The first half of the 2015-2016 national circuit calendar is in the books with the conclusion of the George Mason University Patriot Games two weeks ago in Fairfax, Virginia. Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) won his second National Points Race contest of the season, edging Jacob Thompson of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) by judges’ preference. Saffran and Thompson traded first place ranks in the final round, with Saffran’s accumulation of three one’s enabling him to overcome an errant sixth place rank. Saffran will receive 100 points in the National Points Race for his win since George Mason is a third tier tournament.

Observers of the national circuit may have expected Trinity to place multiple finalists, but that honor went to Des Moines Roosevelt instead. In addition to Thompson, the school placed Daniel Drane in the final round, with Drane finishing fourth behind Saffran, Thompson, and Justin Cooper of Scarsdale High School (NY).

National Points Race leader and last year’s Patriot Games runner-up Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Graham did win the tournament’s Round Robin competition, though.  Other notables that made an early exit in quarter-finals included Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) and Brian Xu of San Marino High School (CA).

Here are the results of the 2015 George Mason University Patriot Games (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Nathaniel Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
2nd: Jacob Thompson (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
3rd: Justin Cooper (Scarsdale High School, New York)
4th: Daniel Drane (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
5th: Nick Giuliano (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
6th: Marshall Sloane (Milton Academy, Massachusetts)

Semi-Finalists

*Kendra Blandon (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Keegan Hasson (Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia)
*Hasna Karim (Southside High School, South Carolina)
*Samantha Koreman (The University School, Florida)
*Tom Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
*Anton Salem (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Shreetika Singh (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Samhitha Sunkara (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)

Quarter-Finalists

*Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Jack Beedle (Salem High School, Virginia)
*Vinay Bodapati (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Collin Brown (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Manisha Dubey (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
*Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Will Haftel (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Alex Hirsch (Stuyvesant High School, New York)
*Nate Jones (Cary Academy, North Carolina)
*Brian Levy (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Jason Ma (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*Devesh Modi (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Rishi Narahari (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Aaron Patel (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Shaloni Pinto (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
*David Polefrone (Marriotts Ridge High School, Maryland)
*Collin Quigley (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
*Michael Wang (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Jake Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)
*Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California)
*Jack Yan (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks George Mason University for putting the results of the tournament online.

After two days of close and fierce competition in Nashville, Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) emerged as the winner of the 2016 Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin. Balaji survived ten grueling rounds of competition against some of the best extempers in the nation, edging National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) by one rank. His win marks the first time that a Ridge extemper placed in the top six of the Round Robin and he is the first New Jersey extemper to win the tournament since 2009, when Matt Arons of Millburn High School took home the title.

This year’s Round Robin was the closest in two years, with Balaji, Graham, and third place finisher Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) all entering the ninth round of the tournament tied for the lead. In the tenth round, Balaji’s picket fencing of his round was better than Graham’s 1-1-2 performance in another section. Sloane was matched up with Balaji and went straight two’s, leaving him three ranks behind Balaji when the tournament concluded.

In many ways, Balaji’s win was a come-from-behind effort as he began the tournament in fifth place after the first round. He maneuvered his way into the top three after round three, while Graham took the lead in the tournament after round five. Graham would hold that position going into the very last round. In fact, Balaji went from third to first after the tenth round and he never led the tournament until the very end.

Sloane was the only non-senior to finish in the top six. The top six also included Saint Mark’s International Extemp winner Micah Cash of Booker T. Washington High School (OK), Glenbrooks winner Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX), and Daniel Drane of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA).

Balaji will receive 150 National Points Race points for his victory since MBA is a second tier tournament. The win is his first major championship and second victory at a Nationals Points Race tournament this season.

Here are the results of the 2016 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin:

Champion: Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
2nd: Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
3rd: Marshall Sloane (Milton Academy, Massachusetts)
4th: Micah Cash (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
5th: Marshall Webb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
6th: Daniel Drane (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)

Note: This year’s tournament did not feature an Exhibition Round due to time constraints.

Moving from its traditional February date, this year’s Stanford National Invitational, a fifth tier tournament in the National Points Race, attracted a smaller field.  Twenty-six competitors faced off in International Extemp and twenty-four in United States Extemp and Brian Xu of San Marino High School (CA) took the titles in both categories.  Xu defeated Michelle Huang of Irvington High School (CA) in International Extemp and teammate Joseph Kiang in United States Extemp.  These wins give Xu his first victory in a National Points Race tournament this season.

Since Stanford allowed competitors to double in both extemp categories, our “St. Mark’s formula” was used to determine which competitors would receive National Points Race points.  Xu, Kiang, and Huang occupied the top three places and there were several ties for the other points.  As a result, Connor Wright of Lodi High School (CA) and Jennifer Xiao of San Marino High School will share the fourth place points awarded for Stanford and Jack Yanos of Antelope High School (CA) and Micalyn Strubble of College Preparatory (CA) will share sixth place points.

Here are the results of the 2016 Stanford National Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California)
2nd: Michelle Huang (Irvington High School, California)
3rd: Conner Wright (Lodi High School, California)
4th: Jack Yanos (Antelope High School, California)
5th: Karisa Anand (Sierra Canyon High School, California)
6th: Joseph Kiang (San Marino High School, California)
7th: Angelia Miranda (TAF Academy, Washington)

United States Extemp

Champion: Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California)
2nd: Joseph Kiang (San Marino High School, California)
3rd: Jennifer Xiao (San Marino High School, California)
4th: Micalyn Struble (College Prep, California)
5th: Delaney Collins (Chagrin Falls High School, Ohio)
6th: Leonardo Graeff (Jesuit High School, California)
7th: Sathvik Nair (Leland High School, California)

National Points Race Points

1st: Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California) – 2 pts.
2nd: Joseph Kiang (San Marino High School, California) – 13 pts.
3rd: Michelle Huang (Irvington High School, California) – 18 pts.
T4th: Connor Wright (Lodi High School, California) – 20 pts.
T4th: Jennifer Xiao (San Marino High School, California) – 20 pts.
T6th: Jack Yanos (Antelope High School, California) – 22 pts.
T6th: Micalyn Struble (College Preparatory, California) – 22 pts.
——
Next Out: Karisa Anand (Sierra Canyon High School, California) – 24 pts.
Next Out: Delaney Collins (Chagrin Falls High School, Ohio) – 24 pts.

Extemp Central thanks Stanford for putting the results of the tournament online and Bradley Wascher for forwarding them to us.

Last weekend’s James Logan MLK Invitational, held at James Logan High School in Union City, California, played host to the second part of the “California Swing” of the National Points Race and this year’s event was dominated by Archbishop Mitty High School (CA).  In International Extemp, Ismail Shaik of Archbishop Mitty won a five rank victory over Shreyan Jain of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) and in United States Extemp, Pranav Govindaraju of Mitty narrowly defeated Charles Tang of Leland High School (CA) by one rank.  The tabulation of the tournament was cumulative.

Although the tournament attracted talent from Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, California extempers dominated the final rounds.  The only non-California extemper to make a final round was Kshitiz Singh of Desert Vista High School (AZ), who placed fifth in United States Extemp.

