[fblike]
Fourteen extempers remain in International and United States Extemp. Two more rounds this afternoon will trim the field of each event down to six for Friday and competitors will add ten ranks to their cumulative scores.
As was expected, the quarter-final round of International Extemp eliminated some of the season’s highest ranked extempers. There will not be a “double crown” winner this year as NCFL National Champion Yijia Liang of Upper Arlington High School (OH) was eliminated, as was MBA Exhibition Round Champion Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX). It was reported to us late yesterday that Liang, Lin, Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY), Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA), and Noah Wexler of Nova Senior High School (FL) would be facing off in round nine and it appears as if that round was a primary cause of Liang and Lin’s elimination. Other notables to be eliminated from International Extemp include Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ), who finished seventh in the category last year, and Patrick Wilson of Booker T. Washington High School (OK), who was ranked twenty-second in the National Points Race.
An interesting storyline is also unfolding in IX as Minnesota’s 2A state champion, Varoon Pazhyanur of Eastview High School, has advanced, giving the state a way to retain its final round championship in the category.
The United States Extemp field remained steady through ten rounds, with last year’s trio of finalists – Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), and Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA) – all advancing. Other National Points Race notables that advanced include Shawn Kant of Ridge High School (NJ), Vishal Narayanaswamy of James Madison Memorial High School (WI), Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), and Jay Sirot of Montville Township High School (NJ). The one major casualty from quarter-finals was Thomas Abel of the Delbarton School (NJ). Abel is currently ranked seventeenth in the National Points Race and finished third at the Barkley Forum in January.
Booker T. Washington High School’s hopes of winning a third straight U.S. Extemp championship also remain alive as junior Micah Cash advanced. Cash is the reigning Oklahoma U.S. Extemp Class 6A state champion, picking up where teammate Arel Rende left off, and NSDA may mirror that pattern.
Eight underclassmen made it to the semi-final round, with three making it in International Extemp and five making it in United States Extemp. Due to their performance, they have automatically qualified to next year’s NSDA National Tournament. They also automatically qualify to the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions assuming that tournament retains the same qualification procedures. The underclassmen extempers that advanced are Justin Graham, Roman Shemakov of McClintock High School (AZ), and Shreetika Singh of Seven Lakes High School (TX) in International Extemp and Micah Cash, Shawn Kant, Neil Patel of Plano West Senior High School (TX), Nathaniel Saffran, and Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX) in United States Extemp. Congratulations to these extempers and their coaches.
International Extemp
*(2) Brian Anderson (LaRue County High School, Kentucky)
*Owen Chang (Miramonte High School, California)
*(32) Rohan Dhoopar (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*(11) Jack Glaser (George Washington High School, Colorado)
*(1) Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Seckin Kara (Dallastown Area High School, Pennsylvania)
*(T141) Elizabeth Kingaby (Central Cabarrus High School, North Carolina)
*Varoon Pazhyanur (Eastview High School, Minnesota)
*(4) Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Roman Shemakov (McClintock High School, Arizona)
*(T92) Shreetika Singh (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Neil Tagare (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*(7) Noah Wexler (Nova Senior High School, Florida)
*(T54) Alex Ye (Gabrielino High School, California)
United States Extemp
*(T69) Micah Cash (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*Julia Couillard (Downers Grove South High School, Illinois)
*(T13) Ethan Hu (Leland High School, California)
*(9) Shawn Kant (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Ria Mazumdar (Albuquerque Academy, New Mexico)
*(15) Vishal Narayanaswamy (James Madison Memorial High School, Wisconsin)
*(T73) Neil Patel (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*(T13) Jasper Primack (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*(8) Nathaniel Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*(T20) Jay Sirot (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
*(38) Karna Venkatraj (A&M Consolidated High School, Texas)
*(3) Josh Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)
*(33) Marshall Webb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*(34) Brian Yu (Monte Vista High School-Danville, California)