2026 Middle School National Champions
By Shelby Young, Marketing & Communications, National Speech & Debate Association
The National Speech & Debate Association is proud to announce the 2026 Middle School National Speech & Debate Champions! Three students from Windmere Ranch Middle School Argumentative Debate and Academic Competition Club (ADACC) in San Ramon. Lillian Liu won the Congressional Debate competition, and Zidaan Barodawala and Iris Ai won the Public Forum Debate competition. The school is in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
Around 1,000 middle school students from 39 states and six countries traveled to Richmond, Virginia to compete in the National Speech & Debate Tournament, the “superbowl” of academia.
“Speech and debate equips students with skills that will serve them for a lifetime—confidence, communication, critical thinking, and the ability to engage respectfully with different perspectives,” said J. Scott Wunn, Executive Director of the National Speech & Debate Association. “These skills help students succeed not only in school, but also as future leaders, professionals, and active members of their communities.”
2026 Middle School National Speech & Debate Champions:
Congressional Debate
Lillian Liu of Windmere Ranch Middle School ADACC, San Ramon, California
Public Forum Debate
Zidaan Barodawala and Iris Ai, Windmere Ranch Middle School ADACC, San Ramon, California
Declamation
Leah Domar, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts & Sciences, Texas
Dramatic Interpretation
Lauren Elliott, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts & Sciences, Texas
Duo Interpretation
Lauren Elliott & Vesper Garza, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts & Sciences, Texas
Humorous Interpretation
Tiegen Fryberger, Duluth Marshall School, Minnesota
Impromptu Speaking
Taj Brown, The Village Middle School, Texas
Informative Speaking
Aivah Dauzart, David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy, Louisiana
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Bailey Wong, El Roble Intermediate, California
Mixed Extemporaneous Speaking
Liam Sahli, Friendly Hills Middle School, Minnesota
Original Oratory
Maahi Ailawadhi, Alice B. Landrum Middle School, Florida
Original Spoken Word Poetry
Damilola Adeoshun, E. A. Olle Middle School, Texas
Poetry
Cetlalli Valenzuela Gonzalez, Edgewood Middle School, California
Policy Debate
Tariq Abdul-Jami and Nicholas Hinkhouse, Solar Preparatory School for Boys, Texas
Program Oral Interpretation
Vesper Garza, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts & Sciences, Texas
Prose
Madden Davis, LaRue County Middle School, Kentucky
Storytelling
Lauren Elliott, Gutierrez Middle School of Arts & Sciences, Texas
World Schools Debate
Team China Gold
Ryan Yan, Miranda Chen and Yunran Geng, Dialogy, China
With more than 100,000 student members across the country, the NSDA is the premier platform for speech and debate, preparing generations of young people to engage in the public sphere through academically rigorous speech and debate training, competitions, and education.
Over the next five years, the NSDA has a goal to double the number of students involved in speech and debate to 200,000 students across the country.
The 2027 National Tournament will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, from June 13–18, 2027. To learn more about Nationals, visit www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.
About the National Speech & Debate Association
The National Speech & Debate Association is the authority on public speaking and debate in the United States. The Association builds the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world by providing topics, educational resources, and training for students and coaches. For 100 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has built a platform for youth voices that culminates in the National Tournament, the largest academic competition in the world. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
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