PUEBLO – Mission accomplished.

RISE, a high school in Denver, opened its doors in 2016, and one of its goals was to win a Speech and Debate State Championship.

The school's team did exactly that on Saturday, capturing the 4A Speech and Debate State Championship at Pueblo Central High School.

"This has been a real long time coming," RISE Speech and Debate team coach Anna Steed said. "For the last two years we were first place or tied for first place just for the Speech Sweepstakes, but we didn't take home a trophy, so we have been gunning for this.

"To have our debaters help us out and our seniors and our incredible juniors, I call them my junior juggernauts, just the best junior class you can imagine. We did it. We did it. We're so proud of ourselves. We had this goal for years."

RISE claimed the overall team crown, edging out Lewis-Palmer, Peak to Peak Charter School, Cheyenne Mountain and Palisade, which rounded out the top five.

"People forget about us because we are in far northeast Denver," Steed said. "This feels unbelievable. I have four of the most incredible captains who helped lead this team. This is just incredible."

RISE's Rayan Khaleq, who placed fourth in duo and is one the team's captains, was thrilled to be celebrating state supremacy.

"This means that I am able to graduate with what I wanted throughout this whole year," Khaleq said. "I love to spend my weekends with the people on our team and our coaches. I'm out of voice right now, but it is for the right reasons. I love my people. I love my team, and this is why I do it."

RISE's Thomas Okine, who placed second in duo, echoed Khaleq.

"This was a great experience, I really loved it," said Okine, a senior. "Our team had great energy throughout the whole (two-day) competition. We really worked hard to get this trophy. This is something we want to keep building on for the next generation and for them to look up to it and keep improving."

RISE also won the Team Sweepstakes in Speech (only) in its championship run.

Other champions at the 4A Speech and Debate State Championship were as follows:
Team Sweepstakes Debate (only) – Cheyenne Mountain
Lincoln Douglas Debate – Jonathan Howard, Longmont
Public Form Debate – Saatwik Das and Tanush Shekhar, Peak to Peak
Congress – Anna Hacker, Lewis-Palmer
Informative Speaking – Alexander Hoff, Palmer Ridge
Congress – Sara Zareva, Air Academy
Original Oratory – Julianna Wainwright, Lewis-Palmer
Humorous Interpretation – Jordan Johnson, RISE
United States Extemporaneous Speaking – Mila Stepan, Palisade
Poetry Reading – Brianna Valle, RISE
International Extemporaneous Speaking – Axel Enochson, Pueblo County High School
Program Oral Interpretation – Jada Roberson, Lewis-Palmer
Dramatic Interpretation – Victoria Nungaray-Arias, RISE
Duo Interpretation – Bita Tangu and Esi Acheampong, RISE