Extempers that reached each final round will receive National Points Race points due to the fact that James Logan is a fifth tier tournament in the National Points Race.  Since each final round had seven finalists, only the top six will receive points.

Here are the results of the 2016 James Logan MLK Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Ismail Shaik (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
2nd: Shreyan Jain (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
3rd: Pranaya Pahwa (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
4th: Melinda Sun (Cupertino High School, California)
5th: Anirudh Prabhu (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
6th: Benjamin Hoffner-Brodsky (Davis High School, California)
7th: Mirwais Omarkhil (James Logan High School, California)

Semi-Finalists

*Max Davidson (Denver East High School, California)
*Siddhant Gannu (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
*Tony Lin (Cupertino High School, California)
*Jason Ma (Gabrielino High School, California)
*William Martin Glennie (Denver East High School, Colorado)
*Arjun Narayan (The Harker School, California)
*Jonathan Pham (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)

Quarter-Finalists

*Chance Boreczky (James Logan High School, California)
*Dalton R. Boyt (Stockdale High School, California)
*Colton Fertig (Cheyenne East High School, Wyoming)
*Siddhant Gannu (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
*Joel Joseph (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Joshua Joseph (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Andrew Lo (Gabrielino High School, California)
*Jimmy Ma (Gabrielino High School, California)
*Ravi Prasad (James Enochs High School, California)
*Arian Raje (Saratoga High School, California)
*Akaash Tawade (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
*Jason Tran (Gabrielino High School, California)
*Roshan Verma (Saratoga High School, California)
*Marvin Vinluan (Cheyenne East High School, Wyoming)

United States Extemp

Champion: Pranav Govindaraju (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
2nd: Charles Tang (Leland High School, California)
3rd: Bryant Cong (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
4th: Ryan Frazier (Clovis East High School, California)
5th: Kshitiz Singh (Desert Vista High School, Arizona)
6th: Deandra Du (Gabrielino High School, California)
7th: Amulya Yerrapotu (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)

Semi-Finalists

*Nick Adair (James Enochs High School, California)
*Abhijeet Singh Grewal (James Logan High School, California)
*Arjun Narayan (The Harker School, California)
*Sanjaye Narayan (Gabrielino High School, California)
*Ishaan Singhal (Cupertino High School, California)
*Andrew Talley (Denver East High School, Colorado)
*Andrew Tang (Leland High School, California)

Quarter-Finalists

*Ben Ashkenazi (Cupertino High School, California)
*Zeeshaan Chunawala (Los Gatos High School, California)
*Nandit Gurtu (Cupertino High School, California)
*Adiyan Kaul (Cupertino High School, California)
*Soy Koy (Gabrielino High School, California)
*Ruchi Maheshwari (Saratoga High School, California)
*Anil Prasad (Basis Independent Silicon Valley High School, California)
*Nevin Prasad (Saratoga High School, California)
*Atul Saha (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Katie Stamm-Kirk (Bentley High School, California)
*Afrah Arebu Tahir (Granite Bay High School, California)
*Sohan Vichare (Cupertino High School, California)
*Kyle Wang (Saratoga High School, California)
*Alex Young (Cupertino High School, California)

Extemp Central thanks James Logan High School for putting the results of the tournament online.

Marshall High School in Marshall, Minnesota hosted the last fifth tier tournament in the 2015-2016 National Points Race on January 29 and 30. Olivia Shoemaker of Lakeville North High School (MN) was this year’s tournament champion, winning by a convincing five rank margin over Kevin Bi of East Ridge High School (MN).

The final round was dominated by Minnesota extempers, as Jarrek Holmes of Kent Denver School (CO) was the only non-Minnesota competitor to make it that far. He finished fourth.

The tournament final was largely a duel between Shoemaker and Bi as they ended up well clear of their fellow competitors. Whereas Shoemaker ended up five ranks clear of Bi, Bi ended up three ranks ahead of third place finisher Charlie Park of Roseville Area High School (MN).

Shoemaker will earn forty points for her victory in the National Points Race, which is her first National Points Race title of the year. The victory was her second at an Extemp TOC qualifying tournament this season as she won the Dowling Catholic Paradigm in December.

Here are the results of the 2016 Marshall Speech Spectacular (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Olivia Shoemaker (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
2nd: Kevin Bi (East Ridge High School, Minnesota)
3rd: Charlie Park (Roseville Area High School, Minnesota)
4th: Jarrek Holmes (Kent Denver School, Colorado)
5th: Sam Buisman (Chanhassen High School, Minnesota)
6th: Alicia Zhang (East Ridge High School, Minnesota)

Semi-Finalists

*Ross Abram (Eastview High School, Minnesota)
*Kush Brahmbhatt (Chanhassen High School, Minnesota)
*Regan Copple (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Brent Hauck (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
*Quinn Kupec (Moorhead High School, Minnesota)
*Jacob Thompson (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)

Extemp Central thanks Marshall High School for putting the results of the tournament online.

Several weeks ago Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia hosted its annual Barkley Forum for high schools. Chance Boreckzy of James Logan High School (CA) became the first California winner of the tournament since 2006, edging out Andrew Langford of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) by one rank to win the title. National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) finished in third place.

The tournament was one of the closest in history as only one rank separated each of the top four competitors. For example, Jacob Levenson of Nova High School (FL) finished just three ranks behind Boreckzy.

Since the Barkley Forum is a fourth tier tournament in the National Points Race, Boreckzy will earn seventy points for this win. The tournament allows Justin Graham to enhance his National Points Race lead since none of the competitors close to him inthe standings made the trip to Atlanta.

Here are the results of the 2016 Barkley Forum (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Chance Boreckzy (James Logan High School, California)
2nd: Andrew Langford (Lake Highland Preparatory School, Florida)
3rd: Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
4th: Jacob Levenson (Nova High School, Florida)
5th: Nathan Kruse (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
6th: Zac Aikman (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Hasna Karim (Southside High School, South Carolina)
*Sarah Lanier (Northland Christian School, Texas)
*Jorge Rojas-Ortega (Trinity High School, Kentucky)
*Morgan Rowe (Pennsbury High School, Pennsylvania)
*Jane Tullis (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
*Rohan Vaidya (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)

Quarter-Finalists

*Sim Ahuja (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Harper Anderson (Rowan County Senior High School, Kentucky)
*Charlie Barton (Regis High School, Florida)
*Paul Bousquet (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Andrew Brown (Brentwood High School, Tennessee)
*Zach Kapner (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Yugansh Malik (Lee County High School, Georgia)
*Jane Michaelson (Apple Valley High School, Minnesota)
*Samhitha Sunkara (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
*Michael Wang (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Bradley Wascher (St. James School, Alabama)
*Jack Yan (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks Emory University for putting the results of the tournament online.

Two months ago, Harvard University held its 42nd edition of its National Forensics Tournament. Katherine Hu of Plano Senior High School (TX) was the winner, achieving a five rank victory after taking three of the five available first place ranks in the final round. Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) finished in second place, continuing an impressive second semester string of showings in National Points Race tournaments. Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin winner Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) finished third.

