PAST STATE CHAMPIONS
School Awards
Debate Sweepstakes
The Georgia Forensic Coaches Association awards championship trophies to schools annually for excellence at the Varsity State Championships in three categories — overall, speech and debate. The following schools won team awards in 2024-2025.
1st Place — Midtown High School
Coached by Mario Herrera and Lucas Bailey
2nd Place — Carrollton High School
Coached by Richard Bracknell and Lyndsey Oliver
3rd Place — Woodward Academy
Coached by Maggie Berthiaume and Becca Steiner
Overall Sweepstakes
1st Place — Midtown High School
Coached by Mario Herrera, Lucas Bailey and Molly Looman
2nd Place — Lassiter High School
Coached by Jonathan Waters and Christina Cazzola
3rd Place — Woodward Academy
Coached by Maggie Berthiaume and Becca Steiner
Speech Sweepstakes
1st Place — Lassiter High School
Coached by Jonathan Waters and Christina Cazzola
2nd Place — Midtown High School
Coached by Mario Herrera and Molly Looman
3rd Place — Valdosta High School
Coached by Pamela Childress and Rhea Ratcliff
INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONS
2024-2025 Circle of Champions
Lincoln Douglas (Varsity): Midtown High School — Nicholas Fedorov
Lincoln Douglas (2nd Year): Starr’s Mill High School — Zach Dorrough
Lincoln Douglas (1st Year): Midtown High School — Lark McCormack
Policy (Varsity): Northview High School — Jerry Chen & Kento Taylor
Policy (2nd Year): Woodward Academy — Rishi Jain & Evie Semaan
Policy (1st Year): Woodward Academy — Aarush Hemachandran & Tim Wang
Public Forum (Varsity): Carrollton High School — Audrey Browning & Luke Zimmer
Public Forum (2nd Year): Marist School — William Mastella & Nicholas Powell
Public Forum (1st Year): Carrollton High School — Kevin Stuart & West Yancey
Dramatic Interp (Varsity): Valdosta High School — Rhaniah Payne
Extemporaneous Speaking (Varsity): Midtown High School — Charlotte Keenan
Extemporaneous Speaking (2nd Year): Northview High School — Nilshika Shah
Extemporaneous Speaking (1st Year): Midtown High School — Kai Chen
Humorous Interp (Varsity): Dunwoody High School — Mariana Greene
Humorous Interp (1st/2nd Year): Valdosta High School — Trinity Sherman
Impromptu Speaking (Varsity): McIntosh High School — Sage Shah
Impromptu Speaking (2nd Year): Midtown High School — Thomas Carter
Impromptu Speaking (1st Year): Marist School — Lisa Zayas
Informative Speaking (Varsity): Starr’s Mill High School — Ella Griswold
Informative Speaking (2nd Year): Sequoyah High School — Lorna Deloach
Informative Speaking (1st Year): Sequoyah High School — Charlee Thompson
Original Oratory (Varsity): Lassiter High School — Prioska Baruah
Original Oratory (2nd Year): Wheeler High School — Aleena Haidri
Original Oratory (1st Year): Marist School — Olivia Kabamba
Program Oral Interpretation (Varsity): Lassiter High School — Emma Rasco
Program Oral Interpretation (1st/2nd Year): Valdosta High School — Isaiah Lockhart
View Event Archives Below
Fast Facts About the 2025 Varsity State Champions
Northview’s Jerry Chen is the second Georgia student to be in the Varsity policy debate finals THREE consecutive years. He won the round in ‘24 & ‘25.
Carrollton won their FIFTH straight title in Public Forum - a record for the division. Luke & Audrey won the Novice State Title as 9th graders, so this title is a fitting end to their state careers.
Midtown has closed-out the Lincoln Douglas division for FOUR straight years. Nicholas is the first ever repeat champion in the division.
Dunwoody’s Mariana Greene and Midtown’s Charlotte Keenan were both State Runners Up last year before winning the title in their respective divisions this year!
Valdosta’s Rhaniah Payne becomes the school’s second repeat champion in Dramatic Interp - she won the title in her 9th grade year and 12th grade year!