Fort Couch Speech & Debate Team Makes Winning Debut

Competing against students from the North Allegheny, Bethel Park, Pine-Richland and Mars Area school districts, Fort Couch students participated in four events: Congress, Impromptu, Original Oratory and Prose.

Prose

• 1st Place - Genevieve Ressler
• 5th Place - Caroline Fingal

Impromptu

• 2nd Place - Kenzie Petrick

Original Oratory

• 1st Place - Ava Fingal
• 2nd Place - Brayden Wong
• 5th Place - Michelle Li

Congress Chamber 1

• 2nd Place - Maria Kantor
• 3rd Place - Ananya Varshney
• 4th Place - Prahan Munnaluri
• 6th Place - Nirvan Seth

Congress Chamber 2

• 2nd Place - Kriti Kulkarni
• 4th Place - Rowan Pollock

Erin Lemon, a Fort Couch communication arts teacher, serves as the team’s faculty sponsor. She credits members of the Upper St. Clair High School Speech & Debate Team with helping launch the middle school program. Juniors Harshini Sivakumar and Pari Varshney organize weekly practices and coordinate support from additional high school team members, who provide event-specific coaching and mentoring.

“The Fort Couch students look up to the high school team members and know that they are part of a top-notch Speech and Debate program,” Ms. Lemon said. “The high school students are passionate about speech and debate and are working to ensure our middle school students have a positive and meaningful experience.” 

Ms. Lemon said the high school students also understand the long-term value of building a strong middle school program.

“They recognize the importance of developing a Fort Couch program that will strengthen the high school team in the future,” she said. “They remember what it was like to start out, so they can relate to the middle school students and meet them at their level.”

The Upper St. Clair High School Speech & Debate Team is coached by social studies teacher Ben Edwards. The team captured its sixth state championship at the 2025 Pennsylvania High School Speech and Language Association State Championships.

“Mr. Edwards arranged for our students to participate in the North Allegheny tournament and has been instrumental in establishing the middle school team,” Ms. Lemon said.

In addition to preparing students for competition, Ms. Lemon said the program helps build confidence while strengthening writing, speaking and critical thinking skills.

“Our middle school students have the opportunity to explore speech and debate without the commitment required at the high school level,” she said. “The connections they form with high school mentors also help ease the transition to high school, especially if they choose to continue with speech and debate.”

Fort Couch will host its first middle school speech and debate tournament on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.