Hu’s victory makes her the first Texas extemper since at least 2000 to win Harvard. She also becomes the second female winner of the tournament in the last five years, as Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School won the tournament in 2012.

Since Harvard is a second tier tournament in the National Points Race, Hu will earn 150 points for her victory. National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparation School (FL) saw his attempt to defend his title end in the preliminary rounds due to a sixth place rank in the second round. All of the competitors that reached elimination rounds earned National Points Race points.

Here are the results of the 2016 Harvard University National High School Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Katherine Hu (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
2nd: Marshall Sloane (Milton Academy, Massachusetts)
3rd: Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
4th: Samhitha Sunkara (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
5th: Christopher Mayer (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
6th: Zach Kapner (Scarsdale High School, New York)

Semi-Finalists

*Charlie Barton (Regis High School, New York)
*Jacob Beedle (Salem High School-Salem, Virginia)
*Micah Cash (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*Alexander Hirsch (Stuysvesant High School, New York)
*Isaac Jacobson (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Shawn Kant (Ridge High School, New Jersey)

Quarter-Finalists

*Varun Bhatia (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Rahul Chopra (Concord Carlisle High School, Massachusetts)
*Marshall Feingold (Syosset High School, New York)
*Hari Kumar (Shrewsbury High School, Massachusetts)
*Quinn Kupec (Moorhead Senior High School, Minnesota)
*Rushabh Mehta (Syosset High School, New York)
*James Rao (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*Nathaniel Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Roman Shemakov (McClintock High School, Arizona)
*Olivia Shoemaker (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
*Michael Wang (Dreyfoos School for the Arts, Florida)
*Winston Ye (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)

Octo-Finalists

*Aidan S. Bassett (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*Laura Belec (Blaine High School, Minnesota)
*Paul Bousquet (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Ben Carry (Pine View School, Florida)
*Aaron Chen (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Justin Cooper (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Kirsten Ebenezer (Berkeley Carroll School, New York)
*Daanyal Farooqi (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Olivia Feucht (Teurlings Catholic High School, Louisiana)
*Jackson Freeman (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Katherine Fugate (McDowell High School, Pennsylvania)
*Michael Gao (Law Magnet High School, Texas)
*Clare Halsey (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Brent Hauck (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
*John Hilst (Blaine High School, Minnesota)
*Justin Kang (Syosset High School, New York)
*Nathan Kruse (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Jason Ma (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*Collin Montag (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Daniel O’Neill (Chaminade High School, New York)
*Aaron Patel (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Harley Pierce-Ramsdell (Blaine High School, Minnesota)
*Sana Rahman (Pine View School, Florida)
*Adiyta Ramachandrababu (Natick High School, Massachusetts)
*Vighnesh Ramesh (Mason High School, Ohio)
*Keshav Rastogi (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Tom Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
*Kshitiz Singh (Desert Vista High School, Arizona)

Extemp Central thanks Harvard University for posting the results online and Brian Yu for providing us with updates.

This year’s National Points Race features the California Invitational as a third tier tournament and Matthew Zheng of Mira Loma High School (CA) seized the chance to move into the rankings by winning the tournament in February. Zheng took the title in the cumulative competition by three ranks, defeating Jacob Levenson of Nova High School (FL), although Levenson did win the tournament’s final round by one rank. Daniel Ginsburg of Miramonte High School (CA) finished in third place.

If Levenson had defeated Zheng he would have become the first non-Californian to win the tournament in eleven years.

As expected, California schools dominated the tournament, with twelve of the fifteen competitors that survived to the semi-finals and finals coming from the state. However, there were some notable names that made the trip to Berkeley. One of them was Glenbrooks winner Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX), who finished in fifth place.

All of the competitors that reached the quarter-final round and beyond will earn National Points Race points. The new National Points Race standings will be released late Wednesday night.

Here are the results of the 2016 California Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Matthew Zheng (Mira Loma High School, California)
2nd: Jacob Levenson (Nova High School, Florida)
3rd: Daniel Ginsburg (Miramonte High School, California)
4th: Ryan Olson (Monte Vista High School, California)
5th: Marshall Webb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
6th: Aaron Baum (Miramonte High School, California)
7th: Tony Lin (Cuperinto High School, California)

Semi-Finalists

*Lilly Hackworth (Notre Dame High School, California)
*Benjamin Hoffner-Brodsky (Davis High School, California)
*Michelle Huang (Irvington High School, California)
*Alejandra Larriva-Latt (San Marino High School, California)
*Arian Raje (Saratoga High School, California)
*Christian Sayers (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
*Bryan Wang (Miramonte High School, California)
*Amulya Yerrapotu (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)

Quarter-Finalists

*Karisa Anand (Sierra Canyon School, California)
*William Brodnar (Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches, Florida)
*Michael Chien (Arcadia High School, California)
*Amulya Donthi (James Logan High School, California)
*Gus Duran (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Robin Gallaher (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
*Liam Glennie (Denver East High School, Colorado)
*Jarrek Holmes (Kent Denver School, Colorado)
*Mirwais Omarkhil (James Logan High School, California)
*Allison Pennington (Northland Christian School, Texas)
*Matthew Plonskier (Cooper City High School, Florida)
*Atul Saha (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Micalyn Struble (College Preparatory, California)
*Andrew Talley (Denver East High School, Colorado)
*Ken Tanaka (Leland High School, California)
*Jane Tullis (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
*Thomas White (Lowell High School, California)

Octo-Finalists

*Mohammad Alam (North Hollywood High School, California)
*Ben Ashkenazi (Cupertino High School, California)
*Kian Bagherlee (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Reiss Becker (Windward High School, California)
*Alex Chin (The Nueva School, California)
*Cole Drew (Cherry Creek High School, Colorado)
*Kelsey England (Northland Christian School, Texas)
*Jose Francisco (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Abhijeet Grewal (James Logan High School, California)
*Nandit Gurtu (Cupertino High School, California)
*Usman Hanif (Monte Vista High School, California)
*Bella Hung (Dougherty Valley High School, California)
*Isabel Jeronimo (Orosi High School, California)
*Joshua Joseph (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Asim Khan (Miramonte High School, California)
*Joseph Kiang (San Marino High School, California)
*Samika Kikkeri (Presentation High School, California)
*Lyna Kim (North Hollywood High School, California)
*Himanvi Kopuri (Cherry Creek High School, Colorado)
*Nishanth Krishnan (Torrey Pines High School, California)
*Sarah Lanier (Northland Christian School, Texas)
*Brian Levy (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Dylan Lough (Nova High School, Florida)
*Alex Luo (Leland High School, California)
*Ruchi Maheshwari (Saratoga High School, California)
*Anirudh Makineni (Dougherty Valley High School, California)
*Jessa Moomaw (Gig Harbor High School, Washington)
*Aaron Sergussi (L.C. Anderson High School, Texas)
*Shyan Shokrzadeh (Leland High School, California)
*Meilinda Sun (Cupertino High School, California)
*Kyle Wang (Saratoga High School, California)
*Alex Weissman (George Washington High School, Colorado)
*Ethan Wu (Mira Loma High School, California)
*Jennifer Xiao (San Marino High School, California)

Extemp Central thanks the University of California-Berkeley for putting the results of the tournament online.

