Student pointing at their FCHS Speech & Debate T-shirt.

The Future of FCHS Speech Competes at Regionals

Allison Rhoades, Website Editor

February 19, 2026

5/5 (1)

Fluvanna County High School hosted the VHSL Regional Speech tournament, welcoming twelve schools and more than 100 competitors across 10 categories. By the end of the competition, the Flucos achieved several individual Super Regional qualifications and ranked second overall as a team, with first place awarded to Brookville.

Among those advancing to “Supers” are first-place finishers Nick Culbertson in Extemporaneous Speaking, Annika Potter in Impromptu, and the Serious Duo team of Maddie Gifford and Maddy Cavanaugh. Second-place qualifiers include Amina Seiden in Original Oratory, Ruby Godlewski in Humorous Interpretation, Ava Gray in Poetry, and Lilly Lucas in Impromptu.

Several eighth graders also earned top awards this year. Mickey Comer and Will Dusenberry placed second in Humorous Duo, while Charlotte Carrico earned third in Extemp. Lainey Carmack placed fourth in Storytelling, and Lucy Lein placed fourth in Prose. All of these students received one of the top honors awarded in their competitive events and were among the eighth graders with the most success at the tournament.

“We have a bunch of new eighth graders coming into Speech with so much talent and ambition,” said senior Ruby Godlewski. “This is definitely the start of a new generation.”

Speech and Debate team all pose for a selfie.

For the younger competitors, the recognition carried special meaning. “Knowing that our coach said we are the next generation of speech competitors definitely pushed me and my friend to earn second place,” said eighth grader Mickey Comer. “When we got second, we were thrilled because we were the highest-ranked eighth graders,” Comer added.

Adding to the depth of the Fluvanna Speech team was a group of eighth graders along with upperclassmen. With multiple top finishes across different grade levels, Fluvanna Speech’s second-place overall finish showed contributions from both experienced competitors and newer members of the program.

Super Regionals will take place Feb. 28 at Lord Botetourt High School, where the qualifying Flucos will compete for a chance to advance even further.