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The quiz bowl team finished second place out of 13 teams at the West Central Regional Tournament on Saturday, April 18, earning the team a berth at the State tournament for the second consecutive season.  The team was composed of Matthew Drummond (12), Ty Fischer (12), Amane Velasquez (12), Anna Weaver (12), Harry Zheng (12), Amelia Butler (11), Alec Chodkowski (10) and Evan Simpson (10).

In the first match, Oakwood defeated #12 Arcanum-Butler 94-39.  In the second match, Oakwood defeated #4 Waynesville 86-60.  

In the third match, Oakwood faced #1 seed Little Miami.  Entering the final round, Oakwood trailed by just a single point.  Little Miami caught fire in the final round, answering 15 of the 20 questions correctly, defeating Oakwood 86-65.

In the consolation bracket, Oakwood defeated #7 Troy 73-64 and #6 Hamilton 79-61, setting up a rematch with #1 Little Miami.  Entering the final round, Oakwood led by 3 points.  With 10 questions remaining, Oakwood had extended their lead to nine.  Little Miami mounted a furious comeback and led by three points with two questions left.  Needing to get both correct to win, captain Drummond came through on the penultimate question.  Then, after Little Miami buzzed with an incorrect answer on the final question, Oakwood just needed to provide the empire whose entry in Eurovision signaled the start of the Carnation Revolution which ended the Estado Novo, and the country of which Henry the Navigator was a prince. The Jacks correctly answered “Portuguese empire”, delivering Oakwood the upset victory by a score of 83-82.

In the regional final, Oakwood was level with #2 Mason after the first round and trailed by just eight points with ten questions left, but ultimately fell to Mason, 77-63.

Based on their performance at regionals, Oakwood earned an automatic bid into the state tournament, and is currently ranked #6 in the state 0f Ohio.  This year, Oakwood will participate in the newly created Division II state championship, and will enter this tournament as the #1 seed in the state. The state tournament takes place Saturday, May 2 at Olentangy Berlin High School.  Story and Photo By: Ian Callon, Edited By: Kelsey Jackson

The week of April 6, David Delperdang (9) presents to his group. Students in Mrs. Emily Sullivan's class presented their research topics in a town hall-style discussion. Photo By: Scarlett Russell, Acorn Yearbook

Following its first ever speech and debate state championship in 2025, Oakwood again finished in first place in the team sweepstakes out of 89 schools competing from across the state in the Ohio Speech and Debate Association’s 2026 State Tournament in Canfield, Ohio on March 5-7. 

Oakwood debaters excelled in the tournament, particularly in Lincoln Douglas debate.  Senior Cameron Lindsey was crowned State Champion in the event.  Lindsey was followed closely by Lincoln Douglas teammates Amelia Butler (semi-finalist) and seniors Neil Heckman, Reese Dunningham, and Abbie Saxen (quarter finalists).  Together, the Oakwood Lincoln Douglas debaters made up five of the final eight quarter finalists competing in elimination rounds from Ohio’s 86 best debaters in the event. 

Lincoln Douglas Coach, Ally Ross, noted, “Until they had to start debating one another in quarter final rounds, our Lincoln Douglas debaters won an astonishing 52 of the 61 ballots cast in their debates.  

Public Forum, Congressional, and Policy debaters were also outstanding.  Seniors Maverick O’Hara and Ben Sayer (octa-finalists), Juniors Kiera Lindsey and Anna Peters (octa-finalists) and Sophomores Ava Flansburg and Alara Ozcan (double octa-finalists) all advanced to elimination rounds in Public Forum debate.  Juniors Bea Drummy, Caleb Walton, and Will Ross debated their way into semi-finals in Congressional debate.  Debating in only their second tournament in the difficult Policy debate event, Juniors Lucy Orsello and Adie Castle and Junior/Sophomore partners Ruxandra Paslaru and Meryl Wittmer finished with 3-3 records and contributed critical points to the team’s winning sweepstakes score.   

Oakwood speech competitors had their most tournament success in years. Seniors Maze Li Kudera, Ava Crawford, and Bahar Nasehi led the way by advancing into the final round of competition in their events, with Li Kudera finishing in third place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking and Crawford and Nasehi placing fourth and sixth, respectively, in Declamation.  Senior Evie Davis returned to the semi-finals of Program Oral Interpretation for the second year in a row, narrowly missing qualifying to the final round with seventh place in ranks. Sophomore Mila Gelbart was also a semi-finalist in her event, Humorous Interpretation. Senior Kay Handler in International Extemporaneous Speaking and Juniors Lizzy Stack and Charlotte Schnell in Duo Interpretation rounded out the Oakwood speakers who cleared preliminary competition by advancing to the quarter finals of their events.  

Coached by Steve Stanley and Linda Li, Lincoln Douglas Debate Coach Ally Ross (an OHS graduate and former collegiate National Champion in Parliamentary Debate), and Gabby Vish, an OHS graduate and former Congressional Debater.  Additional coaching assistance was provided by parents Jeff Geers and Ali Davis along with former Oakwood competitors Henry Almony, Tristan Williams, Robert Einhorn, and Matthew Walton.       

Stanley commented, “It is exceedingly difficult to even qualify to compete in the State Tournament.  Oakwood sent a record breaking thirty-seven speakers and debaters to compete in the State Tournament this year.  Every one of them earned sweepstakes points and contributed to this tremendous team victory, the second in a row for Oakwood.”  

In addition to the team’s accomplishments, Li was recognized in the tournament’s opening ceremonies as a recipient of the Linda Miller Award given by the Ohio Speech and Debate Association to coaches for outstanding work in their first five years of coaching.  Reflecting on the success of the program, Li added, “We are grateful for the support that the speech and debate team receives from the Oakwood School District and, most of all, from the incredible parents of these smart, hard-working young people.  We could not run the program without them.”