National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) took one step further to clinching the competition before the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament by winning the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) last weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. This was the second year of the expanded TOC tournament format and Graham, who placed third in last year’s competition, won the cumulative tournament by five ranks over Samhitha Sunkara of Ardrey Kell High School (NC).

Sunkara and Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) tied for first place in the final round, with each accumulating a total of sixteen from the round’s five judges. On judges’ preference, Sloane won, but he and Sunkara made up little ground against Graham, who finished the final round with a total of seventeen ranks. Since Graham entered the final round with a six rank lead this was enough to make him the tournament champion, while Sloane finished third.

The tournament attracted an impressive field for a second consecutive year, with five of the top ten competitors in the National Points Race attending (and four of the top five). Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ), who entered the tournament in second place in the National Points Race, was eliminated in the semi-final round.  Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory, who sits in fourth place in the current rankings, was also eliminated in semi-finals.

All of the competitors that reached the semi-final round and beyond will earn National Points Race points. Graham will receive seventy points for winning the tournament.

Here are the results of the 2015 University of Kenucky Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
2nd: Samhitha Sunkara (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
3rd: Marshall Sloane (Milton Academy, Massachusetts)
4th: Justin Cooper (Scarsdale High School, New York)
5th: Jacob Thompson (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
6th: Neil Patel (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Jack Beedle (Salem High School, Virginia)
*Christopher Mayer (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
*Nathaniel Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Shreetika Singh (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Bradley Wascher (St. James School, Alabama)

Quarter-Finalists

*Varun Bhatia (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Eleanor Bock (Nova High School, Florida)
*Collin Brown (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Paul Bousquet (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Laurel Eddins (Oak Hill High School, Oregon)
*Michael Gao (JBS Law Magnet High School, Texas)
*Nathan Kruse (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Andrew Langford (Lake Highland Preparatory School, Florida)
*Jorge Rojas-Ortega (Trinity High School, Kentucky)
*Anton Salem (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Lekha Sunder (Lamar High School-Houston, Texas)
*Jacob Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)

Extemp Central thanks the University of Kentucky for putting the results of the tournament online.

The fourteenth edition of the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) was held last weekend on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and Brian Xu of San Marino High School (CA) won the second major championship of the season. Xu defeated Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), who was attempting to win two TOC tournaments in back-to-back weeks, by three ranks. Xu and Graham took all of the first place ranks in the final round.

Xu becomes the second extemper from San Marino to win the Extemp TOC. Nabeel Zewail of San Marino won the title back in 2010 and San Marino becomes the second school, other than Eagan High School (MN) to have two extempers win the tournament.

The final round featured a diverse collection of talent, with five of the finalists having competed at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin back in January. Neil Patel of Plano West High School (TX) finished in third place, followed by Justin Cooper of Scarsdale High School (NY). Bradley Wascher of St. James School (AL) and Glenbrooks winner Marshall Webb of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) rounded out the top six.

Xu will earn 100 points in the National Points Race for his win, but Graham, who also won the Impromptu competition at the tournament and placed fourth by himself in school sweepstakes, will extend his lead since Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) and Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) were not in the field. New National Points Race standings will be released on Thursday evening.

Here are the results of the 2016 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California)
2nd: Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
3rd: Neil Patel (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
4th: Justin Cooper (Scarsdale High School, New York)
5th: Bradley Wascher (St. James School, Alabama)
6th: Marshall Webb (St. Mary’s Hall, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Kevin Bi (East Ridge High School, Minnesota)
*Spencer Buckner (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
*Jarrek Holmes (Kent Denver School, Colorado)
*Olivia Shoemaker (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
*Jacob Thompson (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Alicia Zhang (East Ridge High School, Minnesota)

Quarter-Finalists

*Paul Bousquet (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Daniel Drane (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Allee Johnson (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
*Zach Kapner (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Megan Kline (El Dorado High School, Kansas)
*Nathan Kruse (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Sarah Lanier (Northland Christian School, Texas)
*John Thornton Lindsey (Montgomery High School, Texas)
*Dyana Martinez (St. Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Emma McCaleb (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Jorge Rojas-Ortega (Trinity High School, Kentucky)
*Tom Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)

Coach of the Year: Rhonda Smith (Plano West High School, Texas)
Extemp TOC Service Award: SpeechWire

Extemp Central thanks Northwestern University for posting the results of the tournament online.

Last weekend at the NSU-University School Jose Quinones of Cypress Bay High School (FL) triumphed in the 2018 Sunvitational. Quinones edged out MBA invitee and New York City Invitational winner Christopher Maximos of the Delbarton School (NJ) on judges preference after both competitors tied in the final round with a score of ten. Lekha Sunder of Lamar High School in Houston (TX) was the third place finisher.  The victory is the first for Quinones on the national circuit this season.

All told, Florida placed very well compared to other states that attended the tournament. Three of the finalists in the tournament were from Florida and the state made up half of the competitors that reached the semi-final round.

Quinones will earn seventy National Points Race points for his win at the Sunvitational and all competitors who reached the semi-finals will earn points per the fourth tier requirements of the National Points Race. The standings of the 2017-2018 race will be posted later in the week.

All of the extempers who reached the quarter-final round and beyond earned a bid to the 2018 Extemp TOC at Northwestern, while all finalists and semi-finalists earned a bid to the University of Kentucky TOC since there were more than seventy-three entries in the tournament.

Here were the results of the 2018 Sunvitational (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
2nd: Christopher Maximos (The Delbarton School, New Jersey)
3rd: Lekha Sunder (Lamar High School-Houston, Texas)
4th: Tristan Wertanzl (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
5th: Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School, Florida)
6th: Clara Enders (Scarsdale High School, New York)

Semi-Finalists

*Ismail Ameen (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Nishant Bhaumik (Syosset High School, New York)
*James Kim (Pine View School, Florida)
*Jose Leon (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Matthew McQuistion (Casady School, Oklahoma)
*Alissa Vuillier (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Quarter-Finalists

*Dorothy Bogen (Laurel School, Ohio)
*Susana Denis (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Gustavo Duran (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Deepa Irakam (Watchung Hills Regional High School, New Jersey)
*Harrison Koeppel (Oxbridge Academy, Florida)
*Sourish Kundu (Eagan High School, Minnesota)
*Jocelyn Marks (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Bridget McManamon (Moorhead High School, Minnesota)
*Marco Munoz (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*sana Rahman (Pine View School, Florida)
*Jacqueline Sanchez (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Owen Smith (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Kayla Wood (C. Leon King High School, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks the NSU University School for putting the results of the tournament online.

