Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) in Nashville, Tennessee hosted the season’s first major tournament last weekend, inviting the top 16 extempers in the country for a one of a kind competition.  Extempers competed in ten rounds against each other, hitting each other twice.

When the cumulative tournament finished, #10 Waleed Haider of Hendrickson High School (TX) emerged as the winner, winning his first National Points Race tournament of the year in three final round appearances.  Haider had not earned points since a runner-up finish at Yale at the beginning of the season but made an impact in Nashville, finishing six ranks clear of #1 Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX).  Haider took control of the tournament after the fifth round and never relinquished the lead.  He is the first Texan to win the title since 2019.

Zhang, who led the tournament after the first round, was a fifth place finisher last season.

NSDA defending national champions #19 Tea Shouldice of Half Hollow Hills East High School (NY) and #6 Anthony Babu of Concord-Carlisle High School (MA) took third and fourth, separated by two ranks.  Shouldice briefly led the tournament between rounds two and five.  Babu was attempting to win back-to-back National Points Race tournaments as he won the Princeton Classic last month.

#3 Rowan Seipp of A&M Consolidated High School (TX) continued a strong run since November, taking fifth place.

Last year’s National Points Race winner Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) earned his first points of the season, finishing sixth.  This was the same placing that Cheng earned at last year’s event.

Haider will receive a big boost in the National Points Race standings for winning MBA, earning 150 points since it is a second tier event.  All of the extempers that placed in the top six, the only finishing positions that MBA recognizes, will earn points.

Here are the results of the 2025 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin:

Champion:  Waleed Haider (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
2nd:  Robert Zhang (Elkins High School, Texas)
3rd:  Tea Shouldice (Half Hollow Hills High School East, New York)
4th:  Anthony Babu (Concord-Carlisle High School, Massachusetts)
5th:  Rowan Seipp (A&M Consolidated High School, Texas)
6th:  Brandon Cheng (Flintridge Preparatory School, California)

Participants

*Arya Goyal (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Aparna Iyer (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Daphne Kalir-Starr (The College Preparatory School, California)
*Kate Liu (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Kajal Parmar (Cary Academy, North Carolina)
*Charlotte Reitman (NSU University School, Florida)
*Sahana Srikanth (Mason High School, Ohio)
*Ellie Sohn (Flintridge Preparatory School, California)
*Evelyn Tsoi (Arcadia High School, California)
*Al Zaidi (Holy Trinity Episcopal School, Florida)

Extemp Central thanks MBA tournament director Adam Johnson for sending us the results.