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Ransom Everglades Speech and Debate wins three championships in Williamsburg, Va.
Ransom Everglades Speech and Debate secured three first-place titles and 15 top-eight finishes at the Colonial Williamsburg Revolutionary Rhetoric Tournament on Nov. 6-8 Led by double-champion Sloane Mason ’27 and Student Congress winner Phaedra Haralambides ’28, Ransom Everglades students excelled across many disciplines under coaches Kate Hamm and Justinmar Perez.
Mason claimed first place in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Original Oratory, while Haralambides championed the Student Congress division.
Competing at a number of venues including the Colonial Williamsburg historic site, the Williamsburg Lodge, and The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher’s Institute, Ransom Everglades students scored multiple finalist finishes in speech, debate and congressional events:
- Extemporaneous Speaking: Sloane Mason ’27 (1st), Alexander de Souza ’29 (3rd), Evan Powe ’29 (4th)
- Original Oratory: Sloane Mason ’27 (1st), Misha Gowda ’28 (3rd), Isabella Rodriguez ’28 (5th)
- Humorous Interpretation: Flavia Contreras ’28 (2nd), Ben Brandrick-Morris ’29 (3rd)
- Impromptu Speaking: Misha Gowda ’28 (3rd), Alexander de Souza ’29 (5th)
- Student Congress: Phaedra Haralambides ’28 (1st), Maya Bhandari ’28 (3rd), Violet Cassel ’29 (5th), David Martin ’29 (8th)
- Varsity Public Forum: Sofiya Dewan ’29 and Rayna Udell ’29 (Semifinalists, T-3rd)
Hosted by Colonial Williamsburg in partnership with Hunton and the Richmond Forum Speech & Debate Initiative, the third annual tournament brings high school competitors from across the country to debate in the historic setting where early American leaders gathered 250 years ago.
Below find top RE finishes at earlier speech and debate tournaments.
Below find top RE finishes at earlier speech and debate tournaments.
Nova Titan Invitational @ Nova High School, Davie, Fla., Oct. 10-11, 2026
Diana Graziano '29 , Ellora Rai-Walls '29, Nicho Johnson '28, Charlie Gershman '29, William Phillips '29, Rex White '29 and Zach Hurwitz '29 co-championed World Schools Debate
Tyson Dalal '28 finaled and got 13th place in Student Congress
Dylan Kantesaria '29 got 4th place in Extemporaneous Speaking and 5th place in Impromptu Speaking
Jackson Berlin '27 got 5th place in Original Oratory
Ria Bhandari '28 semi-finaled in Student Congress
Matias Puleo-Newman '29 semi-finaled in Student Congress
Sidney Schwartz '29 semi-finaled in Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking
Olivia Pollock '29 semi-finaled in Original Oratory
Sophie Griffin '30 and Mathis Sirinyan '30 semi-finaled in Junior Varsity Public Forum
Yale Invitational @ Yale, New Haven, Conn., Oct. 2-4, 2026
Trip Barrington '29 and Arthur Veloso '29 championed Junior Varsity Public Forum Debate.
Additionally, Trip Barrington '29 was the overall #1 JV Public Forum Debate speaker Arthur Veloso '29 was the overall #2 JV Public Forum Debate speaker.
Mateo Delgado '27 got 6th place in Extemporaneous Speaking
Evan Coulter '27 semi-finaled in Student Congress
Ella Griffin '29 semi-finaled in Extemporaneous Speaking
Sofiya Dewan '29 and Rayna Udell '29 quarter-finaled in Junior Varsity Public Forum Debate
Lyla Thurber '28 and Noa Cramer '29 double-octofinaled in Varsity Public Forum Debate
Giacomo Chinoy '27 and Caleb Gold '27 triple-octofinaled in Varsity Public Forum Debate
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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. It is rated the top private school in Miami and among the 10 private schools in North America. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.
Ransom Everglades School®, The RE Way®, RE Pathways® and Bowden Fellowships in the Humanities™ are trademarks of Ransom Everglades School.
Ransom Everglades School®, The RE Way®, RE Pathways® and Bowden Fellowships in the Humanities™ are trademarks of Ransom Everglades School.