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After 12 rounds of competition only six competitors remain in United States Extemp and International Extemp at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

United States Extemp will take place at 2:30 p.m. CT on Friday, with International Extemp following at 3:45 p.m. CT. Final rounds for each event can be viewed via livestream provided by the NSDA at this link.

National Points Race leader Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ) was eliminated in the quarter-finals of U.S. Extemp. This means that if Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) were to finish in the top 3 of International Extemp on Friday or finish fourth and win the final round, he would win this year’s National Points Race.

Extemp Central congratulates the following extempers for reaching finals in their respective category! An extemper’s National Points Race rank is indicated by their name, if applicable.

United States Extemp

*Brayson Holmes (Clark High School, Nevada)
*Saathvik Kannan (Columbia-Hickman High School, Missouri)
*Isabella Razdan (Lincoln East High School, Nebraska)
*Tea Shouldice (Half Hollow Hills High School East, New York)
*(12) Evelyn Tsoi (Arcadia High School, California)
*Ella Witalec (The Laurel School, Ohio)

International Extemp

*Anthony Babu (Concord-Carlisle High School, Massachusetts)
*(2) Brandon Cheng (Flintridge Preparatory School, California)
*Maximilian Guo (BASIS Independent – Silicon Valley, California)
*Ethem Gulcu (Monte Vista High School, California)
*Daniel Rupawalla (Tompkins High School, Texas)
*(17) Rohit Vakkalagadda (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)

2014 NSDA Nationals: IX Final Round Preview

By geniao44446

On June 19, 2014

In NSDA News

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236 competitors began the week in International Extemp and now the field has been chopped down to six. One of those six competitors will become the 2014 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) International Extemporaneous Speaking Champion. The IX final round will commence at 11:00 a.m. CST on Friday. Extemp Central will provide a recap of the final round after it concludes.

Extemp Central has provided an overview to give its readers some background on who they will see in tomorrow’s final. The format used for each participant is similar to that used for our “Sweet Sixteen” pieces for the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin in January.

This year’s IX final has five states represented. Seniors make up two-thirds of the round, and five of the finalists are former participants in the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin. The IX final features the only two female extempers left standing in either extemp category at the end of twelve rounds of competition. Three of the competitors come from schools that have had an extemper win an IX national championship within the last five years. Five competitors have won state championships, and three of them won Extemp TOC qualifying tournaments this season.

2014 NSDA Nationals: USX Final Round Preview

By geniao44446

On June 19, 2014

In NSDA News

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Six competitors remain from the estimated 248 extempers that began the 2014 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament on Monday. The United States Extemp final will take place tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. CST. Extemp Central will provide a recap of the round after it concludes.

This year’s USX round is equally split between juniors and seniors and features four state champions, as well as the defending USX national champion. The participants share nine Extemp TOC qualifying tournament titles between them.

2014 NSDA Nationals: Friday’s Finals Are Set

By geniao44446

On June 18, 2014

In NSDA News

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The finals postings have dropped at the 2014 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament and we now know who will be competing in the International and United States Extemp finals on Friday morning. After competing for twelve rounds, all of the finalists will have tomorrow off to rest.

Throughout the entire tournament, the top five of last year’s final round of United States Extemp continued to trudge forward, but semi-finals completely blew up the idea of having anything resembling last year’s final round. Three of last year’s finalists, all of whom placed second through fourth, will not be appearing in Friday’s final. Christopher Jordan of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ), Chase Harrison of Millburn High School (NJ), and Adam Stromme of Eagan High School (MN) were eliminated after round twelve. Also eliminated was Nida Ansari of Riverside High School (SC), who was the only remaining female competitor in the event.

These eliminations do not mean that Friday’s USX final will not be interesting. Arel Rende of Booker T. Washington High School (OK) will have an opportunity to defend his national title. He will square off against a geographically diverse field that includes Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), who placed fifth at last year’s nationals. Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), the George Mason University Patriot Games winner in December, and two-time California USX state champion Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA) are other notables in the final. Rounding out the USX final are Arizona Division I state champion Joe Russell of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ) and Winston Churchill USX champion Cosmo Albrecht of Robert E. Lee High School (TX).

