The Cary Academy Speech & Debate team enters the final stretch of one of the most successful seasons in program history, having earned championship performances at the league, state, district, and national levels. Along the way, 20 Cary Academy students qualified for the National Speech & Debate Tournament and 21 qualified for NCFL Grand Nationals, making this one of the largest and most accomplished national qualifying classes in program history. From capturing major team awards and individual titles to earning historic national recognition among nearly 400 schools at NCFL Grand Nationals, Cary Academy students distinguished themselves among the nation’s top competitors while continuing the program’s long tradition of excellence.

Dominating the Dogwood Speech & Debate League

Cary Academy’s excellence was evident throughout the Dogwood Speech & Debate League (DSDL) season. The team earned the Carole Hamilton School of Excellence Award as the top overall program in the league for the 11th consecutive year, extending a remarkable streak of league dominance.

Several students also finished the season as DSDL Points Race Champions in their respective events:

• Lexi Cai, ’29, – Novice Congressional Debate
• Victor He, 27, – Varsity Congressional Debate
• Claire Zhong, ’27, – Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Noha Bezuayehu, ’27, & Sunny Zhao, ’27, – Varsity Public Forum Debate
• Gonçalo Simão Arnaut, ’29, – Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
• Lexi Ro, ’29, – Novice Impromptu Speaking

Strong performances throughout the Dogwood Speech & Debate League season earned Cary Academy students qualification to the NCFL Grand National Tournament in Washington, D.C. in the following events:

• Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Claire Zhong, ’27, Riley Powell, ’27, Alex H. Liu, ’26, Etienne Van Tonder, ’26.
• Public Forum Debate: Noha Bezuayehu, ’27, & Sunny Zhao, ’27; Rayan Almony, ’27, & Adrian Soldevila, ’27; Lin & Wang.
• Congressional Debate: Victor He, ’27, Gaille Saelim, ’28, Serena Patel, ’26.
• Declamation: Emma Curtis-Maury, ’28, Lexi Ro, ’29, Eleanor Smith, ’28, Audrey Bui, ’29,
• Dramatic Performance: Shriya Harkara, ’27.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Anna Benjamin, ’27.
• Original Oratory: Yul Choi, ’26, Hasaan Mahmood, ’27.

Historic Success at NCFL Grand Nationals

Those qualifiers went on to produce the strongest NCFL Grand Nationals performance in Cary Academy history. Competing against nearly 400 schools from across the United States, Cary Academy earned the prestigious Daniel S. Masterson Jr. Award for Excellence in Forensics, awarded annually to the five highest-performing schools at the tournament across speech and debate combined. In more than twenty years of attending NCFL Grand Nationals, this marked the first time Cary Academy has ever received this honor.

The team also earned the Founders Award, recognizing Cary Academy as one of the five highest-performing schools in speech competition at the tournament.

Cary Academy’s success was fueled by remarkable depth across events. Of the 21 students representing the school at NCFL Grand Nationals, 13 advanced to elimination rounds, an extraordinary achievement at one of the nation’s most competitive tournaments.

Several students were recognized on stage during the tournament’s awards ceremony for placing among the nation’s top competitors in their events. Anna Benjamin, ’27, became the first student in Cary Academy history to advance to the final round of Extemporaneous Speaking, finishing 5th in the nation. Eleanor Smith, ’28, also reached a national final round, placing 5th in Declamation.

In Original Oratory, Yul Choi, ’26, advanced to the semifinal round and finished 7th nationally. In Public Forum Debate, Noha Bezuayehu, ’27, and Sunny Zhao, ’27, finished among the top eight teams in the nation, advancing to the quarterfinal round and recording the deepest Public Forum Debate run in Cary Academy history at NCFL Grand Nationals. In Declamation, Emma Curtis-Maury, ’28, and Audrey Bui, ’29 also advanced to the quarterfinal round, earning recognition as Top 24 finishers nationally.

The trip also highlighted the enduring strength of the Cary Academy Speech & Debate community. Alumni Casey Powell, J.R. Cobb, and Alex Liu traveled to Washington, D.C., to serve as judges and support the team, continuing a tradition of former competitors giving back to the program that helped shape their own competitive careers.

A Record-Setting Year of Individual Championships

Beyond its success in league, state, district, and national competition, Cary Academy students enjoyed an unprecedented season at some of the nation’s most prestigious invitational tournaments. The team captured 17 major tournament championships, more than any previous Cary Academy squad, setting a new school record for titles won in a single season.

The season began with Riley Powell, ’27, winning Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the Jack Howe Invitational hosted by Long Beach State University. Later in the fall, Patrick Liu, ’26, captured the Lincoln-Douglas Debate championship at the prestigious Mid America Cup hosted by Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa.

At the Nova Titan Invitational in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cary Academy earned three event championships, with Anna Benjamin, ’27, winning both Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking while Jaden Hong, ’28, and Kevin Bowles, ’28, captured the Junior Varsity Public Forum Debate title.

