolagotla, 2nd in Public Forum Debate
Matvei Stasheuski and Henry Purvis, 3rd in Public Forum Debate
Shaurya Srivastava and Isabella Batista, 5th in Public Forum Debate

10/12/2026

Congratulations to the Riverside High School Speech and Debate Team for winning the 2026 Viking Classic at North Mecklenburg in Huntersville, NC, on October 10th. In addition to winning the overall sweepstakes award, several students won individual championships. Zoe Liney-Stantial in Dramatic Interpretation, the team of Zoe Liney-Stantial and Ben Lin in Duo Interpretation, Anamika Nair in Informative Speaking, Cohen Clark in Novice Reading, Juliana Lopez Africano in Original Oratory, and Avi Bhatia in Program Oral Interpretation, A complete list of Riverside award winners follows:

Keris Garcia, 2nd in Children’s Literature

Zoe Liney-Stantial, 1st in Dramatic Interpretation
Ben Lin, 2nd in Dramatic Interpretation

Ben Lin and Zoe Liney-Stantial, 1st in Duo Interpretation
Rania Gupta and Cohen Clark, 3rd in Duo Interpretation

Mya Beeks, 3rd in Expository Speaking
Lucia Callahan, 4th in Expository Speaking

Tanvi Chelasani, 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking
Stephanie Duan, 4th in Extemporaneous Speaking
Anamika Nair, 5th in Extemporaneous Speaking

Aahanna Das, 2nd in Humorous Interpretation
Lina Nguyen, 4th in Humorous Interpretation
Jackson Robinson, 6th in Humorous Interpretation

Tanvi Chelasani, 3rd in Impromptu Speaking

Anamika Nair, 1st in Informative Speaking
Stephanie Duan, 3rd in Informative Speaking

Cohen Clark, 1st in Novice Reading
Maria Sweeney, 3rd in Novice Reading
Jackson Robinson, 4th in Novice Reading
Charley Glenn, 5th in Novice Reading
Aubrey Bostic, 6th in Novice Reading

Jennah Wani, 3rd in JV House Congressional Debate

Sarthak Sonker, 5th in Varsity Senate Congressional Debate

Juliana Lopez Africano, 1st in Original Oratory
Eli Golob, 2nd in Original Oratory

Avi Bhatia, 1st in Program Oral Interpretation
Eli Golob, 3rd in Program Oral Interpretation
Keris Garcia, 6th in Program Oral Interpretation

Leila Smith, 3rd in JV Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Aksh*th Padmanaban, 4th in JV Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Arshi Patel, 6th in JV Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Amizhdhini Srihari Narmadha, 3rd in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Matthew Purvis, 5th in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Matvei Stasheuski and Henry Purvis, 6th in JV Public Forum Debate

09/20/2026

Congratulations to Riverside High School for winning the South Carolina Novice Tournament held at Eastside High School on September 19th, 2026. Riverside won the overall Sweepstakes Award. Individual champions include Jackson Robinson in Children’s Literature, Cohen Clark in Dramatic Interpretation, and Arshi Patel in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. A complete list of Riverside award winners follows:

Jackson Robinson, 1st Place in Children’s Literature
Amina Makalo, 3rd Place in Children’s Literature
Darshi Shah, 4th Place in Children’s Literature
Aubrey Bostic, 5th Place in Children’s Literature
Thu Nguyen, 6th Place in Children’s Literature

Kashvi Koyagura, 3rd Place in Declamation
Rhea Mishra, 5th Place in Declamation
Arna Patel, 6th Place in Declamation

Cohen Clark, 1st Place in Dramatic Interpretation
Logan Korallis, 2nd Place in Dramatic Interpretation
YunTzu “Phoebe” Yee, 3rd Place in Dramatic Interpretation
Mya Beeks, 5th Place in Dramatic Interpretation

Marie Schmit and Thu Nguyen, 2nd Place in Duo Interpretation

Cohen Clark, 2nd Place in Humorous Interpretation
Jackson Robinson, 3rd Place in Humorous Interpretation
Maria Sweeney, 5th Place in Humorous Interpretation

Maria Sweeney, 3rd Place in Impromptu

Jennah Wani, 2nd Place in Congressional Debate
Evan Salinas, 4th Place in Congressional Debate
Eric Zhu, 6th Place in Congressional Debate

