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Tomorrow’s United States Extemp final round holds great potential tomorrow, as all six competitors are ranked in the top twenty-five of the National Points Race. The round will feature the winners of some of the year’s biggest national circuit competitions and four state champions. All of the participants were also competitors at this year’s Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, producing what might be the first all-MBA final in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) history.
The round will take place at 11:30 a.m. EST tomorrow, with the NSDA live streaming the competition. Extemp Central will provide a recap once it concludes, with Logan Scisco and Josh Wartel, both of whom were U.S. Extemp final round national champions (2003 and 2015), providing insight. Additional comments are welcome in the comment section.
MICAH CASH
*School: Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma
*Class: Senior
*Notable 2015-2016 Finishes: Oklahoma Secondary School Activitiy Association State Tournament-1st (USX); St. Mark’s-1st (IX), 3rd (USX); MBA Extemp Round Robin-4th; Harvard-Semifinalist
*Previous NSDA Nationals Finishes: 2015-12th (USX); 2014-Round 9 (LD)
*What’s at Stake: Five years ago very few on the national circuit knew much about Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That changed when Arel Rende won two consecutive U.S. Extemp national championships at the 2013 and 2014 NSDA National Tournaments. Now, Booker T. Washington has the chance to win its third USX national championship in four years if Cash can come through tomorrow. Cash has never been in an NSDA final round, but he advanced to round twelve of USX last year, placing twelfth overall. Also, Cash has competed well against top competition this year, placing first at St. Mark’s in International Extemp and placing fourth at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin.
KATHERINE HU
*School: Plano Senior High School, Texas
*Class: Junior
*Notable 2015-2016 Finishes: Harvard-1st; University of Texas-1st (IX), 1st (USX); St. Mark’s-3rd (IX), Semifinalist (USX); Texas Forensic Association State Tournament-Semifinalist (USX)
*Previous NSDA Nationals Finishes: 2015-Did Not Break (USX); 2014-Did Not Break (USX)
*What’s at Stake: Hu made headlines in February by winning Harvard, the largest national circuit tournament of the season. This vaulted her from 103rd in the National Points Race into the top ten. Also, Hu won both halves of the University of Texas Longhorn Classic in December, one of the largest tournaments in Texas, a state that has had a great run at this year’s nationals. Her ability to navigate large-field events may serve her well tomorrow as she will attempt to become the first female extemper to win U.S. Extemp since Becca Goldstein of Newton South did so in 2008.
NEIL PATEL
*School: Plano West Senior High School, Texas
*Class: Senior
*Notable 2015-2016 Finishes: Texas Forensic Association State Tournament-1st (IX); Extemp TOC-3rd; St. Mark’s-5th (USX), 6th (IX); University of Kentucky TOC-6th; Glenbrooks-Semifinalist
*Previous NSDA Nationals Finishes: 2015-8th (USX); 2014-Did Not Break (USX)
*What’s at Stake: Like Micah Cash, Patel was one of last year’s semi-finalists that broke through into this year’s USX final round. Patel is one of four state champions in this year’s final round and he carries an impressive national circuit resume, placing in the top six of the two TOC tournaments ths season. If Patel wins he would be the first Plano West extemper to win an NSDA title. He would also become the first Texas extemper to win an NSDA extemp championship since 1995.
JACOB THOMPSON
*School: Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa
*Class: Junior
*Notable 2015-2016 Finishes: Iowa High School Forensic League All-Iowa Finals-1st (USX); Florida Blue Key-2nd (USX), Semifinalist (IX); George Mason-2nd; University of Kentucky TOC-5th; Extemp TOC-Semifinalist; Glenbrooks-Semifinalist; Marshall Speech Spectacular-Semifinalist; Wake Forest-Semifinalist
*Previous NSDA Nationals Finishes: 2015-Octofinalist (IX); 2014-Did Not Break (USX)
*What’s at Stake: Although Harry Strong is no longer coaching Des Moines Roosevelt, the school is still going strong, with Thompson and teammate Daniel Drane becoming a fixture on the leaderboards of national circuit tournaments throughout the season. Thompson is a two-time Iowa state champion in extemp, winning the U.S. Extemp category at this year’s Iowa High School Forensic League All-Iowa Finals. Relative to some of his final round counterparts, Thompson has not been in as many national circuit finals, but he does have sizable elimination round experience that could prove valuable tomorrow. If he wins he would become the first Iowa extemper to capture the USX national championship.
MARSHALL WEBB
*School: Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas
*Class: Senior
*Notable 2015-2016 Finishes: Glenbrooks-1st; St. Mark’s-1st (USX), 2nd (IX); Texas Forensic Association State Tournament-1st (USX); California Invitational-5th; MBA Extemp Round Robin-5th; Extemp TOC-6th
*Previous NSDA Nationals Finishes: 2015-6th (USX); 2014-Quarterfinalist (USX)
*What’s at Stake: Webb entered a very elite group by reaching an NSDA final round for the second consecutive year, a feat that is more difficult than many people imagine. Having placed sixth at last year’s nationals, Webb will want to improve on that performance and he has the experience to do so, placing in the top five of the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin and reaching the final round of the Extemp TOC this season. Also, Webb won one of the largest events of the year at Glenbrooks back in November so he will try to channel that magic one last time on the final round stage tomorrow. Saint Mary’s Hall has never had an extemporaneous speaking national champion.
BRIAN XU
*School: San Marino High School, California
*Class: Junior
*Notable 2015-2016 Finishes: Extemp TOC-1st; Stanford-1st (IX), 1st (USX); Glenbrooks-2nd; Yale-Semifinalist; George Mason-Quarterfinalist; NCFL Nationals-Octofinalist
*Previous NSDA Nationals Finishes: 2015-Quarterfinalist (USX)
*What’s at Stake: Xu is one of three juniors competing in this yaer’s final round and he has a chance to win two major championships, having already captured the Extemp TOC last month. San Marino has had two national champions since extemp was split into IX and USX back in 1985, with the school winning the USX championship in 1996 when Matt Spence won the title. The last time San Marino had an extemper in a USX final was Oscar Wang in 2010, who placed third behind winner Tyler Fabbri and eventual IX national champion Dylan Slinger. One of the things to watch in tomorrow’s final round is how Xu’s style compares to his competitors, as the round will have a very Southwestern flavor. This may help him stand out.