GTHS SPEECH & DEBATE TEAM
Coach Carter
Coach Powers
(RM #1018)
Meet Times: Tuesdays at 3:00 PM in Room #1018
Embedded Files
Congrats 2025-26 Varsity State Qualifiers!
Congrats 2025-26 Varsity State Qualifiers!
-Alex Gray (Lincoln Douglas; 1 vs. 1 debate)
-Madeline Nanocchio (Public Forum; 2 vs 2 debate)
-William Page (Public Forum)
-Caleb Levering (Public Forum)
-Taylor Joyce (Public Forum)
Tournament Schedule 2025-26
Tournament Schedule 2025-26
REGULAR SEASON
OCT. 18: Sequoyah
NOV. 1: Lassiter
NOV. 14-15: Carrollton (hybrid)
Dec. 6: Midtown
POST-SEASON
(based on season rankings)
Jan. 17-18, 2026: GFCA 1st & 2nd Year State Championship at Starr's Mill High School
Feb. 7-8, 2026: GFCA Varsity State Championship at Johns Creek High School
INFORMATION/LEADERSHIP
INFORMATION/LEADERSHIP
National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Topics for Competition
National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Topics for Competition
*In accordance with GFCA (Georgia Forensic Coaches Association) rules
*Public Forum Debate – JAN. 2026 Topic:
*Public Forum Debate – JAN. 2026 Topic:
Resolved: The People’s Republic of China should substantially reduce its international extraction of natural resources.
*Lincoln Douglas Debate – JAN./FEB. 2026 Topic:
*Lincoln Douglas Debate – JAN./FEB. 2026 Topic:
Resolved: The possession of nuclear weapons is immoral.
Event breakdown.docx*DUES to join: $60
Pay on Revtrak
(under Clubs-Debate)
LEADERSHIP
President: Alex Gray
Vice President: Caleb Levering
2025-2026 ACCOLADES
GFCA 1st & 2nd Year State Championship
GFCA 1st & 2nd Year State Championship
(Jan. 17-18, 2026)
Hosted at Starrs Mill High School
The debate team competed at Starrs Mill High School for the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association (GFCA) 1st and 2nd Year State Championship. There were over 30 schools that competed at this state championship and it profiled debaters who had only competed for up to 2 years.
Here are the amazing results from the championship:
*Madeline Nanocchio and Taylor Joyce earned Octo finalist for 1st year Public Forum debate. This was awarded out of 30+ PF teams across the state of Georgia.
*Caleb Levering and William Page earned Quarter finalist for 2nd Year Public Forum debate. Caleb Levering earned 10th best speaker (the state only recognizes the top 10 speakers of the debate event).
Because of their wins this season, the GTHS debate team will compete at the GFCA Varsity State Championship on Feb 7-8, 2026. Winning this championship earns you a bid to represent Georgia in the National Championship hosted at Richmond, VA.
The GTHS Speech and Debate Team competed (Dec. 6) at Midtown High School’s “Carter/King Tournament”
-Will Page and Caleb Levering were Quarterfinalists (4th place among 32 teams) in their PF debate event (Novice Public Forum, 2 vs 2) and finished as 2nd Speaker (Caleb L.) and 3rd Speaker (Will P.) respectfully. They finished with a 3-1 record after 4 rounds.
-Madeline Nanocchio and Taylor Joyce finished with a 3-1 record after 4 PF rounds and earned 10th place among 32 teams. This was their 2nd tournament and really showed out!
-Great work to the LD and Impromptu teams at this tournament!
-Additionally, thank you past GTHS Debate Alumni (Ash S. and Bradley M. for judging at the tournament!)
The GTHS Speech and Debate Team competed (Oct. 18) at Sequoyah High School’s “Autumn Argument” for their first tournament of the 2025-26 season.
The academic team came away with an amazing finish and represented Grovetown High among 20 different Georgia high schools. We competed in 2 debate events (Public Forum and Lincoln Douglas) and 1 speech event (Impromptu).
Here are the results:
-Will Page and Caleb Levering were the Champions in their debate event (Novice Public Forum, 2 vs 2) and competed among 15 schools for this finish
-Alex Gray finished 3rd among 15 schools in Varsity Lincoln Douglas debate (1 v. 1). He also won a speaker award as the 3rd best debater at the tournament (medal).
2024-2025 ACCOLADES
GFCA Varsity State Championship
GFCA Varsity State Championship
Hosted at Carrollton High (Feb. 7-8, 2025)
The GTHS Debate team was able to secure 2 Varsity State Octofinalists awards for their accomplishments in the GFCA Varsity State Championship.