Arshi Patel, 1st Place in Lincoln–Douglas Debate
Aksh*th Padmanaban, 2nd Place in Lincoln–Douglas Debate
Viktoriia Krechkovska, 4th Place in Lincoln–Douglas Debate
Rudhvi Charan Kosgi, 5th Place in Lincoln–Douglas Debate
Vaibhav Badveli, 8th Place in Lincoln–Douglas Debate
Leila Salim, 9th Place in Lincoln–Douglas Debate

Revanth Nagabhyru, 2nd Place in Prose-Poetry Interpretation
Amina Makalo, 4th Place in Prose-Poetry Interpretation
Unnati Mishra Mishra, 6th Place in Prose-Poetry Interpretation

08/06/2026

Audition slots are limited. We begin auditions on August 11.

07/19/2026

Come on out to Chick Fil A on Pelham and get your car washed.

07/17/2026

06/21/2026

Congratulations to the Riverside High School Speech and Debate Team for competing at the 2026 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Richmond, VA, on June 14th - June 20th. Riverside won the Schools of Excellence in Speech award for finishing with the top 20 teams in the nation for the third consecutive year. In addition to the team award, several students won individual honors. Out of pools of hundreds of talented competitors, several students were Octafinalists (Top 60) or Quarterfinalists (Top 30).

Main Events

Senior Sash Sivaraman was a Semifinalist (14th) in International Extemporaneous Speaking.

Senior Enyo Toklo was a Quarterfinalist in Informative Speaking.

Senior Artem Feno was a Quarterfinalist in House Congressional Debate.

Senior Catalina Jara Parada was an Octafinalist in Dramatic Interpretation.

Sophomore Anamika Nair was a Quarterfinalist in United States Extemporaneous Speaking.

Sophomore Avi Bhatia was a Quarterfinalist in Program Oral Interpretation.

Junior Mikel Eguiraun was a Quarterfinalist in Humorous Interpretation.

Junior Tanvi Chelasani was an Octafinalist in United States Extemporaneous Speaking.

Middle Schooler Silvia Lopez Africano was an Octafinalist in Declamation.

Supplemental Events

Junior Suprith Vandanam was a Quarterfinalist in Expository Speaking.

Sophomore Benjamin Lin was a Quarterfinalist in Expository Speaking.

Senior Charline Monnier was a Double Octafinalist in Prose Interpretation.

Junior Eli Golob was an Octafinalist in Original Spoken Word Poetry.

Sophomore Juliana Lopez Africano was a Quarterfinalist in Original Spoken Word Poetry and a Double Octafinalist in Poetry.

Senior Catalina Jara Parada was a Double Octafinalist in Prose and a Quarterfinalist in Storytelling.

Junior Aahanna Das was a Double Octafinalist in Expository Speaking.

Senior Pranita Kata was a Double Octafinalist in Expository Speaking.

Sophomore Fox Vickery was a Double Octafinalist in Expository Speaking.

Senior Isabella Murillo was a Double Octafinalist in Extemporaneous Commentary and a Quarterfinalist in Impromptu.

Sophomore Nirvan Gupta was a Double Octafinalist in Extemporaneous Commentary and a Quarterfinalist in Impromptu.

Junior Tanvi Chelasani was a Double Octafinalist in Extemporaneous Commentary.

Senior Samhitha Visikamalla made round 6 of Extemporaneous Debate.

The captains of the 2025-2026 season are Enyo Toklo, Artem Feno, and Sash Sivaraman. The incoming captains for the 2026-2027 season are Tanvi Chelasani and Isabella Batista. David Dejesa is the school advisor and program director. Heather Brown-Cook, Jinsoo Kim, Pete Martin, Rohit Yarlagadda, and Cara Sizemore serve as volunteer coaches. Greg Cook is the senior coach.Riverside High School - South Carolina

06/20/2026

Thank you Richmond. We are coming home with our third consecutive School of Excellence Award in Speech for finishing in the Top 20 in the Nation.

06/19/2026

Sash Sivaraman

06/19/2026

Late Breaking News

Riverside has won a third consecutive School of Excellence Award in Speech for finishing in the top 20. Coach Rohit Yarlagadda will receive the honor on behalf of the program. Tune in for the national Awards Ceremony tonight at 6pm

Senior Captain Sash Sivaraman finished 14th in the nation in International Extemporaneous Speaking.