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The first half of the 2015-2016 national circuit calendar is in the books with the conclusion of the George Mason University Patriot Games two weeks ago in Fairfax, Virginia. Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) won his second National Points Race contest of the season, edging Jacob Thompson of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) by judges’ preference. Saffran and Thompson traded first place ranks in the final round, with Saffran’s accumulation of three one’s enabling him to overcome an errant sixth place rank. Saffran will receive 100 points in the National Points Race for his win since George Mason is a third tier tournament.
Observers of the national circuit may have expected Trinity to place multiple finalists, but that honor went to Des Moines Roosevelt instead. In addition to Thompson, the school placed Daniel Drane in the final round, with Drane finishing fourth behind Saffran, Thompson, and Justin Cooper of Scarsdale High School (NY).
National Points Race leader and last year’s Patriot Games runner-up Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Graham did win the tournament’s Round Robin competition, though. Other notables that made an early exit in quarter-finals included Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) and Brian Xu of San Marino High School (CA).
Here are the results of the 2015 George Mason University Patriot Games (Click here for tab sheet):
Champion: Nathaniel Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
2nd: Jacob Thompson (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
3rd: Justin Cooper (Scarsdale High School, New York)
4th: Daniel Drane (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
5th: Nick Giuliano (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
6th: Marshall Sloane (Milton Academy, Massachusetts)
Semi-Finalists
*Kendra Blandon (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Keegan Hasson (Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia)
*Hasna Karim (Southside High School, South Carolina)
*Samantha Koreman (The University School, Florida)
*Tom Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
*Anton Salem (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Shreetika Singh (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Samhitha Sunkara (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
Quarter-Finalists
*Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Jack Beedle (Salem High School, Virginia)
*Kevin Bi (East Ridge High School, Minnesota)
*Vinay Bodapati (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Paul Bousquet (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Collin Brown (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*Manisha Dubey (Ardrey Kell High School, North Carolina)
*Gregory Fedorov (Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia)
*Justin Graham (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Will Haftel (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Alex Hirsch (Stuyvesant High School, New York)
*Maddie Jarrard (Brentwood Academy, Tennessee)
*Nate Jones (Cary Academy, North Carolina)
*Brian Levy (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Jason Ma (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*Emma McCaleb (Battle Ground Academy, Tennessee)
*Devesh Modi (The Hawken School, Ohio)
*Rishi Narahari (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Allice Park (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Aaron Patel (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
*Shaloni Pinto (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
*David Polefrone (Marriotts Ridge High School, Maryland)
*Collin Quigley (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
*Victor Sanchez (Wellington High School, Florida)
*Michael Wang (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
*Jake Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)
*Brian Xu (San Marino High School, California)
*Jack Yan (Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Florida)
Extemp Central thanks George Mason University for putting the results of the tournament online.