In International Extemp, Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) will square off with Miles Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) for the last time in a 2013-2014 final round. Nellans will be participating in her third consecutive NSDA extemp final round. Three of the other speakers in the round are Montgomery Extemp Round Robin alumni: Isabella Paretti of Cypress Bay High School (FL), Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA), and Gabe Slater of Denver East High School (CO). Rounding out the field will be Dylan Adelman of Lakeville South High School (MN), who just barely missed out on last year’s final round and placed seventh.

No school managed to get more than one extemper into this year’s final rounds across both categories. California and Florida each have two finalists, which is more than any other state.

On Friday, the U.S. Extemp final will kick off at 9:30 a.m. CST and will be followed by the International Extemp final round at 11:00 a.m. Both rounds are being streamed online by the NSDA at this link. Time permitting, Extemp Central will provide a breakdown of all of this year’s finalists tomorrow.

Extemp Central congratulates all of the finalists on their accomplishment and wishes them the best of luck on Friday morning.

2014 NSDA Nationals: Semi-Finalists Released!

By geniao44446

On June 18, 2014

In NSDA News

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The field in International Extemp and United States Extemp has now been cut to fourteen. Competitors have two more rounds of competition this afternoon which will determine who will be in Friday morning’s final rounds.

As expected, the quarter-final round saw some notable names fall by the wayside. In International Extemp, Lyubov Kapko of Tempe Preparatory Academy (AZ), who finished third last year in Birmingham, dropped. Former IX semi-finalists Abhishek Bhargava of Jackson High School (OH) and Eric Wang of Solon High School (OH) were also eliminated.

There will not be a repeat of last year’s United States Extemp final round at this year’s nationals. Carunya Achar of Cypress Creek High School (TX), who finished sixth last season, was eliminated. The other five finalists from last year’s USX final round remained alive, though, including defending champion Arel Rende of Booker T. Washington High School (OK).

Per NSDA rules, a non-senior competitor that reaches semi-finals earns an automatic qualification back to next year’s national tournament. Eleven extempers have pre-qualified to next year’s nationals via this route (five in IX and six in USX). They are indicated in bold in our semi-finalist listing below.

Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) and Brophy College Preparatory (AZ) have a chance to put two extempers into the final round. Bellarmine’s extempers, Rohan Dhoopar and Alex Doan, are in IX, while Brophy’s extempers, Christopher Jordan and Joe Russell (who we apologize to for failing to put in our quarter-finalist listing last night), are in USX. California leads all states with seven extempers in semi-finals across both categories.

Of the twenty-eight extemp semi-finalists, five are women. Four female competitors remain in IX, while only one remains in USX. A female extemper has only won USX once since 1991.

Extemp Central congratulates all of this year’s semi-finalists.

2014 NSDA Nationals: And Then There Were 30….

By geniao44446

On June 17, 2014

In NSDA News

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At the beginning of the morning, more than 200 extempers were still alive in International and United States Extemporaneous Speaking. Now the field in each event has been whittled down to thirty. Tomorrow morning, these thirty extempers will give their ninth and tenth speeches of the tournament. They will seek a spot in the semi-finals, which will put them two rounds away from the NSDA final round stage and, for any non-seniors, give them an automatic qualification back to next year’s national tournament. By the end of tomorrow, we will know who the six finalists are in each category.

Octofinals did not carry any of its usual surprises as all of the big names of last year’s tournament and this year’s national circuit advanced to quarters. Last year’s USX finalists remain alive, as do other USX notables such as Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY), Nida Ansari of Riverside High School (SC), Jad Hamdan of Jackson High School (OH), Cameron James Bonnewell of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL), and Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA). In International Extemp, two of last year’s finalists remain alive as Lyubov Kapko of Tempe Preparatory Academy (AZ) and Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt (IA) clear to rounds nine and ten. They will be joined by other IX notables such as Miles Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), Dylan Adelman of Lakeville South High School (MN), Abhishek Bhargava of Jackson High School (OH), Gabe Slater of Denver East High School (CO), and Will Walker of Fullerton Joint Union High School (CA) tomorrow. The names in this paragraph are only a sampling of the great competitors that remain in the field.

