VPM Forensics has wrapped up another great season, earning second place in Division One at the State Tournament earlier this April in Neenah. During the tournament, the twenty-five person team earned a total of 291 points, and had eighteen members make semifinals. Out of those eighteen, twelve advanced to final rounds, and three became state champions. (That means one sixth of the 2026 Wisconsin State Champions are from Vel Phillips Memorial!)
The semifinalists were Jacob Maas in Extemporaneous Speaking; Elliot McKay in Farrago; Zane Yeazel in Poetry; Smayana Arianathan in Radio Speaking; Leo Roelke and Kohl Zahn in Special Occasion Speaking. The finalists include Raena Grainger (6th) and Amalia Weix (2nd) in Expository Speaking; Jack Jedd (6th) and Jamie Hutton (2nd) in Special Occasion Speaking; Thanish Lankella (6th) in Extemporaneous Speaking; Saatvika Gadi (3rd) in Informative Speaking; Kavya Patil (4th) in Moments In History; Mable Miller (3rd) in Oratory; Henry Riley (3rd) in Radio Speaking. Their champions are Anna Wagner in Solo Serious; Varnika Arianathan in Impromptu Speaking; Meha Dasgupta in Extemporaneous Speaking.
These students have all accomplished a truly impressive feat, proving themselves some of the best in the entire state, both during the State tournament and throughout the season. The VPM team attended five out-of-state tournaments and eleven on the Wisconsin circuit, for a total of sixteen throughout the school year. Some members of the team even traveled as far as Florida, where Varnika Arianathan and Jamie Hutton were the tournament champions in Duo Interpretation at the 2026 Sunvite Speech & Debate Tournament!
This isn’t out of the ordinary for the team. VPM Forensics has a long history of success on the state level, thanks in large part to the excellent coaching staff who have been nationally recognized for their skill and dedication. Additionally, for the team’s National qualifiers, the season is far from over. This year, combined with the qualifiers in Debate events, VPM Drama, Debate, and Forensics (DDAF) be raising funds to send twelve team members to Richmond, Virginia for the National Speech & Debate Tournament in June. If you’d like to support their efforts, please keep an eye out for DDAF fundraisers in the future. Any and all contributions are appreciated.
If you’re interested in learning more about forensics or the specific categories mentioned here, check out these articles written by members of the team that go into more detail. The 2026 season may be over, but it’s never too early to start preparing for next year.