There were 31 Public Forum (PF) teams represented by over 15 of the best debate schools within the state of Georgia. These 31 debate teams had won regular season tournaments throughout the year so these are the best in the state going for the championship.
Each PF team had to debate in 5 preliminary rounds and had to earn a 3-2 record to get into the elimination rounds. Only the top 16 PF teams went to elimination rounds. 2 of our 3 teams represented Grovetown in the elimination rounds. We earned 2 Octofinalist state finalist awards. Listed are the accomplishments (out of the 31 teams):
*Ash Sonnier and Bradley Merhoff:
Varsity State Octofinalist; finished as 7th best PF team in the State of Georgia.
*Jasmine Franco and Alex Gray:
Varsity State Octofinalist; finished as 13th best PF team in the State of Georgia.
*Cesar Gonzalez and Johnathan Bertrand:
finished 23rd best PF team in the State of Georgia
Please congratulate these teams on their success! This has been one of the most accomplished debate teams since 2019, earning over 15 placement/speaker awards this season.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to next season!
With gratitude,
Coach Carter and Coach Epps
GFCA 1st & 2nd Year State Championship
GFCA 1st & 2nd Year State Championship
Hosted at Marist School (Jan. 17-18, 2025)
The GTHS Debate team was very successful at the GFCA 1st and 2nd Year State Championship at Marist School in Atlanta, GA.
This is how Grovetown did against 20 Public Forum (PF) school teams across Georgia:
-2nd Year PF State Quarterfinalist: Jasmine Franco and Alex Gray
-2nd Year PF State Octofinalist: Ash Sonnier and Bradley Merhoff
*Public Forum is a team debate on factual/analytical evidence.
-1st Year 7th place Speaker Award: Caleb Levering
-1st Year 8th place Speaker Award: Cesar Gonzalez
*Speaker awards are for top 10 debaters in Georgia.
We are very proud of the accomplishments of this team and they have represented Grovetown at the state level with pride and excellence! Half of the team made it to the GFCA Varsity State Championship in February and will represent Grovetown proudly.
Carter/King Tournament at
Carter/King Tournament at
Midtown High School
Midtown High School
Grovetown Debate had their last regular season tournament at Midtown High School on Sat. Dec. 7.
The Carter/King Tournament is one of the most prestigious and challenging tournaments in Georgia, including up to 35 schools across 2 states.
Grovetown received:
*Semifinalist in Varsity Public Forum (Jasmine Franco & Alex Gray)
*Octofinalist in Varsity Public Forum (Ash Sonnier & Sam Benton)
9th Speaker in Varsity Public Forum (Ash Sonnier)
4th Speaker in Novice Public Forum (Caleb Levering)
The team will be competing at the following state championships this season:
*1st & 2nd Year State Championship at Marist School (January 17-19, 2025)
**Varsity State Championship at Carrollton High School (February 7-9, 2025)
Let's GO Warrior Speech & Debate!
Let's GO Warrior Speech & Debate!
Sequoyah High School Tournment
Sequoyah High School Tournment
Autumn Argument 2024
The GTHS Speech & Debate Team competed at Sequoyah High School on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Jasmine Franco & Alex Gray (Varsity Public Forum) will represent GTHS in the Varsity State Championship in February at Carrollton High School.
Additionally, Ash Sonnier earned 1st speaker in Novice Public Forum (NPF), while Bradley Merhoff and Johnathan Bertrand won 3rd and 4th respectively. This was out of 20 school entries (40 speakers) within the state.
In NPF, Ash Sonnier & Bradley Merhoff claimed 3rd place and Cesar Gonzalez & Johnathan Bertrand was 5th.
Alpharetta High School Tournament
Alpharetta Treasure Hunt
We competed in our first tournament at Alpharetta High School on September 14.
We had entries in: Novice Public Forum, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Impromptu Speaking.
Alex Gray and Jasmine Franco earned the championship (5-0 in rounds) in Novice Public Forum.
Bradley Merhoff and Darius Smith earned quarterfinalists (4-0 record going into 1st round of playoffs) for Novice Public Forum.
For Speaker Awards in Novice Public Forum we earned 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 9th speaker.
*Speaker awards are given for how students perform individually in novice public forum.
We earned a spot in the 1st and 2nd Year State Championship at Marist (in January).
Let's GO WARRIOR SPEECH & DEBATE!
Examples of the work we do to get ready for debates!
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