California currently leads all the states in most extemp breaks to quarters with nine across both categories. Texas is second with seven.

A fact that illustrates the depth of this year’s quarter-final field is that eleven extempers in International Extemp have won a state championship at some point in their extemporaneous speaking career. In United States Extemp, nine extempers are state champions.

Extemp Central congratulates the thirty extempers in each category who have reached the quarter-final rounds.

2014 NSDA Nationals: Octo-Finalists Released!

By geniao44446

On June 17, 2014

In NSDA News

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According to Extemp Central’s unofficial count of the schematics for International and United States Extemporaneous Speaking, 484 extempers are competing at this year’s National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament. International Extemp has 236 competitors, while United States Extemp has 248. The larger size of USX is due in part to more students pre-qualifying to this year’s national tournament due to their performance at last year’s event in Birmingham.

The top sixty extempers in each category have been released and Extemp Central has listed their names and schools in alphabetical order below. Last year’s USX final round survived the first cut, while IX notables such as Dylan Adelman of Lakeville South High School (MN), Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA), and Miles Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) live to fight another day. All of the non-senior extempers that reached elimination rounds have automatically qualified to next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University.

Extempers will compete in their two octo-final rounds this afternoon and the NSDA will release the names of the thirty quarter-finalists later tonight.

Extemp Central congratulates all of the octo-finalists at this year’s NSDA National Tournament.

2014 NSDA Nationals: IX & USX Topic Area Schedules

By geniao44446

On June 16, 2014

In NSDA News

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For those keeping tabs on the action in Overland Park, Kansas, here are the topic area schedules for International and United States Extemp.

The breaks to octofinals and quarterfinals will be revealed tomorrow, so Extemp Central hopes to provide a full listing of names and affiliations for those who clear out of the first six rounds (as long as the NSDA website provides the names of outround participants as they have in year’s past). All of the non-senior competitors who reach elimination rounds will automatically qualify for the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University.

International Extemp Topic Area Schedule

2013 NFL Nationals: Finals Are Set; Four Finalists Return to the Big Stage

By geniao44446

On June 19, 2013

In NSDA News

Monday started with over 400 extempers wishing to walk out of Birmingham, Alabama with a national championship, but that field has been narrowed to 12 and only two of those will leave Birmingham as the 2013 NFL International Extemp and 2013 NFL United States Extemp national champions.

Half of the International Extemp final is composed of finalists from last year’s event in Indianapolis. Ashesh Rambachan of Eastview High School (Minnesota) will be seeking a successful defense of his International Extemp championship, which has never happened in NFL history. If Rambachan were to win the final round it would also be the first time that an extemper has won back-to-back final round championships in the same extemporaneous speaking category. Rambachan is joined by last year’s third place finisher Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (Iowa) and last year’s fifth place finisher Kohinoor Gill of Desert Vista High School (Arizona). Nellans teammate Nathan Leys gives the Des Moines Roosevelt powerhouse two extempers in this year’s International Extemp final and Arizona has another extemper in the final, Lyubov Kapko. Allison McKibban of El Dorado High School (Kansas) is appearing in her first NFL final after having back-to-back third place finishes at CFL Nationals the last two seasons.

In United States Extemp, Chase Harrison of Millburn High School (New Jersey), who took sixth at last year’s national tournament, returns to the final round and will square off against a field of distinguished national circuit and state-level extempers. Two-time Oklahoma United States Extemp 3A state champion Arel Rende and this year’s Virginia Group 3A state champion, Josh Wartel, are in the final round. No state was able to get two extempers to the USX final round.

