To conclude the successful 2025-26 season, five students on the GCHS debate team won awards at the ICDA State tournament in on Feb. 21, 2026.

Grayslake Central’s debate team saw a lot of success this season. With a collective 25 total awards throughout all of the ICDA tournaments and two tournament finishes in the top three for the varsity team, debate had quite a lot to celebrate this year. “I think what brought the team success was their willingness to continue to do research, and also their willingness to take feedback, not only from the judges at the tournaments, but also from their peers,” Taylor Edwards, assistant coach of the debate team said. At the ICDA State/ICDA 6 tournament on Feb. 21, 2026, five students won awards; Temi Akanbi and Natalie Ortega won Best PO (Presiding Officer) in their chambers (debate rooms), and Howie Goemans, Lila Ernst and Gia Keres won 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Speakers respectively. Howie Goemans also reached the All State Team, meaning he finished in the top 10 in the entire ICDA State tournament. “[Goemans] led very well by example,” debate head coach Christopher D’Amico said.

Along with these achievements, students on the team also enjoy debate for the skills they’ve developed, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the relationships they’ve created. “My speech skills to strangers and in general have improved so much after debate, and that makes it really important to me because I was really shy,” Malavika Krishakumar, a sophomore on the debate team said. “I’m not that scared of meeting new people or having to talk to someone I disagree with,” she said.

Naomi Peetoom, a sophomore on the debate team shared that she has a fear of public speaking, and how joining debate has helped her work towards mitigating it. “Throughout this year I’ve been battling my anxiety when it comes to public speaking, and I feel like I’ve gotten steadily better… So I’m excited for the next couple seasons,” she said. “Our team is great because we have such a wide variety of students, and the fun part about coaching it is just watching the growth throughout the year,” D’Amico said.

Here’s a full list of the team’s awards and accomplishments throughout the 2025-2026 season:

ICDA 1 (Sep. 13, 2025):
Natalie Ortega – Best PO
Howie Goemans – 1st Place Speaker
Rumi Saad – 2nd Place Speaker

ICDA 2 (Oct. 18, 2025):
Lila Ernst – 1st Place Speaker
Howie Goemans – 1st Place Speaker
Naomi Peetoom – Best PO
Gia Keres – Best PO
Rumi Saad – Best PO

ICDA 3 (Nov. 1, 2025):
Howie Goemans – Best PO
Gia Keres – Best PO

Varsity also finished 2nd place in the ICDA 3 tournament.

ICDA 4 (Dec. 6, 2025):
Howie Goemans – 1st Place Speaker, Best PO
Natalie Ortega – Best PO
Gia Keres – Best PO
Allen Bogosh – 2nd Place Speaker

Varsity also finished 3rd place in the ICDA 4 tournament.

ICDA 5/Tournament of Champions (Jan. 24, 2026):
Tournament of Champions qualifiers: Howie Goemans, Lila Ernst

ICDA 5 awards:
Neshitha Rajesh – 2nd Place Speaker
Carrie Prickett – Best PO
Mehnaz Khan – 3rd Place Speaker, Best PO

ICDA 6/ICDA State (Feb. 21, 2026):
Howie Goemans – 1st Place Speaker, All State Team
Lila Ernst – 2nd Place Speaker
Gia Keres – 3rd Place Speaker
Temi Akanbi – Best PO
Natalie Ortega – Best PO