It is a great honor and pleasure for the ODU Model United Nations Society to announce the winners of ODUMUNC 49 (February 12-15, 2026). We welcomed 648 delegates from 42 schools, representing 72 delegations. We were delighted to host participants from as close as one mile away and as distant as Williamston, Michigan, and New Hope, Pennsylvania. Delegates passed a total of 27 resolutions.
The conference was an extraordinary event for the ODU staff. We were led by Secretary-General Elizjah Eddy, Director-General Eugenia Asigbee, Secretary-Treasurer Gabe Kinnison and Graduate Counselor Brian Vernon. Their leadership and commitment did so much to ensure our success. 73 other staff played essential roles. They wrote the issue briefs, completed thousands of managerial tasks, organized and ran the three-day conference sessions. The conference benefited greatly from major support by ODUMUN alumni, the ODU Graduate Program in International Studies, the ODU campus community, Hampton University, Regent University and the exceptional professionalism of the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel.
But nobody deserves congratulations like the 120 award winners are listed below. Congratulations to all delegations for their impressive performances. Congratulations to everybody who made the conference an extraordinary success.
2026 Winners
Congratulations to the winning schools at ODUMUNC 49:
- Best Delegation: James River Academy of Diplomacy, Richmond, Virginia
- Outstanding Delegation: Leonardtown High School, Leonardtown, Maryland
- Gazarian Award for Diplomacy: Maury High School, Norfolk, Virginia
Individual Awards
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Penelope Channell | Princess Anne High School | Bolivia |
| Outstanding Delegate | Hunter Rivas & Andrew Jago | Leonardtown High School | Azerbaijan |
| Outstanding Delegate | Ammar Malik & Nathan Pierre | Maury High School | China |
| Honorable Mention | Justice Drake | Lafayette High School | Singapore |
| Honorable Mention | Alex Winker & Beatriz Bretas Villa | Ocean Lakes High School | Spain |
| Honorable Mention | Mattias van Andel | Broadneck High School | Netherlands |
| Verbal Commendation | Robert Hunt & Harsha Kacham | Ocean Lakes High School | Poland |
| Verbal Commendation | Sharon Lee & Sofia Hertzog | Grassfield High School | Japan |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Yunay Vaddi & Srihaas Suddhireddy | James River Academy of Diplomacy | India |
| Outstanding Delegate | Neil Challa and Anthony Zheng | Grassfield High School | Japan |
| Outstanding Delegate | Anabelle Altuna & Jade Beauchamp | Hickory High School | Belarus |
| Honorable Mention | Madisyn Sarpong & Precieuse Mukulumpe | Brooke Point High School | Brazil |
| Honorable Mention | Sophie Shimabukuro & Brianna Quinn | Mountain View High School | Malawi |
| Honorable Mention | Jay Ross & Ari Mathieson | Brooke Point High School | Germany |
| Verbal Commendation | Kamsi Ezugwu & Ediwn Lopez-Aguilar | Oscar F. Smith High School | Vietnam |
| Verbal Commendation | -- | Manor High School | DR Congo |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Barrett Kindig | Mountain View High School | UAE |
| Outstanding Delegate | Grace Browne & Liam Gundersen | St. Anne's-Belfield School | Ukraine |
| Outstanding Delegate | Emmet Hayes & Margaret Byle | Leonardtown High School | Azerbaijan |
| Honorable Mention | Prithwish Chatterjee & Abeer Shah | James River Academy of Diplomacy | India |
| Honorable Mention | Cooper Pleasants & Audrey Burroughs | Leonardtown High School | Iran |
| Honorable Mention | Grace Piland & Braxton Walls | Western Branch High School | Czechia |
| Verbal Commendation | Mackenzie Blackman & Sophia Giunta | Oscar F. Smith High School | Viet Nam |
| Verbal Commendation | Esosa Odiase & Ike Edozie | Brooke Point High School | Germany |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Stefan Laza & Ava Mason | St. Anne's-Belfield School | Ukraine |
| Outstanding Delegate | Olivia San Nicolas & Sophia Matenopolous | First Colonial High School | Saudi Arabia |
| Outstanding Delegate | Stepan Peel & Connor Thomas | Lafayette High School | Singapore |
| Honorable Mention | Cole Graninger & Frankie Graninger | Ocean Lakes High School | Poland |
