Category: MBA Coverage Page 7 of 9

On December 3, 2010

The latest MBA Bracketology, which takes into account Glenbrooks and the Florida Blue Key, has been released. Find out who is now considered a lock, who is now considered likely, and who still has work to do to secure a spot in the field. You can access MBA Bracketology by clicking here or by clicking on the “MBA Bracket” tab above.

MBA Bracketology Updated

On October 28, 2010

See the changes that have been made to MBA Bracketology after the St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational. Click on the “MBA Bracketology” tab at the top of the page to find out who moved up and who moved down.

The Debut of MBA Bracketology

On October 7, 2010

In the spirit of Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology” on ESPN.com, Extemp Central presents its own “Bracketology” for the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin Tournament. MBA is one of the most prestigious extemp tournaments in the country and invites the top sixteen extempers to compete against each other in a ten round, three day tournament. Extemp Central is trying to predict the field that will be invited to compete in Nashville, Tennessee in early January so check it out by clicking on the MBA Bracketology tab above or clicking here.

Remember, the information provided is for entertainment purposes only and only reflects the views of Extemp Central. MBA plays no part in MBA Bracketology.

MBA Pick’em Contest Winners!

On January 15, 2010

Here were the results of the MBA pick’em contest. We had 11 participants in the contest. There was a five-way tie for third place that was broken by picking the Exhibition Round winner and how many total ranks the winning competitor would have. No one correctly chose Jane Kessner as the Exhibition Round winner and no one correctly chose Dillon Huff’s cumulative total of ranks at the tournament (which was 47). Some people tied for third but did not submit a tiebreaker score!

Winner: Shikha Garg (Plano Senior High School, Texas) [25 pts.]
2nd: Jason Bell (Columbia University, New York) [22 pts.]
3rd: Scott Pollack (Pennsbury High School, Pennsylvania) [15 pts. w/44 tiebreaker]
4th: Adam Potrzebowski (Chesterton High School, Indiana) [15 pts. w/42 tiebreaker]
5th: Kimia Dargahi (Anderson HS, Texas) [15 pts. w/41 tiebreaker]

Extemp Central thanks those that participated and check back for future contests this semester!

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Huff Edges Out Kessner For Overall Title; Kessner Wins Exhibition Round

In MBA Coverage, National Circuit Results

The 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin has concluded in Nashville, Tennessee. Dillon Huff of Southlake Carroll High School in Texas emerged victorious in the tournament for his fifth national circuit championship of the season defeating Jane Kessner of Walt Whitman High School in Maryland by a mere two ranks. Huff’s cumulative total across all ten rounds of the tournament was a 47. However, Kessner won the Exhibition Round by taking six first place ranks among the eleven student judges and going 1-1-2 from the MBA alumni panel of Jason Warren, Hunter Kendrick, and Logan Scisco. The Exhibition round was made up of questions from past NFL final rounds. As a sidenote, Huff and Kessner were the fifth and sixth place finishers in last year’s round robin.

Here are the final results:

Champion: Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
2nd: Jane Kessner (Walt Whitman High School, Maryland)
3rd: Aaron Lutkowitz (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)
4th: Nabeel Zewail (San Marino High School, California)
5th: Gabriela Barahona (Spring High School, Texas)
6th (next out): Jacob Baker (Bellarmine College Prep, California)

All of these extempers have earned points toward the 2009-2010 National Points Race. These standings will be updated by the end of the week. Also, by the end of the week Extemp Central will release the names of the winners of our MBA pick’em contest. Extemp Central congratulates all of the Exhibition Round participants and all those invited to compete at this year’s Round Robin tournament.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Exhibition Round Participants Revealed

All ten rounds at the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin have come to a close. Adam Johnson, the director of the Round Robin, has just finished announcing the five competitors who will compete in the tournament’s prestigious Exhibition Round. These five competitors have placed in the top five of the tournament, although the order is unknown. Also, the sixth place finisher at the tournament (who is not in the Exhibition Round but will be recognized at awards) will receive National Points Race points along with the top five.

Here are your participants in the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin. They are listed in the order that they will speak for the round with their National Points Race rank in parenthesis to the left of their name.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Tenth and Final Pairings Are Released

The last round of draw at the MBA Extemp Round Robin has just gotten underway. This is the last opportunity for competitors to earn a way into the Exhibition Round and secure their final placing in the tournament. Exhibition Round participants are set to be announced at 1:35 p.m. CST and draw for that round will commence at 1:50 p.m. CST.

The topic area for this round is the Americas.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Day 3 Begins with Round 9 Pairings

Draw is currently underway for round 9 of 10 at the MBA Extemp Round Robin. Extempers will finish these two rounds, have a lunch break, and the Exhibition Round participants will be announced shortly after 1:30. The last round saw some changes in placing among the participants and if today is anything like past MBA tournaments it will be a day where someone who is outside of the Exhibition Round will make a charge to be in it. For these pairings each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round is Domestic Economics.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 8 Pairings

Due to some technical difficulties we were unable to post round 8 pairings when they went up. However, these were the pairings for round 8. In an interesting sidenote, the traditional “MBA line graph” has shown that many extempers are starting to flatline in their placing, with fewer fluctuations than over the first several rounds of the tournament. Also, the graph shows that five extempers have been in first place during the tournament.

Extempers draw for round 9 at 9:10 a.m. CST on Sunday. Sunday will have the last two rounds of competition and the Exhibition Round. Exhibition Round participants are scheduled to be released at 1:35 p.m. CST and it will be announced ASAP here at Extemp Central.

For these pairings, each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round was Africa & the Middle East.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 7 Pairings

After taking a poll, tournament director Adam Johnson has decided that tonight will go through round 8 instead of round 7. Also, for those wondering what was happening with the topic area in the last round it was this year’s experimental round at MBA. During this round, speakers were given an editorial and then given three prominent figures who might respond to that editorial. It was the speaker’s job to read the editorial and then choose one of the three prominent figures they were given and craft their speech along the lines of “If you were ________, how would you respond to this editorial?” Reaction among judges to the round was mixed.

The topic area for round 7 is everyone’s favorite topic area: Domestic Social.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round Six Pairings

We have two rounds left in the day! Round six draw will take place at 4:00. Each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round is Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 5 Pairings

Following lunch, the fifth round of the MBA Extemp Round Robin is getting ready to take place. This round will be followed by round six and then a refresher from 5:30-6:15 until draw for the final round of the day takes place. Each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round is Asia.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 4 Begins

The draw for round four is currently taking and here are the subsequent pairings for that round. After this round there will be a lunch break for an hour and forty-five minutes. Draw for round five will begin at 1:45. Each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round is Domestic Politics.

Live from the 2010 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Day 2 Begins; Round 3 Pairings Are Released