(During the holiday, Extemp Central will be catching up on the action that has taken place on the national circuit as LSAT preparation kept these results from being posted)

On September 8-10, fifteen extempers competed at the University of Kentucky National Speech and Debate Season Opener on UK’s campus in Lexington, Kentucky. The tournament was not a National Points Race event due to its small size relative to the Wake Forest National Early Bird, which used to kick off the national circuit season. Nevertheless, the tournament did begin the 2018-2019 competitive year.

In a close tournament, Mo (Jocelyn) Marks of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) triumphed over Juliette Reyes of American Heritage School (FL) and Jose Quinones of Cypress Bay High School (FL). All three competitors tied in the final round with a cumulative score of seven but the tournament was cumulative through prelims, and Marks had a four-rank differential that separated her from Reyes and ensured her victory.

The final round featured competitors from five states, with Iowa, Florida, Virginia, Tennesse, and West Virginia included.

Here are the results of the 2018 Unviersity of Kentucky National Speech and Debate Season Opener:

Champion: Mo (Jocelyn) Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
2nd: Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
3rd: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
4th: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
5th: Ethan Schaffer (Parksburg South High School, West Virginia)
6th: David Needs (Morristown West High School, Tennessee)

Extemp Central thanks Mo Marks for sending us the results and clarifying how the results were tabulated.

The 2018-2019 Extemp Central National Points Race kicked off in New Haven, Connecticut in late September when Yale University hosted the twenty-sixth edition of the Yale University Invitational. Kate Fisher of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) repeated as tournament champion, defeating Hannah Siegel of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL) and Christopher Maximos of the Delbarton School (NJ) in the cumulative competition. Fisher’s score of thirty-five ranks across the tournament’s preliminary rounds, as well as outround competition, secured a four rank margin of victory.

Each of the final round competitors represented a different state, with Brian Zheng of Naperville North High School (IL) placing fourth, University of Kentucky National Season Opener winner Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) taking fifth, and Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) placing sixth.

Fisher became the first competitor to win back-to-back Yale championships since Daniel Rauch of Millburn High School accomplished the feat in 2004 and 2005.

Fisher earned seventy National Points Race points for winning the event. All competitors who made the final and semi-final rounds earned points as well.

Here are the results of the 2018 Yale Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Kate Fisher (St. Mary’s Hall, Texas)
2nd: Hannah Siegel (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
3rd: Christopher Maximos (The Delbarton School, New Jersey)
4th: Brian Zheng (Naperville North High School, Illinois)
5th: Mo Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
6th: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)

Semi-Finalists

*Steve Asthana (Shrewbury High School, Massachusetts)
*Sam Lieberman (Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Massachusetts)
*Alex Massa (Hoover High School, Ohio)
*Rayhan Murad (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Louis Savoia (Xaverian High School, New York)
*Jack Silvers (Scarsdale High School, New York)

Quarter-Finalists

*Veronica Bloomberg (NSU University School, Florida)
*Colton El-Habr (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
*Elijah Finkelstein (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*James Kim (Pine View School, Florida)
*Jose Leon (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Eve Mainster (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Michael McCarthy (Catholic Memorial School, Massachusetts)
*Danielle Piccoli (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Max Pinkiert (NSU University School, Florida)
*Saskia Reford (St. Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Shria Shyam (North Allegheny Senior High School, Pennsylvania)
*Alissa Vuillier (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Octo-Finalists

*Josh Bernstein (NSU University School, Florida)
*Dylan Cawley (The Delbarton School, New Jersey)
*James Gao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Amanda Gilsten (Bronx High School of Science, New York)
*Asher Gladstone (Syosset High School, New York)
*Nechama Huba (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Yaakov Huba (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Rithik Jain (Flintridge Preparatory School, California)
*Alexander Jimenez (St. Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Sam Li (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Benjamin Lin (Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Massachusetts)
*Connor MacInnis (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Kevin Mao (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
*Ella Marshall (NSU University School, Florida)
*Matthew McQuistion (Casady School, Oklahoma)
*Anna Morville (Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Massachusetts)
*Jay Nagabhairu (Lake Highland Preparatory School, Florida)
*Sophia Qureshi (Unionville High School, Pennsylvania)
*Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
*Bhrajit Thakur (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Abhinav Vittal (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Ye Zhang (King High School, Florida)
*Kevin Zhu (Pine View School, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks the Yale University tab staff for putting the results of the tournament online.

The second event in the 2018-2019 Extemp Central National Points Race, the New York City Invitational, took place at the Bronx High School of Science in the Bronx on October 12-14. In the cumulative tournament, Juliette Reyes of American Heritage School (FL) defeated Rayhan Murad of Ridge High School (NJ) by one rank. Reyes won the final round by one rank over Murad, which solidified her first national circuit victory of the season. Reyes was a runner-up finisher at the University of Kentucky National Season Opener.

Aside from Reyes, two other Floridians made the final round. Gustavo Lanz of Cypress Bay High School was third and Eli Finkelstein of Trinity Preparatory School was fourth.

Ridge High School also had two competitors in the final round. In addition to Murad’s runner-up finish, James Gao placed fourth.

For winning the tournament, Reyes earned forty points in the National Points Race because the New York City Invitational was a fifth tier event. Her victory moved her into fifth place in the National Points Race standings. Murad moved into third place as he was a semi-finalist at the Yale Invitational.

Fifth place finisher Louis Savoia of Xaverian High Schol (NY) also moved up the National Points Race standings, earning sixteen points at this event to go with the eighteen he received for being a Yale semi-finalist.  After this tournament he was seventh in the national rankings.

Defending champion Christopher Maximos of the Delbarton School (NJ) did not attend the tournament.

Here are the results of the 2018 New York City Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
2nd: Rayhan Murad (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
3rd: Gustavo Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
4th: James Gao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
5th: Louis Savoia (Xaverian High School, New York)
6th: Eli Finkelstein (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Semi-Finalists

*Jake Cannon (Iona Preparatory School, New York)
*Marco Munoz (A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Danielle Piccoli (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Bhrajit Thakur (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Quarter-Finalists

*Jaden Barara (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Rufus Black (Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, New York)
*Colotn El-Habr (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
*Deepa Irakam (Watchung Hills High School, New Jersey)
*Andrew Lin (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
*Lucas Miner (Ransom Everglades School, Florida)
*Jay Nagabhairu (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Becca Segal (Cary Academy, North Carolina)
*Nicole Strubinski (La Salle High School, California)
*Claudia Zimmerman (Cary Academy, North Carolina)

Extemp Central thanks the Bronx High School of Science for putting the results of the tournament online.

(Note:  This is a corrected write up because Blue Key had a tabulation error in IX that altered the original placings)

The University of Florida played host to the 2018 Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament, a fifth tier event in the National Points Race, on October 26-28, 2018. The tournament attracted its usual bevy of Florida extempers, with Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) and Tristan Wertanzl of Cypress Bay High School (FL) winning the United States extemp and international extemp categories, respectively.

Wertanzl was initially announced the tournament’s sixth place finisher in international extemp, but a tabulation error was later uncovered that made him the winner.  Rollins ended up winning U.S. Extemp by one rank over Wertanzl’s teammate, Jose Quinones.

