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History was made Sunday at the 2014 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC). Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) won her third consecutive TOC championship and her seventh major championship. Nellans victory over Chase Harrison of Millburn High School (NJ) gives her more major championships than any extemper in history. She has also won the second leg of the Grand Slam for the third straight year. In 2012, Nellans came just shy of becoming the second extemper in history to win a season Grand Slam when she finished third in International Extemp at the NFL (now NSDA) National Tournament. If she were to win the NSDA National Tournament this year, she would complete a career Grand Slam, something only one other extemper – Kevin Troy of Eagan High School – has ever done.
The tournament featured sixty extempers and the final round contained the top five finishers from this year’s Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin. The finalists also shared two national championships, six NSDA final round appearances, and eleven 2014 TOC qualifying championships between them. Two of the finalists, Nellans and third place finisher Miles Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), will compete in International Extemp at the 2014 NSDA National Tournament, while the other four (Harrison, Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), Arel Rende of Booker T. Washington High School (OK), and Sydney Walter of Salado High School (TX)) will compete in United States Extemp. It is very likely that elements of this TOC final round will be played out again in a month’s time in Overland Park, Kansas.
The TOC also gives out a service and coaching award each year. This year’s service award went to Harry Strong of Des Moines Roosevelt. The coaching award went to Meredith Deaton of Booker T. Washington.
Lake Braddock Secondary School was the tournament’s sweepstakes award winner, besting Booker T. Washington by ten and a half points.
According to TOC qualifying rules, all extempers reaching elimination rounds at the tournament automatically qualify for the 2015 TOC. Fourteen extempers met this criteria and earn tickets back to Evanston next season. These extempers are indicated in italics below. Extemp Central will have the 2015 TOC qualification board posted just prior to the NCFL Grand National Tournament.
Here are the results of the 2014 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):
Champion: Lily Nellans (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
2nd: Chase Harrison (Millburn High School, New Jersey)
3rd: Miles Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
4th: Josh Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)
5th: Arel Rende (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
6th: Sydney Walter (Salado High School, Texas)
Semi-Finalists
*Brian Anderson (LaRue County High School, Kentucky)
*Grant Bumgarner (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*Yijia Liang (Upper Arlington High School, Ohio)
*Adam Stromme (Eagan High School, Minnesota)
*Ben Tobin (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)
*Drayton Willey (Salina High School Central, Kansas)
Quarter-Finalists
*Cosmo Albrecht (Robert E. Lee High School, Texas)
*Sophia Alvarez (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*Micah Cash (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*David Dam (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Vinesh Kannan (Illinois Math and Science Academy, Illinois)
*Davis Larkin (Parish Episcopal School, Texas)
*Vishal Narayanaswamy (James Madison Memorial High School, Wisconsin)
*Jordan Rojas (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
*Jonah Scharf (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)
*Jay Sirot (Montville High School, New Jersey)
*Marshall Webb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
Extemp Central thanks Northwestern University for putting the tab sheet online and Bill Thompson for providing us with live updates of the tournament throughout the weekend.