Extemp Central congratulates all of the finalists. With NFL providing a live stream of this year’s finals, we plan on providing a recap of the action on Friday.

2013 NFL Nationals: Only Fourteen Remain in United States & International Extemp

By geniao44446

On June 19, 2013

In NSDA News

Semi-finals are underway at the 2013 NFL National Tournament. In a few short hours, the final cut will be made to the United States and International Extemp fields and six competitors will remain to compete for their respective national championships on Friday morning.

Nearly all of the notables mentioned yesterday cleared to the semi-final round. Barkley Forum champion and MBA finalist Miles Saffran was eliminated in International Extemp.

Check back later today for a complete listing of the finalists.

2013 NFL Nationals: Quarter-Finalists Posted; Competition Resumes Tomorrow

By geniao44446

On June 18, 2013

In NSDA News

The top thirty in International and United States Extemp have been unveiled at the 2013 NFL National Tournament. After tomorrow, we will know who the final six contestants will be for Friday’s final rounds.

Several notable names are still alive in the tournament. Ashesh Rambachan, last year’s International Extemp national champion, is one of the thirty in IX and he is joined by Lily Nellans, this year’s MBA, Extemp TOC, and Harvard champion, Nathan Leys, this year’s Yale and Glenbrooks champion, John Cherian, a two-time champion of the California Invitational, and Miles Saffran, the winner of this year’s Barkley Forum. Multiple-time national finalist Allison McKibban and Dylan Adelman, a finalist at CFL Nationals this year, round out the names in the IX side of the bracket.

In United States extemp, CFL champion Gabriel Ferrante‘s hopes of becoming the fourth extemper to win CFL and NFL in the same year (and the first non-Minnesotan to do it) continue. He is joined by Chase Harrison, this year’s Villiger champion and former Yale champion, Carolyn Evans, an MBA finalist this year, and Josh Wartel, a sixth place finisher at MBA this season. The rest of the USX bracket is littered with other extempers who have multiple breaks at national circuit events this year and or have won state championships.

Extemp Central congratulates all those extempers who broke at this year’s NFL Nationals and wishes those competitors who will compete in quarter-finals and semi-finals the best of luck tomorrow. Check back tomorrow to see a listing of semi-finalists.

2013 NFL Nationals: Octo-Finals Are Underway

By geniao44446

On June 18, 2013

In NSDA News

Octofinal breaks have been posted at the 2013 NFL National Tournament and we have paired the extempers who have broken with their school. Extempers will compete in rounds seven and eight this afternoon and quarter-final breaks will be announced this evening.

All of the extempers who made the octofinal round have automatically qualified to the 2014 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University.

Extemp Central congratulates these 120 extempers for reaching the first stage of elimination round competition at this year’s NFL National Tournament.

2012 NFL Nationals: Friday’s Finals Are Set; Nellans Clinches National Points Race; Bellarmine College Prep Gets Two Into U.S. Extemp Finals

By geniao44446

On June 13, 2012

In NSDA News

On Monday, over 200 extempers started the 2012 NFL National Tournament in International and United States Extemp, respectively, and now the field has been narrowed down to the final six. Extempers have about 36 hours to get ready for the biggest round of their respective careers, with a national championship, a final round national championship, and $6,000 in scholarship money hanging in the balance.

Lily Nellans will have the opportunity on Friday to win the Extemp Grand Slam, which hasn’t been done since 2005. She could go a step further by winning the final round title as well. With Isabelle Taft being eliminated in the semi-final round, Nellans has clinched the 2012 National Points Race championship. Ashesh Rambachan will also have an opportunity in the IX final to avenge his defeat to Nellans at CFL Nationals and will have the opportunity to join his sister Ishanaa (2004) and brother Akshar (2007) who have won IX national championships. Abhilash Sandireddy of James Madison Memorial High School in Wisconsin also makes the final round. Sandireddy was a fifth place finisher at the Extemp TOC this year.