Rollins performance was the second time that she reached the final round of a National Points Race event this season, having made the finals of the Yale Invitational in September. The same was true of Brian Zheng of Naperville North High School (IL), who placed fifth in international extemp and third in United States extemp and moved into a tie for second place in the National Points Race with Rollins after this event (although Rollins owned a tiebreaker for having a victory).

Due to the fact that Blue Key had an international and United States extemp portion, competitors were awarded points based on a formula that calculates how well they did across both halves of the competition. This prevents an extemper from earning double points at one tournament.  Rollins had the best performance across both categories of any extemper at the tournament and received the forty National Points Race points for the event.  Quinones and Zheng were awarded second and third place points.  Fourth place points were given to Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA), who was a semi-finalist in the United States extemp half and was a fourth place finisher in the international extemp portion.  Wertanzl got fifth place points as he was a quarter-finalist in the U.S. Extemp portion.  Finally, sixth place points ended up as a three way tie between Max Pinkiert of NSU University School (FL), New York City Invitational winner Juliette Reyes of American Heritage School (FL), and Rehan Rupawalla of Tompkins High School (TX). All three of these competitors were semi-finalists in each category.

Here are the results of the 2018 Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Tristan Wertanzl (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
2nd: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
3rd: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
4th: Mo Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
5th: Brian Zheng (Naperville North High School, Illinois)
6th: Josh Bernstein (NSU University School, Florida)

Semi-Finalists

*Alex Dray (Ransom Everglades High School, Florida)
*Sinan Kassim (NSU University School, Florida)
*Marco Munoz (A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Max Pinkiert (NSU University School, Florida)
*Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
*Rehan Rupawalla (Tompkins High School, Texas)

Quarter-Finalists

*Veronica Bloomberg (NSU University School, Florida)
*Angelica Boyette (South Plantation High School, Florida)
*Carlton zum Brunnen (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Avah Dickinson (NSU University School, Florida)
*Gus Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Tyler Loring (Western High School, Florida)
*Lucas Miner (Ransom Everglades High School, Florida)
*Joseph Mullen (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Allen Park (Trinity Preparatory SChool, Florida)
*Emma Pereda (NSU University School, Florida)
*Bhrajit Thakur (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Alissa Vuillier (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Octo-Finalists

*Michael Anise (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Gabriel Bit-Babik (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Dominic Chiappone (Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Florida)
*Rohan Chiravuri (NSU University School, Florida)
*Marius DeMartino (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Eli Finkelstein (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Zach Fotiadis (Miami Beach Senior High School, Florida)
*Matias Galguera (Wellington High School, Florida)
*Julia Gerson (Ft. Lauderdale High School, Florida)
*Natalija Grkovic (Timber Creek High School, Florida)
*Grace Kim (Pine View School, Florida)
*Danny Kind (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Jose Leon (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Sabrina Lyn (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Veronica Macias (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Ella Marshall (NSU University School, Florida)
*Savannah Montoya (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Matthew Moy (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Quentin Powell (C. Leon King High School, Florida)
*Jacqueline Sanchez (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Max Schaed (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Brendan Sossoman (Western High School, Florida)
*John Sullivan (Northeast High School, Florida)
*Kevin Valido (Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Florida)
*Jonah Wexler (Nova Senior High School, Florida)

United States Extemp

Champion: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
2nd: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
3rd: Brian Zheng (Naperville North High School, Illinois)
4th: Byron Xu (Tompkins High School, Texas)
5th: Veronica Bloomberg (NSU University School, Florida)
6th: Emma Pereda (NSU University School, Florida)

Semi-Finalists

*Gus Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Jose Leon (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Mo Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Max Pinkiert (NSU University School, Florida)
*Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
*Rehan Rupawalla (Tompkins High School, Texas)

Quarter-Finalists

*Eli Finkelstein (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Tyler Loring (Western High School, Florida)
*Matthew Moy (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Michael Moy (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Marco Munoz (A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Joseph Mullen (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Valerik Roumi (Pine View School, Florida)
*John Sullivan (Northeast High School, Florida)
*Jason Tache (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Bhrajit Thakur (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Alissa Vuillier (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Tristan Wertanzl (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)

Octo-Finalists

*Josh Bernstein (NSU University School, Florida)
*Carlton zum Brunnen (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*William Bussey (Wellington High School, Florida)
*Marius DeMartino (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Alex Dray (Ransom Everglades High School, Florida)
*Zach Fotiadis (Miami Beach Senior High School, Florida)
*Matias Galguera (Wellington High School, Florida)
*Julia Gerson (Ft. Lauderdale High School, Florida)
*Sinan Kassim (NSU University School, Florida)
*Chloe Kauffman (Gulf Breeze High School, Florida)
*Danny Kind (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Sabrina Lyn (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Veronica Macias (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Ella Marshall (NSU University School, Florida)
*Teagan Mayr (Timber Creek High School, Florida)
*Matthew McGann (Wellington High School, Florida)
*Maggie Messer (Gulf Breeze High School, Florida)
*Savannah Montoya (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Allen Park (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Quentin Powell (C. Leon King High School, Florida)
*Jacqueline Sanchez (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Brendan Sossoman (Western High School, Florida)
*Heather Touby (Ransom Everglades High School, Florida)
*Kevin Valido (Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Florida)
*Jonah Wexler (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Ye Zhang (C. Leon King High School, Florida)
*Kevin Zhu (Pine View School, Florida)

Here is how points were calculated for the National Points Race for finishes at the tournament in each half:

1st place = 1 pt.
2nd place = 3 pts.
3rd place = 5 pts.
4th place = 7 pts.
5th place = 9 pts.
6th place = 10 pts.
Semi-Finalist = 15 pts.
Quarter-Finalist = 25 pts.
Octo-Finalist = 35 pts.
Non-Finalist = 45 pts.

National Points Race Totals from Blue Key:

Rollins = 3(I) + 1(U) = 4 pts.
Quinones = 5(I) + 3(U) = 8 pts.
Zheng = 9(I) + 5(U) = 14 pts.
Marks – 15(U) + 7(I) = 22 pts.
Wertanzal – 25(U) + 1(I) = 26
6th: Pinkiert – 15(U) + 15(I) = 30
Reyes – 15(U) + 15(I) = 30
Rupawalla – 15(U) + 15(I) = 30
———–
Bloomberg- 9(U) + 25(I) = 34
Pereda – 10(U) + 25(I) = 34
Lanz – 15 (U) + 25(I) = 34
Bernstein – 35(U) + 9(I) = 44

Extemp Central thanks the University of Florida for putting the results of the tournament online.

The Glenbrooks, a third tier event in the National Points Race, took place at Glenbrooks North and South High School in Northbrook, Illinois between November 17-19. Brian Zheng of Naperville North High School (IL) used home field advantage to its maximum extent to win the tournament and move into the top spot in the National Points Race. Zheng won by two ranks over Tristan Wertanzl of Cypress Bay High School (FL). Wertanzl won the international extemp portion of the Florida Blue Key several weeks before the Glenbrooks.