| Honorable Mention | Juno Taffs & Rose Anderson | Appomattox Regional Governors School | Russia |
| Honorable Mention | Yash Ganti & Luqmaan Khan | James River Academy of Diplomacy | India |
| Verbal Commendation | Jaxton King | Williamston High School | Guatemala |
| Verbal Commendation | Nate Soetzel & Matthew Rau | Oscar F. Smith High School | Viet Nam |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Avry Le-Alcozar & Caleb T. Johnson | Grassfield High School | United States |
| Outstanding Delegate | Nahid Karimi | Solebury School | France |
| Honorable Mention | Grace Kavanaugh & Mihika "Mahi" Sakharpe | Ocean Lakes High School | Somalia |
| Honorable Mention | Elias Bowes & Colin Moorhouse | Maury High School | China |
| Verbal Commendation | Natalie Jingo & Elsa Billcheck | St. Anne's-Belfield School | Panama |
| Verbal Commendation | Jackson Rubin | Annapolis High School | Pakistan |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Dilan Narayani & Ellen Elias | St Anne's-Belfield School | Brazil |
| Outstanding Delegate | Sean Yarashus & Jacob Cales | Western Branch High School | DPR Korea |
| Outstanding Delegate | Nathaniel Steere & Samantha Moeser | Leonardtown High School | Azerbijian |
| Honorable Mention | Aniyah Lang & Caroline Lex | The Hague School | Costa Rica |
| Honorable Mention | Mackenzie Adjei & Maddie Kraics | Brooke Point High School | Iran |
| Verbal Commendation | Jerome Quigley | Kecoughtan High School | Mexico |
| Verbal Commendation | Maddie Petsu | Princess Anne High School | Switzerland |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Zephyr Ndaw & Lawson Washburn | Manor High School | Nigeria |
| Outstanding Delegate | Julia Lisa & Marie Bockey | Leonardtown High | Azerbaijan |
| Outstanding Delegate | Ethan Xing | James River Academy of Diplomacy | Kenya |
| Honorable Mention | Joslyn Brown & Naudia Dowell | Appomatax Regional Governors School | Russia |
| Honorable Mention | Logan Cross & Dylan Garcia | Western Branch High School | Turkiye |
| Verbal Commendation | Remy Jorgensen | Williamston High School | India |
| Verbal Commendation | Christian Anderson & Jacob Hubert | Albermarle High School | DPR Korea |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Aditi Inamdar | James River Academy of Diplomacy | North Macedonia |
| Outstanding | Brandyn Twumasi-Ankrah & Emma Omitogun | Brooke Point High School | Germany |
| Outstanding | Ella Yuhas | Great Bridge High School | Croatia |
| Honorable Mention | Nori Carter & Anna Tang | St Annes-Belfield School | Spain |
| Honorable Mention | Austin Stegerwald & Stone Wagner | Ocean Lakes High School | Denmark |
| Verbal Commendation | Fahd Akinboro & Adin Waters | Western Branch High School | Turkiye |
| Verbal Commendation | Colin Zaremski | Williamston High School | Iceland |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Sam Parke | First Colonial High School | William Webster |
| Outstanding Delegate | Adelaide McMurdle | Maury High School | Philip Zelikow |
| Honorable Mention | Ari Kastello | St. Anne's-Belfield School | Robert Gates |
| Honorable Mention | Roderick Dulce | Churchland High School | Jack Matlock Jr. |
| Verbal Commendation | Jailie Martinez | Brooke Point High School | Dan Quayle |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Ami Badiye | Ocean Lakes High School | Caesar Flickerman |
| Outstanding Delegate | Erik Tifft | First Colonial High School | Cressida |
| Honorable Mention | Jada Preston | Brooke Point High School | Asterid Everdeen |
| Honorable Mention | Kate Cheng | St Anne's-Belfield School | Gale Hawthorne |
| Verbal Commendation | JJ Rosen | Leonardtown High School | Annie Cresta |
| Award | Delegates | School | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Delegate | Emma Guerriri | Norfolk Collegiate School | Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth |
| Outstanding Delegate | Sebastian Laza | St. Anne's-Belfield School | Radagast the Brown |
| Honorable Mention | Alvin Zheng | Grassfield High School | Denethor, Steward of Gondor |
| Honorable Mention | Charlie Hubbard | Solebury School | Aragorn, King of Gondor |
| Verbal Commendation | Elliot Konefal | The Hague School | Thorin III Stonehelm |
Photo Galleries & Highlights
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