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The Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin will take place this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament invites the best extemporaneous speakers in the country and is one of the four major extemporaneous speaking tournaments. The winner will receive 150 points in the National Points Race since MBA is one of two second tier events on the national circuit calendar.
There will be a different winner of this year’s Round Robin. Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) won the last three Round Robins and her graduation last spring ensures that this year will feature a new tournament champion. Last year, Nellans survived the sternest test to her winning streak, as she came from behind on the final day to catch Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA) and proceeded to defeat him in the tournament’s Exhibition Round. Wartel returns to this year’s competition seeking the title that he came so close to winning last year.
This year’s MBA field features six returning competitors, including one Exhibition Round participant (Wartel), the winners of eight 2014-2015 Extemp TOC qualifying tournaments, five state champions, and eight of the top ten competitors in the National Points Race. Three extempers represent schools from Texas and Florida, giving both states the most representatives in this year’s competition. There is only one female extemper in the field as well – Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX).
Glenbrooks champion Jack Glaser of George Washington High School (CO), Yale and New York City Invitational winner Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), and two-time California United States Extemp champion and NSDA finalist Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA) all declined bids to this year’s tournament due to prior commitments.
Today and tomorrow, Extemp Central will provide brief capsules for each of the sixteen extempers invited to participate in this year’s MBA Round Robin. The capsules have been arranged in alphabetical order.
KEY: DNA = Did Not Attend; DNC = Did Not Clear (Break); NR = Not Ranked
BRIAN ANDERSON
*School: LaRue County High School (Hodgenville, Kentucky)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: One (6th-2014)
*Top School Finish at MBA: 6th (Brian Anderson – 2014)
*National Ranking: 6th
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Barkley Forum – 1st; George Mason – 3rd; Yale – 4th; Extemp TOC – Semifinalist; Glenbrooks – Semifinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-Octofinalist; NSDA-14th (USX)
*Notes: Took sixth in Round Robin debut last season…One of six MBA veterans in this year’s field…Won both Kentucky state tournaments last year for the second consecutive season…Defended his championship at the Western Kentucky University Hilltopper Classic, a University of Kentucky TOC qualifier, to close out December…Made the final round of the George Mason University Patriot Games for the second consecutive season…Became the third Kentucky extemper in ten years to win the Barkley Forum last year…Will be aiming to become the highest Kentucky finisher in Round Robin history. Hunter Kendrick of Danville High School has the record with a third place finish at the 2008 event.
VAIKUNTH BALAJI
*School: Ridge High School (Basking Ridge, New Jersey)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: One (Participant-2014)
*Top School Finish at MBA: Participant (Bharat Ayyar – 2006; Peter Vogel – 2011; Vaikunth Balaji – 2014)
*National Ranking: 14th
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: George Mason – 6th (Patriot Games); Yale – Semifinalist; Villiger – Quarterfinalist; Harvard-Octofinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-Octofinalist; NSDA-7th (IX)
*Notes: Returns to this year’s Round Robin seeking to improve upon his performance at last year’s tournament, where he finished outside of the Exhibition Round…One of five juniors in this year’s field…Won last year’s International Extemp division at the New Jersey Forensic League (NJFL) State Tournament as a sophomore. He defeated Cristine Oh of Montville Township, who won the Princeton Classic, to win the title…Had an impressive seventh place finish in International Extemp against a tough field at last season’s NSDA National Tournament…Despite receiving three previous Round Robin bids, no Ridge extemper has yet to make it to the Exhibition Round…Highest placing on the national circuit this season is sixth at the George Mason University Patriot Games.
MICAH CASH
*School: Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: 5th (Ariel Rende – 2013)
*National Ranking: T31st
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: St. Mark’s-1st (USX), 7th (IX); University of Texas-Semifinalist (IX), Semifinalist (USX); Extemp TOC-Quarterfinalist; Harvard-Quarterfinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NSDA-Round 9 (LD)
*Notes: Is the second extemper from Booker T. Washington High School to be invited to the Round Robin in as many years. Teammate Ariel Rende finished fifth at last year’s competition…Did not compete in extemp at last year’s NSDA National Tournament, preferring to do Lincoln-Douglas debate, but he did make outrounds at Harvard and the Extemp TOC last season…Won the United States Extemp portion of St. Mark’s this year, accounting for the points that he has earned thus far in the National Points Race…Could become the first extemper from Oklahoma to win the Round Robin.
ROHAN DHOOPAR
*School: Bellarmine College Preparatory (San Jose, California)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: One (Participant – 2014)
*Top School Finish at MBA: 2nd (Evan Larson – 2009)
*National Ranking: NR
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: James Logan MLK Invitational – 2nd (IX)
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NSDA-3rd (IX)
*Notes: Along with Josh Wartel he is one of two NSDA finalists in this year’s tournament…Has not competed at an Extemp TOC qualifying tournament so far this year…Is the only competitor in the field that is not currently ranked in the National Points Race, but that will likely change after MBA whether that is due to Dhoopar reaching the Exhibition Round or the National Points Race including three California tournaments in January and February…Won the California High School Speech Association (CHSSA) state championship in International Extemp as a sophomore in 2013. He reached the semi-final round of the CHSAA tournament in IX last year…If he wins he would be the first California extemper to win MBA since 2011.
