2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Sweet Sixteen Part I

Starting today and running through Thursday, Extemp Central will be providing detailed profiles of the sixteen extempers that have been invited to this year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Round Robin at Montgomery Bell Academy.  These extempers will be competing for 150 National Points Race points and the opportunity to add their name to a distinguished list of champions at one of the most prestigious extemp tournament of the year.

Just like last year, Extemp Central will provide live coverage of the event by providing pairings for rounds as well as Exhibition Round participants when they become available on Sunday afternoon.  Results will also be provided after the tournament concludes.  There will also be photographs posted from the tournament so Extemp Central readers can get a better idea of what is taking place at the tournament.

The profiles of the sixteen extempers attending will be grouped into fours and will be listed in alphabetical order.

KEY:  DNA = Did Not Attend; DNC = Did Not Clear (Break); DNF = Did Not Final; NR = Not Ranked

Catherine Chiodo
*School:  Des Moines Roosevelt High School (Des Moines, IA)
*Class:  Senior
*NFL Points:  1,788
*Previous Invites to MBA:  None
*National Points Race Rank:  11^th (50 pts.)
*Last Year’s National Points Race Rank:  NR
*National Circuit Finishes This Season:  St. Marks-Quarters (IX) and Semis (USX); Florida Blue Key-4^th (Round Robin), 6^th (IX), 4^th (USX); Glenbrooks-Semis, George Mason-3^rd (Round Robin) and Semis (Patriot Games)
*National Finishes Last Season:  CFL-DNC; NFL-DNC (IX)
*Notes:  Is the fourth bid Des Moines Roosevelt High School has received to the Round Robin and the fourth bid the school has received in five years…Did not clear last year at either national tournament last season, but received a bid because of consistency in breaking at almost every national circuit tournament she has attended with the exception of Yale this season…Finish at GMU may be tempered by the fact that she was sick during the tournament…Sits just outside of the top ten of the current National Points Race and is the only extemper in the top fifteen who does not have a final round placing to their credit at a National Points Race tournament this season…Has a good track record this year in Round Robin events, which may bode well for her performance in this year’s tournament…Attended last year’s tournament as an observer, so it won’t be her first time in Nashville for this event.

Susan Czaikowski
*School:  Lamar Consolidated High School (Rosenberg, TX)
*Class:  Senior
*NFL Points:  2,411
*Previous Invites to MBA:  None
*National Points Race Rank:  NR
*Last Year’s National Points Race Rank:  T34th (45 pts.)
*National Circuit Finishes This Season:  N/A
*National Finishes Last Season:  CFL-DNA; NFL-10^th (USX)
*Notes:  Hasn’t traveled to a national circuit tournament this season…Semi-final finish in United States Extemp at NFL Nationals earned her a spot in the field…Will be joined in the field by fellow USX semi-finalists Jared Odessky, Forrest Richardson, and Kevin Ye and the clashes between these extempers may preview the USX final at NFL Nationals this year…One of the three Texas competitors that were invited to this year’s Round Robin…Was a semi-finalist at last year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University…Major focus is United States Extemp, which could be a help or hindrance over the ten rounds of the tournament as extempers from mixed states have different track records at the tournament…Second extemper from Lamar Consolidated High School to be invited to the Round Robin.  Weston Elkins was the last extemper to be invited from Lamar Consolidated and he appeared in the 2004 edition of the tournament.  Elkins placed in the top ten, but did not make the Exhibition Round.

Kimia Dargahi
*School:  L.C. Anderson High School (Austin, Texas)
*Class:  Senior
*NFL Points:  1,301
*Previous Invites to MBA:  None
*National Points Race Rank:  12^th (43 pts.)
*Last Year’s National Points Race Rank:  N/A
*National Circuit Finishes This Season:  St. Marks-2^nd (IX), Quarters (USX); Glenbrooks-5^th
*National Finishes Last Season:  CFL-DNA; NFL-DNC (USX)
*Notes:  Is the first extemper from L.C. Anderson High School to receive a bid to the Round Robin…Is one of three extempers from Texas in this year’s field…Did not break at NFL Nationals last season, but during the 2009-2010 year she did semi-final at Glenbrooks…Finished fifth at Glenbrooks, which makes her bid somewhat controversial because Ross Slaughter of Walt Whitman High School placed higher than she did at that tournament, but was not offered a bid.  However, her additional finishes at St. Mark’s may have put her over Slaughter and gotten her into the field…Appears to favor USX, but the strong St. Mark’s finish in IX this year shows that she can manage both extemp categories well…Sits just behind fellow MBA participant Catherine Chiodo in the National Points Race and can improve her status by placing in the top six this weekend…Was fifth in last year’s MBA pick’em contest and gets a chance to enter the field as a participant this year.

Nathaniel Donahue
*School:  Durham Academy (Durham, North Carolina)
*Class:  Senior
*NFL Points:  1,718
*Previous Invites to MBA:  None
*National Points Race Rank:  1^st (280 pts.)
*Last Year’s National Points Race Rank:  31^st (50 pts.)
*National Circuit Finishes This Season:  Wake Forest-2^nd, Yale-2^nd, Florida Blue Key-1^st (Round Robin), 3^rd (USX), Semis (IX), Glenbrooks-2^nd, George Mason-1^st
*National Finishes Last Season:  CFL-DNA; NFL-Quarters (USX)
*Notes:  Is the first extemper from North Carolina to be invited to the Round Robin…Enters the field with a commanding lead in the National Points Race and he can expand that lead even further if he beats Nabeel Zewail, who is the next highest ranked extemper in the field… A victory or top six finish would also bolster Durham Academy in the National Team Points Race…Is the reigning North Carolina state extemp champion…Last season he was a third place finisher at Yale and semi-finaled at Wake Forest, Emory, and the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University…Has one Round Robin victory to his credit this season and he has beaten almost every extemper in the field this year in head-to-head matchups…One of the many extempers who prefers to do United States Extemp in this year’s field…Can likely be considered the favorite in this year’s field, but that prediction be can tempered by Zewail’s presence in the field.

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