GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) – Thirty-four GRPS high school and middle school scholars competed at the Michigan Interscholastic Forensics Association (MIFA) State Finals – the largest representation ever for the district.
In Varsity Public Forum debate, sophomores Colette Crowley and Mithil Joshi led the team to a bronze medal finish by winning more team speaker points than any other Varsity team and breaking to the semi-finals. A narrowly split 2-1 decision in the semis kept them out of the finals. In individual awards, Crowley placed 4th and Joshi 6th. Teammate Kailani Gardner came in at 11th.
In the Novice (JV) Public Forum division, the team of Ayan Shukla and Varun Vijay were one of only eight teams out of 54 to make it to the quarterfinals. Shukla and Vijay finished 5th. Overall, the nine high school teams finished with a combined win-loss record of 24-14. In the speaker awards, Vijay was 6th, and Shukla took home 1st. Teammates Aiden Wang and Derek Chen placed 3rd and 9th, respectively.
In the Congressional Debate event, Novices Ayaan Gupta and Jake Kooyman advanced to the Finals, with Gupta taking 11th and the Best Presiding Officer award, and Kooyman finishing 5th. In the Varsity Division Finals, senior Eli Hajjar finished his career placing 8th with sophomore Fiona Rodrigues coming in 11th.
The 2025 MIFA State Finals was the largest tournament since the COVID pandemic, seeing 26 Michigan schools debating, with a record number of entries in each event. The finals were held on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Debate season is now officially over, and the Speech season begins after winter break.
GRPS’s speech and debate program is coached by William Harris, a two-diamond National Speech & Debate Association coach and 30+ year volunteer with GRPS.
Team Awards - Public Forum Varsity:
3rd Place - GRPS Speech and Debate (led by Sophomores Colette Crowley and Mithil Joshi)
Team Awards - Public Forum Novice (JV):
5th Place - GRPS Speech and Debate (led by Freshmen Ayan Shukla and Varun Vijay)
Individual Speaker Awards - Public Forum Varsity:
4th Place - Colette Crowley, Sophomore
6th Place - Mithil Joshi, Sophomore
11th Place - Kailani Gardner, Sophomore
Individual Speaker Awards - Public Forum Novice (JV):
1st Place - Ayan Shukla, Freshman
3rd Place - Aiden Wang, Freshman
6th Place - Varun Vijay, Freshman
9th Place - Derek Chen, Freshman
Individual Speaker Awards - Congressional Debate Varsity:
8th Place - Eli Hajjar, Senior
11th Place - Fiona Rodrigues, Sophomore
Individual Speaker Awards - Congressional Debate Novice (JV):
Presiding Officer and 11th Place - Ayaan Gupta, Freshman
5th Place - Jacob Kooyman, Sophomore
