The Carmel High School Speech and Debate team claimed 1st Place Sweepstakes at the 2026 Indiana Schools Speech and Debate Association (ISSDA) State Debate Tournament, held at Avon High School on January 30 and 31. With this win, Carmel has now earned back-to-back state championships twice. The victory also marks Carmel’s fourth State Debate Championship in the past five years, continuing a remarkable run of excellence.

Carmel made tournament history by becoming the first team ever to earn triple-digit sweepstakes points at the State Debate Tournament, finishing with an impressive 110 points. Second and third place finishers scored 56 points and 54 points, respectively.

Nearly all of Carmel’s competitors advanced to the elimination rounds, showcasing the program's depth and strength. Students earned top honors across multiple debate formats:

World Schools Debate
Semifinalists: Amrit Kaur, Ismail Kheiri, Ruth Ahn, Haniya Ahmad, and Shawn Feng
Octafinalists: Emily Wang, Simon Brickel, Anuva Giri, Avika Jain, and Anika Veerapaneni

Student Congress
2nd Place: Victor Wang
Finalist: Jonathan Bae
Semifinalists: Novak Golubovic and Aahil Rahman
Speaker of the House: Aahil Rahman

Public Forum Debate
2nd Place: Chelsea Meng and Emma Kim
Octafinalists: Ronit Mengale and Matthew Soliman; Liam Bennett and Kabir Goel

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
1st Place: Mahitha Konjeti
2nd Place: Kyle Yang
Quarterfinalist: Matthew Mayberry

Policy Debate
1st Place: Aryan Acharya and Ethan Martin
2nd Place: Ishaan Acharya and Rodion Zuban
Semifinalists: Avner Cohen and Leying Yang

This historic performance reflects the dedication, preparation, and teamwork of Carmel’s student competitors and coaches. Their continued success highlights the strength of Carmel High School’s Speech and Debate program and the district’s commitment to providing students with opportunities to develop critical thinking, communication, and leadership skills.