JUSTIN GRAHAM
*School: Trinity Preparatory School (Winter Park, Florida)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: 3rd (Miles Saffran – 2014)
*National Ranking: 1st
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Florida Blue Key-1st (USX), 2nd (IX); George Mason-2nd (Patriot Games), 3rd (Round Robin); University of Kentucky TOC-3rd; Crestian Tradition-4th; Harvard-6th; Glenbrooks-Semifinalist; Sunvitational-Semifinalist; Wake Forest-Semifinalist; Extemp TOC-Quarterfinalist; Yale-Quarterfinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-Semifinalist; NSDA-Quarterfinalist (IX)
*Notes: Enters the Round Robin as the highest ranking competitor in the National Points Race, enjoying a twenty-four point lead over fellow Round Robin competitors Yijia Liang and Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler. A victory at MBA would go a long way toward enhancing his lead. No Florida extemper has ever won the National Points Race…Is one of two extempers from Trinity Preparatory School in this year’s field along with Nathaniel Saffran. They represent the second and third Trinity extempers, respectively, to be invited to compete at the tournament after Miles Saffran received bids in 2013 and 2014, making the Exhibition Round each time…Placed second at the Florida Forensic League State Tournament in United States Extemp last season behind Miles Saffran…Also took third at the New York City Invitational in October, which was a National Points Race event, but not an Extemp TOC qualifier…A Florida extemper has not won MBA in thirteen years.
JAD HAMDAN
*School: Jackson High School (Massillon, Ohio)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: Two (Participant-2013, 2014)
*Top School Finish at MBA: Participant (Rohan Bhargava – 2010; Abhishek Bhargava – 2012; Alex Wasdahl – 2012; Jad Hamdan – 2013, 2014)
*National Ranking: T38th
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: George Mason-Quarterfinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NSDA-11th (USX)
*Notes: Returns to Nashville for the third time in his career, sharing that distinction with fellow Round Robin competitor Josh Wartel…Made it back to the semi-final round of United States Extemp at last year’s NSDA National Tournament, placing eleventh. As a freshman, he placed tenth in the category…Finished second last year at the Ohio High School Speech League State Tournament in United States Extemp. This was the second time that he finished runner-up in the category in as many years…Will look to put Jackson High School into the Exhibition Round for the first time. Only seven schools have more bids to the Round Robin, but Jackson is the only one among them to never place an extemper in the Exhibition Round…The state of Ohio has never had an Exhibition Round participant at MBA.
DAVIS LARKIN
*School: Parish Episcopal School (Dallas, Texas)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: One (Participant-2014)
*Top School Finish at MBA: Participant (Cyrus Ghaznavi-2013, Davis Larkin-2014)
*National Ranking: 8th
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: University of Texas-1st (USX), 2nd (IX); Glenbrooks-2nd; Plano West-2nd (IX); University of Kentucky TOC-2nd; Winston Curchill-2nd (IX); St. Mark’s-5th (USX), 6th (IX); Extemp TOC-Quarterfinalist; Harvard-Quarterfinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NSDA-Quarterfinalist (IX)
*Notes: This is the third consecutive year that an extemper from Parish Episcopal will compete at the Round Robin…Like last year, he enters the Round Robin with an upward trajectory in his finishes…Most notable performance on the national circuit this season was finishing second to Jack Glaser at the Glenbrooks in November…Was the highest finishing extemper when both extemp categories were taken into consideration at the University of Texas-Austin Longhorn Classic in early December…Won the final round at the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions last year. He finished runner-up to eventual NSDA International Extemp National Champion Miles Saffran…Reached the semi-final round in International Extemp at last year’s Texas Forensic Association State Tournament…Could become the first extemper from Parish Episcopal to reach the Exhibition Round.
YIJIA LIANG
*School: Upper Arlington High School (Columbus, Ohio)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: First appearance for school
*National Ranking: 2nd
*2014 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Wake Forest-1st; Florida Blue Key-3rd (IX), Semifinalist (USX); George Mason-4th; University of Kentucky TOC-4th; Yale-6th; Extemp TOC-Semifinalist; Glenbrooks-Semifinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-Semifinalist; NSDA-DNA
*Notes: Will be the first Upper Arlington extemper to make an appearance at the Round Robin…Is one of two Ohio extempers in the field along with Jad Hamdan…Won the first national circuit tournament of the season at Wake Forest, where he defeated fellow Round Robin competitors Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler and Nathaniel Saffran…Enters the Round Robin as the second highest ranked extemper in the National Points Race, trailing Justin Graham by twenty-four points. Along with Sapiro-Gheiler he has the highest number of National Points Race final round appearances this year with four…Took third at last year’s Ohio High School Speech League State Tournament in International Extemp.
Check back tomorrow for our profiles of the other eight competitors.