The theme of the 2016 National Speech & Debate Tournament was “Set Your Sights High!” and that is exactly what Mason High School’s Speech & Debate team did in Salt Lake City from June 12-17. For the first time in school history, Mason won a 'School of Honor' award in speech for finishing 21st-40th in the nation. MHS was the only Ohio team to receive a speech award.

 

“I am extremely proud of our national qualifiers this year! Not only did Mason qualify a record number of competitors to Salt Lake City, but the students collectively achieved the highest speech honor to date at Nationals,” shared MHS Speech & Debate advisor Melissa Donahue. “These accomplishments are a true testament to the hard work and perseverance demonstrated on a national stage.”

 

In addition to the team's accomplishments, several members had significant performances at nationals, including Chinmay Bakshi, Prajwal Hegde, Vinay Naik, the team of Dominick Peraino and Rahul Ramesh, Nihar Rama and Ajay Saraf.

 

 

 

Name	Grade	Event	Place
Chinmay Bakshi	Junior	International Extemporaneous Speaking	Quarter-Finalist
Prajwal Hegde	Sophomore	Congressional Debate	Semi-Finalist
Vinay Naik	Senior	Informative Speaking	Quarter-Finalist
Dominick Peraino & Rahul Ramesh	Senior & Sophomore	Public Forum Debate	Unanimous wins from all preliminary judges and advanced through two series of rounds.
Nihar Rama	Junior	Extemporaneous Speaking	6th
Ajay Saraf	Senior	Extemporaneous Speaking	31st

 

The Mason City Schools Board of Education recognized the team's accomplishments during its June 8 meeting. "Not only are we proud of the team’s incredible competitive accomplishments, but also of your development as strong communicators, critical thinkers, researchers, problem solvers and leaders,” said Courtney Allen, School Board President.