Zheng only took one first place rank among the five judges in the final round, but no judge ranked him lower than third. This helped him triumph over Wertanzl who took two first place ranks but also took one fourth and one fifth place rank, thereby hurting his composite score.

Daniel Chao of Kent Denver School (CO) made his first National Points Race final round this year and took third.

The final round had a significant number of other National Points Race notables as Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) finished fourth, Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) finished fifth, and Jose Quinones of Cypress Bay High School (FL) finished sixth.

All of the competitors who reached elimination rounds earned National Points Race points.

Here are the results of the 2018 Glenbrooks (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Brian Zheng (Naperville North High School, Illinois)
2nd: Tristan Wertanzl (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
3rd: Daniel Chao (Kent Denver School, Colorado)
4th: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
5th: Mo Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
6th: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)

Semi-Finalists

*Arham Habib (Monte Vista High School, California)
*Anuj Kothari (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Gustavo Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Alex Massa (Hoover High School, Ohio)
*Anna Puhek (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
*Jaclyn Webber (Munster High School, Indiana)

Quarter-Finalists

*Abigail Brachio (Apple Valley High School, Minnesota)
*Tarun Chiruvolu (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Pranay Dhondi (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Yaakov Huba (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Annika Hurd (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
*Sinan Kassim (NSU University School, Florida)
*Daniel Kim (Archbishop Mitty High School, California)
*Tyler Loring (Western High School, Florida)
*Jacob Mammen (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Maghana Vattigunta (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
*Ananth Veluvali (Edina High School, Minnesota)
*Alissa Vuillier (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks the Glenbrooks for putting the results of the tournament online.

(Note:  We do not have extemp round robin results from this year’s Patriot Games.  If you have these results, please send them to us at logan.scisco@topper.wku.edu)

George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia hosted its 15th Annual Patriot Games Classic on December 1-2. Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) captured three first place scores in the final round to triumph by three ranks over Jose Quinones of Cypress Bay High School (FL), thereby allowing her to also seize control of the National Points Race. She also became the first sophomore to win the tournament and the first Virginia to accomplish the feat since at least 2006.

Cypress Bay extempers appeared in four National Points Race final rounds before the Patriot Games and they nearly doubled that total at the tournament since they took up half of the final round field. In addition to Quinones runner-up finish, Gus Lanz finished third and Blue Key international extemp winner Tristan Wertanzl finished fifth.

Another notable in the final round was Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA). Marks entered the Patriot Games in fourth place in the National Points Race and her tournament result mirrored that placing.

Kishan Gandham of Ridge High School (NJ) rounded out the final round with a sixth place finish. This was his first National Points Race final round appearance for the year.

All of the extempers who cleared to elimination rounds earned National Points Race points. Rollins earned 100 points for her victory because GMU is a third tier tournament. Semi-finalists earned twenty-five points and quarter-finalists earned fifteen points.

Here are the results of the 2018 George Mason University Patriot Games (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
2nd: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
3rd: Gus Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
4th: Mo Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
5th: Tristan Wertanzl (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
6th: Kishan Gandham (Ridge High School, New Jersey)

Semi-Finalists

*Veronica Bloomberg (NSU University School, Florida)
*Avah Dickinson (NSU University School, Florida)
*Sinan Kassim (NSU University School, Florida)
*Shriya Kosuru (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Mason Krohn (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Ella Marshall (NSU University School, Florida)
*Marco Munoz (A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Becca Segal (Cary Academy, North Carolina)
*Cade Spector (Cary Academy, North Carolina)

Quarter-Finalists

*Olivia Appel (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Suzie Cho (Lincoln East High School, Nebraska)
*Marius DeMartino (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Arnold von Engelbrechten (University School, Ohio)
*James Gao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Nechama Huba (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Yaakov Huba (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Shaan Hussain (Research Triangle High School, North Carolina)
*Injae Lee (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Michelle Liu (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
*Connor MacInnis (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Ranen Miao (Millburn High School, New Jersey)
*Rayhan Murad (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*D.J. Needs (Morristown West High School, Tennessee)
*Ashna Patel (North Allegheny Senior High School, Pennsylvania)
*Max Pinkiert (NSU University School, Florida)
*Sanjana Raj (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
*Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
*Maghana Vattigunta (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)

Extemp Central thanks George Mason University for posting the results of the tournament online.

The University of Texas-Austin hosted its Longhorn Classic on December 7-10. The tournament attracted its usual Texas-heavy field, with 104 extempers competing in international extemp and 102 extempers competing in United States Extemp.

In International Extemp, Anurima Mummaneni of Westwood High School (TX) defeated Nikolas Kirk of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ) via judges preference when both competitors tied with cumulative scores of eight. Mummaneni captured two first place ranks in the final round, allowing her to avoid a loss when the other judge in the final round gave her sixth place. Angela Wang of Jasper High School (TX) took third.

In United States Extemp, Vivian Zhao of Plano Senior High School (TX) emerged victorious over Pranav Pattatathunaduvil of Jasper High School (TX) by a mere one rank. Zhao did not capture a first place rank in the final round, but her consistency of scores, which included two second place ranks and one third place rank, helped her triumph in a fractured room where no competitor assembled more than one first place score. Mackenzie Matheson of Lake Travis High School (TX) finished third.

Due to the fact that the Longhorn Classic allows extempers to compete in both extemp categories, the scoring system used for Florida Blue Key was used to determine National Points Race points. UT was a fourth tier tournament and when the results of both competitons were assembled, Zhao and Kirk tied for first place. Both competitors will share first and second place points in the National Points Race and the top twelve competitors at the tournament will receive points in the competition.

Here are the results of the 2018 University of Texas Longhorn Classic (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Anurima Mummaneni (Westwood High School, Texas)
2nd: Nikolas Kirk (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
3rd: Angela Wang (Jasper High School, Texas)
4th: Mackenzie Matheson (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
5th: Vivian Zhao (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
6th: Benjamin Ai (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
7th: Sarah Sowell (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
8th: Emily Gao (Westwood High School, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Julia Belov (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
*Rohan Chhaya (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Shristi Chitlangia (The Woodlands High School, Texas)
*Anahita Farishta (W.B. Ray High School, Texas)
*Erin Feng (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Kimber Hageman (Chaparral Star Academy, Texas)
*Rasheek Huq (James Bowie High School, Texas)
*Alexander Jimenez (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Shreya Joshi (The Woodlands High School, Texas)
*Ivin Lam (Tuloso-Midway High School, Texas)
*Caleb Lawson (Moore High School, Oklahoma)
*Zach Linhart (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
*Marguerite Morgan (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Rene Manuel Otero (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
*Khushi Parikh (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Tania Pena-Reyes (The Woodlands High School, Texas)
*Anne Rubsamen (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Jack Douglas Schoenbrun (All Saints Episcopal School, Texas)
*Lily Sethre-Brink (Dripping Springs High School, Texas)
*Anuj Trivdi (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Cole Wheeler (Lampasas High School, Texas)
*Max Wolf (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Cedric Zhou (Plano East High School, Texas)

