Photo provided The Wheeling Park High School speech and debate team celebrates winning its 46th consecutive state title in Morgantown.

WHEELING – There is a wall near the Phyllis A. Beneke Theater that has a number for each state championship won by the Wheeling Park speech and debate team painted on it. It will soon add “46.”

The WPHS speech and debate team not only won its 46th consecutive West Virginia state championship on Saturday, but 10 of its members were individual state champions in their categories. The tournament was held at West Virginia University in Morgantown.

At this point, most supporters just assume the WPHS team will come home with the hardware every year, but coach Isabella Droginske noted it isn’t always that easy.

“Sometimes people think it’s a sure thing,” she said. “But we have to work hard, and it is a long season. And who knows (what could happen)?”

Team members winning or placing in their individual categories included the following:

– Will Medovic: Overall Top Speaker, 1st place Informative Speaking, 2nd place Prose Interpretation; 2nd place Duo Interpretation

– Briele Dobson, 1st place Declamation; 1st place Oral Interpretation of Literature

– Levi Powell, 1st place Programme Oral Interpretation; 2nd place Original Oratory

– Anna Contraguerro, 1st place Prose Interpretation; 3rd place Informative Speaking

– McKenna Guthoerl, 1st place Poetry Interpretation; 4th place Humorous/ Dramatic Interpretation

– Jerome Maynard, 1st place Humorous/ Dramatic Interpretation

– Jana Schodzinski, 1st place Impromptu Speaking; 2nd place Extemporaneous Speaking; 2nd place Congressional Debate

– Lilly Smith, 1st place Duo Interpretation; 4th place Declamation

– Ireland Witchey, 1st place Duo Interpretation

– Isabella Alkhouri, 3rd place Prose Interpretation

– Blair Anderson, 2nd place Declamation; 4th place Extemporaneous Speaking

– Jules Burke, 4th place Public Forum Debate

– Gabrielle Contraguerro, 3rd place Oral Interpretation of Literature; 2nd place Programme Oral Interpretation

– Amiah Fuentes, 2nd place Poetry Interpretation

– Josephine Gilbert, 3rd place Congressional Debate; 3rd place Public Forum Debate

– Cash Givens, 6th place Humorous/ Dramatic Interpretation; 3rd place Extemporaneous Speaking

– Miriam Halicki, 5th place Lincoln-Douglas Debate

– Paige Jones, 4th place Public Forum Debate

– Audrey Kenamond, 4th place Duo Interpretation

– Siyan Lopez, 5th place Humorous/ Dramatic Interpretation; 3rd place Poetry Interpretation

– Claire McFadden, 2nd place Duo Interpretation

– Gianna Mills, 4th place Broadcasting; 4th place Duo Interpretation

– Flannery Muscar, 2nd place Oral Interpretation of Literature; 3rd place Humorous/ Dramatic Interpretation

– Ava Norman, 6th place Impromptu Speaking; 2nd place Broadcasting

– Khadija Rizwan, 4th place Original Oratory

– Emma Seibert, 5th place Impromptu Speaking

– Joeyana Strothers, 4th place Informative Speaking; 5th place Poetry Interpretation

– Nathan Tyska, 4th place Lincoln-Douglas Debate

– Ella Wheeler, 3rd place Public Forum Debate

– Bridget Zoeckler, 6th place Congressional Debate

– Liam Curtin, 6th place Spontaneous Debate

Other members contributing to the team’s win were Leah Cole, Clara Demasi, Maria Faulstick, Taylor Miller and Mojolaoluwa Oluwadare

Droginske said the most memorable part of the 46th championship season was how hard the students worked to succeed at tournaments.

“Each season does stand out for a reason,” she explained. “Sometimes, it’s about another team getting close, or it’s the memorable pieces we’ve worked on.

“Each season is very individual. There is no running together of seasons.”

While the WPHS speech and debate teams in recent years have competed against teams in Pennsylvania including the Pittsburgh area, this year stood out because for the first time in more than a decade the teams competed in tournaments against schools in Ohio, Droginske explained.

The speech and debate teams will now be looking toward competing in national championship tournaments.

“We go to the big guys next,” she said. “There are multiple national tournaments,”

First will be the National Catholic Forensic League tournament on March 27-28, in Washington D.C. The J.W. Patterson Tournament of Champions (TOC) follows in Lexington, Kentucky from April 11-13. Lastly, the 2026 National Speech & Debate Tournament is set for June 14-19 in Richmond, Virginia.

“We couldn’t do it without parents, those hard-working kids, the school system our administrators and the school board,” Droginske said. “This year, we couldn’t do it without support from Stifel. They are providing funding support for nationals.

“Wheeling Park High School comes out on top every year because this place supports us greatly,” she added.