The team continued its success at the Laird Lewis Invitational hosted by Myers Park High School in Charlotte, where Victor He, ’27, won Congressional Debate, Riley Powell, ’27, won Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Anna Benjamin, ’27, claimed the Impromptu Speaking championship.

At the Patriot Games Classic hosted by George Mason University, Kajal Parmar, ’26 captured the Impromptu Speaking title, while at the Newman Invitational in New Orleans hosted by the Isidore Newman School, Holden Lim, ’27, won Original Oratory and Eugene Si, ’27, won Informative Speaking.

Cary Academy also delivered one of the most remarkable performances in the history of its hometown major tournament, the Cavalier Invitational. The school achieved an unprecedented five-way closeout of Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate, with Teagan Bolt, 28, Levin Ma, ’27, Patrick Liu, ’26, Audrey Fan, ’28, and Riley Powell, ’27. blanketing the elimination bracket with CA competitors. Cary Academy students also completed a closeout of the Lincoln-Douglas Challenge Round Robin, with Levin Ma and Patrick Liu finishing first and second, while Aarya Parekh, ’29 & Isabella Kantor, ’29, and Adam Campbell, ’28, & Shivraj Shyamal, ’28, closed out Novice Public Forum Debate.

At the Harvard National Invitational, Audrey Fan, ’28, won the Junior Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate championship, marking the fourth consecutive year a Cary Academy student has captured that title. Adam Campbell, 28, & Shivraj Shyamal, ’28, added a championship in Novice Public Forum Debate, making this the first time in school history that Cary Academy won multiple event titles at Harvard in the same year.

The season concluded with Eugene Si, ’27, winning Informative Speaking at the Tournament of Champions Digital Speech & Debate Series hosted by the University of Kentucky, adding yet another national-level championship to an already remarkable year.

Excellence at the State Championship

At the Tarheel Forensic League State Championship, Cary Academy finished Runner-Up Overall while capturing the Debate Sweepstakes Championship for the second consecutive year. The team also tied a school record with six state titles.

Cary Academy’s State Champions were:

• Anna Benjamin, ’27 – Extemporaneous Speaking
• Yul Choi, ’26 – Original Oratory
• Eugene Si, ’27 – Informative Speaking
• Audrey Zhang, ’29 – Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Riley Powell, ’27, Teagan Bolt, ’28, and Patrick Liu, ’26 – Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate (three-way closeout)
• Lexi Cai, ’29 – Novice Congressional Debate

A Historic District Tournament

Just weeks later, Cary Academy delivered a truly historic performance at the Carolina East NSDA District Tournament, achieving a triple sweep—winning Overall Sweepstakes, Debate Sweepstakes, and Speech Sweepstakes. This marked the program’s first district triple crown since 2016 and stands as one of the most comprehensive team performances in recent memory.

Students qualifying directly from the District Tournament for the National Speech & Debate Tournament included:

• Anna Benjamin, ’27 – United States Extemporaneous Speaking
• Kajal Parmar, ’26 – International Extemporaneous Speaking
• Holden Lim, ’27 – Original Oratory
• Eugene Si, ’27 – Informative Speaking
• Patrick Liu, ’26, and Claire Zhong, ’27 – Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Daphne DiFrancesco, 26, & Raya Jung, ’26, and Rayan Almony, ’27, & Adrian Soldevila, ’27 – Public Forum Debate

These students joined Victor He, ’27, and Arush Mandhare, ’27, who had previously qualified in Congressional Debate (House) at the District Congress tournament earlier in the season. They were later joined by Lexi Cai, ’29, who earned a National Tournament qualification in House Congressional Debate after moving up from the alternate list.

Cary Academy’s Nationals contingent grew even further at the NSDA’s online Last Chance Qualifier, where students competed against top competitors from across the nation for the final available bids to the National Tournament. Yul Choi, ’26, (Original Oratory), Riley Powell, ’27,(Lincoln-Douglas Debate), and Isabel Yun, ’28, (Congressional Debate–House) each earned qualification, bringing Cary Academy’s total number of national qualifiers even higher.

In addition, four Cary Academy students—Teagan Bolt, ’28, Rehan Mahmood, ’26, Serena Patel, ’26, and Sunny Zhao, ’27—were selected to represent the Carolina East District in World Schools Debate, one of the district’s highest honors and a testament to their skill and versatility.

Looking Ahead

Attention now turns to the National Speech & Debate Tournament, where Cary Academy will look to build on its recent national success. In 2025, the team earned School of Outstanding Distinction honors, placing among the top schools in the nation in combined speech and debate performance. With one of the largest and most accomplished Nationals delegations in school history, Cary Academy hopes to match—or exceed—that performance this year.

Over the past year, Cary Academy has earned recognition among the top-performing schools at both the National Speech & Debate Tournament and NCFL Grand Nationals, the two largest postseason speech and debate championships in the country. Together, those achievements have further cemented Cary Academy Speech & Debate’s status as one of the premier programs in North Carolina and among the finest speech and debate programs in the nation.