United States Extemp

Champion: Vivian Zhao (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
2nd: Pranav Pattatathunaduvil (Jasper High School, Texas)
3rd: Mackenzie Matheson (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
4th: Nikolas Kirk (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
5th: Zach Linhart (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
6th: Sarah Sowell (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
7th: Linette Page (Westwood High School, Texas)
8th: Rohan Chhaya (Plano Senior High School, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Benjamin Ai (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Max Bibeau (Dripping Springs High School, Texas)
*Sindhu Bommineni (Plano East High School, Texas)
*Rishob Dasgupta (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Coltrane Drexler (Pflugerville High School, Texas)
*Erin Feng (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Rasheek Huq (James Bowie High School, Texas)
*Caleb Lawson (Moore High School, Oklahoma)
*Trisha Motupalli (Flower Mound High School, Texas)
*Anurima Mummaneni (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Rene Manuel Otero (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
*Khushi Parikh (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Anne Rubsamen (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Jack Douglas Schoenbrun (All Saints Episcopal School, Texas)
*Suket Shah (Flower Mound High School, Texas)
*Gregory Shumakevich (Plano East Senior High School, Texas)
*Aruj Trivedi (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Urui Vallapreddy (Flower Mound High School, Texas)
*Mallory Wilcox (Tuloso-Midway High School, Texas)
*Max Wolf (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Allen Zhang (A&M Consolidated High School, Texas)

Here is how points were calculated for the National Points Race for finishes at the tournament in each half:

1st place = 1 pt.
2nd place = 3 pts.
3rd place = 5 pts.
4th place = 7 pts.
5th place = 9 pts.
6th place = 10 pts.
7th place = 11 pts.
8th place = 12 pts.
Semi-Finalist = 15 pts.
Non-Break = 25 pts.

National Points Race Totals from UT Longhorn Classic:

T1: Zhao = 9(I) + 1(U) = 10 pts.
T1: Kirk = 3(I) + 7(U) = 10 pts.
3: Matheson = 7(I) + 5(U) = 12 pts.
4: Mummaneni = 1(I) + 15(U) = 16 pts.
5: Sowell = 11(I) + 10(U) = 21 pts.
6: Linhart = 15 + 9(U) = 24 pts.
S: Ai = 10(I) + 15(U) = 25 pts.
S: Chhaya = 15(I) + 12(U) = 27 pts.
S: Pattatathunaduvil = 25(I) + 3(U) = 28 pts.
S: Wang = 5(I) + 25(U) = 30 pts.
S: Feng = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Huq = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Lawson = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Otero = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Parikh = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Rubsamen = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Schoenbrun = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Trivedi = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
S: Wolf = 15(I) + 15(U) = 30 pts.
————–
Page = 25(I) + 11(U) = 36 pts.
Gao = 12(I) + 25(U) = 37 pts.

Extemp Central thanks the University of Texas-Austin for putting the results of the tournament online.

Sixteen of the nation’s best extempers, including a good number of the top ten extempers in this year’s Extemp Central National Points Race, converged on Nashville, Tennessee as part of the twenty-first edition of the Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) Extemp Round Robin. The Round Robin features ten rounds of competition with extempers paired off into four rooms of four. The tournament is staggered so that each competitor gets two rounds against another and each round features three minute cross-examination.

When the tournament finished on Sunday evening, reigning National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) United States Extemp National Champion Jacqueline Wei of Plano West Senior High School (TX) defeated National Points Race leader Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) by six ranks. Wei’s victory, her second major championship, keeps the title in Plano as her teammate, Nikhil Ramaswamy, triumphed in last year’s tournament. This is the third time that Plano West has walked away with the Round Robin title, matching Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) and Milton Academy (MA) for the most victories at the prestigious competition.

MBA only recognizes the top six competitors at awards, with the others receiving participation trophies. Christopher Maximos of the Delbarton School (NJ), who finaled at the Yale Invitational in September, took third, while Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) was credited with her fifth National Points Race final round appearance this season by placing fourth. Nikolas Kirk of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ), who shared first place points in the National Points Race with Vivian Zhao of Plano Senior High School (TX) at the University of Texas Longhorn Classic, was fifth. Yale semi-finalist Jack Silvers of Scarsdale High School (NY) also surprised national circuit observers with a sixth place finish.

Wei will receive 150 points for her victory in the Round Robin, which was the first of three second tier tournaments during the second semester. National Points Race standings will be updated near the end of the week so extempers know where they stand heading into the Sunvitational.

Here are the results of the 2019 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin:

Champion: Jacqueline Wei (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
2nd: Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
3rd: Christopher Maximos (The Delbarton School, New Jersey)
4th: Mo Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
5th: Nikolas Kirk (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
6th: Jack Silvers (Scarsdale High School, New York)

Extemp Central thanks MBA tournament director Adam Johnson for sending us the results.

Last weekend, the NSU University School in Davie, Florida hosted eighty extempers as part of its annual Sunvitational. The tournament is a fourth tier event in the Extemp Central National Points Race due to its regional reputation, and in this year’s competition Joseph Mullen of Cypress Bay High School (FL) demolished the final round, going straight 1’s to secure the championship. Mullen defeated teammates Jose Quinones, Susana Davis, and Tristan Wertanzl in the final round, with Quinones taking second, Davis finishing fourth, and Wertanzl placing fifth.

The only non-Floridian in the final round was Avi Gulati of the Harker School (CA), who placed third.

Marco Munoz of A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts (FL) rounded out the final round field in sixth place.

Mullen will earn seventy points in the National Points Race for his victory and all extempers who finished in the semi-final rounds and beyond will earn points. The biggest mover after the tournament was Quinones, who now occupies the third position in the National Points Race behind Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) and Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA).  Updated National Points Race standings will be released near the end of the week.

Here are the results of the 2019 Sunvitational (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Joseph Mullen (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
2nd: Jose Quinones (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
3rd: Avi Gulati (The Harker School, California)
4th: Susana Davis (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
5th: Tristan Wertanzl (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
6th: Marco Munoz (A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)

Semi-Finalists

*Gustavo Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Tyler Loring (Western High School, Florida)
*Rehan Rupawalla (Tompkins High School, Texas)
*Max Schaked (Lake Highland Preparatory, Florida)
*Brendan Sossoman (Western High School, Florida)
*Alissa Vuillier (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Quarter-Finalists

*Dorothy Bogen (The Laurel School, Ohio)
*Angelica Boyette (South Plantation High School, Florida)
*Jose Leon (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Florida)
*Sabrina Lyn (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Quentin Powell (C. Leon King High School, Florida)
*Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School-Plantation, Florida)
*Jacqueline Sanchez (West Broward High School, Florida)
*Bhrajit Thakur (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Jonah Wexler (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*Cory Wurenberger (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Marc Zacarro (Western High School, Florida)
*Kevin Zhu (Pine View School, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks the NSU University School for posting the results of the tournament online.