Plano ISD speech and debate students earned top honors at the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in Richmond, Virginia, closing out the school year with standout performances on one of the biggest stages in the country.
The district’s teams from Plano East Senior High School, Plano Senior High School, Plano West Senior High School, Jasper High School and Clark High School competed against the nation’s best in a field of 5,695 students from 1,242 schools, representing 50 states, Washington, D.C. and seven countries.
Panthers Make History
Plano East Senior High had a historic showing, winning the Senator Karl E. Mundt Sweepstakes Trophy for the first time in school history. Since 1938, the trophy recognizes the school with the highest cumulative participation points in congressional debate at the national tournament.
Plano East also celebrated multiple national qualifiers advancing deep into the elimination rounds.
Aakash Arulkumaran: Semifinalist in Congressional House
Ashraf Kuzbari: Semifinalist in Congressional Senate
Jannah Ali: Semifinalist in Expository, qualifier in Original Oratory
Advait Boyanapalli: Quarterfinalist in Congressional House
Angelo Ferris: Octafinalist in US Extemp
Tarwat Chowdhury: Double-Octafinalist in Extemp Commentary, qualifier in US Extemp
Noah Rahman: Double-Octafinalist in Extemp Commentary, qualifier in US Extemp
Samedh Davuluri: Double-Octafinalist in Impromptu, qualifier in International Extemp
Anshveer Kang: Double-Octafinalist in Expository, qualifier in Humorous Interpretation
Ajay Hande: Qualifier in Humorous Interpretation
Julia Nash: Qualifier in Big Questions Debate
Raif Siddique: Qualifier in Big Questions Debate
Additionally, senior Ashraf Kuzbari is among the 1% of National qualifiers ( .05% of all NSDA members) who qualified for nationals in all four years of high school.
Plano West Earns Top 10 Finish
Plano West Senior High School students also delivered a strong performance, finishing among the top 10 schools in the country and earning the School of Outstanding Distinction designation for 2026.
Ryan Xu: 2nd Place in International Extemp (Second year in a row)
Aayush Appan and Yang Bai: 3rd Place in Public Forum Debate
Roshan Shivnani: 3rd in US Extemp
Eric Qian: 4th in International Extemp
Rehan Buvvaji: 5th in US Extemp
Anika Cherukuri and Catherine Cockrell: 7th in Duo Interp
Angel Ribo: 25th in LD Debate
Mohamed Elrayah: 29th in US Extemp
Sulaiman Ilyas and Joshua Wu: 29th in Duo Interp
Jessica Zhang and Esther Zhao: 52nd in Public Forum Debate
Skanda Gopikannan: Top 60 in LD Debate
Navid Sheybani: Top 60 in Big Questions Debate
Jennifer Duan: Quarterfinalist in Congressional House
Anahita Tomar: Qualifier in Congressional House
Nicole Ebeim: Qualifier in Dramatic Interp
Vijay Shivnani: Qualifier in Info
Plano Senior High Named School of Honor in Speech
Plano Senior High School earned the School of Honor in Speech designation and turned in strong individual performances as well.
Lawson Leblanc: 7th in Congressional Senate
Lindsey Zhao:15th in International Extemp
Dharshana Balaji: Octofinalist in Humorous Interp
Farrah Zein: Top 50 in Original Oratory
Dhruv Arun: 55th in International Extemp
Ayesha Ba: Qualifier in Dramatic Interp
Other High School Results
Plano ISD 9-10 campuses also had impressive accomplishments.
Jasper High School
Abhay Harika and Lillian Lang: 7th in Public Forum Debate
Jay Lee: Top 60 in LD Debate
Aahana Hari and Dhyani Thakkar: Qualifiers in Duo Interp
Shruti Gudibande: Qualifier in Dramatic Interp
Clark High School
Hasini Reddy Gaddam: Qualifier in Program Oral Interp
Plano ISD congratulates these students and their coaches for representing the district with excellence at one of the most prestigious competitions in the country!