SAN DIEGO—Students from several Poway Unified high schools ranked among the top competitors during the San Diego Imperial Valley Speech League Speech Opener on October 3, 2026.
The opener featured 16 high schools from around San Diego County and more than 20 students per event competing. Event categories included Original Advocacy, Informative, Original Prose Poetry, Dramatic Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, Impromptu,Declamation, Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Original Oratory, National Extemporaneous, and International Extemporaneous.
Across 12 Varsity and 12 Novice events, PUSD students took multiple top honors:
Del Norte High School
- Novice Impromptu: 2nd place, 6th place
- Novice Original Oratory: 1st place, 2nd place, 4th place, 7th place
- Varsity Original Oratory: 4th place
Mt. Carmel High School
- Novice Duo: 2nd place
- Varsity Dramatic Interpretation: 1st place
- Varsity International Extemporaneous Speaking: 6th place
- Varsity Original Advocacy: 4th place
Poway High School
- Novice Humorous Interpretation: 7th place
- Varsity National Extemporaneous Speaking: 2nd place
Rancho Bernardo High School
- Novice Duo Interpretation: 1st place
- Novice Original Oratory: 3rd place
- Varsity Dramatic Interpretation: 6th place
- Varsity Duo Interpretation: 3rd place, 5th place
- Varsity Program Oral Interpretation: 4th place
- Varsity Original Advocacy: 5th place
Westview High School
- Novice Declamation: 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th place, 5th place, 6th place, 7th place
- Novice Humorous Interpretation: 2nd place
- Varsity National Extemporaneous: 4th place, 5th place
- Varsity Informational Speaking: 6th place
- Varsity Humorous Interpretation: 6th place
- Varsity Original Advocacy: 3rd place
Katie McMillan, President of the San Diego/Imperial Valley Speech League and a 21-year coach of speech and debate at Poway High, says the recent success is in large part due to the experienced and dedicated coaching staff in place at high schools across the district.
“I’m so proud of our students in our district who do this incredibly impressive thing, this skill that so many adults admit that they are too nervous to do,” says McMillan. “Public speaking is such an important set of skills, and it's one that AI fundamentally cannot replace.”
The wins are also the product of purposeful efforts to support Speech and Debate programs, says Rancho Bernardo High coach Chase Osborn.
“As a 4-year competitor in speech and debate myself, and the son of a long-time speech and debate coach, I have seen throughout my life the opportunities that speech and debate provides for students,” Osborn says. “This is an activity that consistently reinforces my core belief as an educator: When you provide young people with the space and opportunity to impress you, they will do so.”
From Westview High’s perspective, coach Gursimar Kaur says the team’s recent successes are nothing short of
“From having been disqualified in State Championship qualifiers two years ago to bringing home a record number of awards within just two tournaments this year, the dedication and persistence of the team, and especially the incredible student leadership, has really shone through. As their coach over the past year, I have seen the student leaders in this team show unprecedented amounts of responsibility, maturity, and most importantly, teamwork,” Kaur says.
Del Norte High’s team says collectively that, “We have a truly wonderful community that deeply embodies all of these values. Although we were not the biggest Speech and Debate team at some competitions, we try our best to leave the biggest impact possible.”