In United States Extemp, Bellarmine College Prep is not giving up the race for the National Team Points Race championship by getting two of its extempers, Denil Sur and Madhu Vijay to the final round. William McDonald and Chase Harrison, the top two ranked extempers in the National Points Race that were doing United States Extemp, have both made the final round. McDonald has two national circuit titles to his credit this year, winning Glenbrooks and Harvard, and was a sixth place finisher at MBA. Harrison was the Yale champion this season.

By the way, we forgot to note that any underclassmen that made semi-finals in IX & USX have earned an auto-qualification back to next year’s national tournament. Congratulations to those competitors.

For those extempers who are interested in the times of the final rounds, United States Extemp will start at 9:30 a.m. CST on Friday and International Extep will follow it at 11:00 a.m. CST. NFL has streamed the finals in the past and hopefully will do the same this year.

Each extempers National Points Race rank is listed by their name, with NR meaning that an extemper is not ranked.

2012 NFL Nationals: Semi-Finalists Are Posted; Some Familiar Faces Remain, but Some Fade

By geniao44446

On June 13, 2012

In NSDA News

The semi-finalists have been unveiled at the 2012 NFL National Tournament. The fourteen extempers that remain in United States and International Extemp will be narrowed to six by the end of the day. Semi-finals will feature two minute cross-examination, which will also appear in Friday’s final round.

National Points Race leader Lily Nellans and National Points Race runner-up Isabelle Taft remain in the IX field, as does CFL runner-up Ashesh Rambachan. Matt Rauen of Pennsbury High School in Pennsylvania, coming into the tournament as the fifteenth ranked extemper in the National Points Race, is also still alive as is Abhishek Bhargava of Jackson High School in Ohio, who returns to the semi-final round for the second consecutive year. All of the top ten National Points Race participants in United States Extemp have survived into the semi-final round and joining them is Jason Singh of Green Valley High School in Nevada, this year’s Wake Forest champion and MBA participant. Singh is ranked eleventh in the National Points Race.

While United States Extemp saw major eliminations in octofinals, it was International Extemp’s turn to see some major eliminations after round ten. John Cherian of Bellarmine College Preparatory in California, ranked sixth in the National Points Race, was eliminated, but can still hang his hat on a very impressive year on the national circuit. Allison McKibban of El Dorado High School in Kansas, who was twelfth in the National Points Race and had made a great run at the end of the season by making the finals of the Extemp TOC and CFL Nationals, was also eliminated. Finally, CFL finalist Robert McDonough of Holy Ghost Preparatory in Pennsylvania, who was fourteenth in the National Points Race, saw his title hopes evaporate in quarters.

In a couple of hours we will find out who the remaining six will be for Friday’s final rounds at the 2012 NFL National Tournament. When we find out who they are, we will get them to you here at Extemp Central and are planning on a small analysis for the USX/IX final rounds before the final rounds on Friday.

Each extempers National Points Race rank is listed by their name, with NR meaning that an extemper is not ranked.

2012 NFL Nationals: Quarter-Finalists Are Posted; National Points Race Leaders Still Alive

By geniao44446

On June 12, 2012

In NSDA News

The top thirty in International and United States Extemp have been unveiled at the 2012 NFL National Tournament. After tomorrow, we will know who the final six contestants will be for the final rounds of the tournament on Friday.

All of the top ten extempers in the National Points Race stayed alive, with National Points Race leader Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School and National Points Race runner-up Isabelle Taft of Henry W. Grady High School in Georgia leading the field in International Extemp. Last year’s runner-up, Ashesh Rambachan of Eastview High School in Minnesota is also still in the hunt in International Extemp, as is John Cherian of Bellarmine College Prep in California, who dominated the West Coast in the National Points Race this season. In United States Extemp, William McDonald of Brophy College Preparatory in Arizona, who is ranked forth in the National Points Race, Chase Harrison of Millburn High School in New Jersey, who is seventh in the National Points Race, and James Fishback of IB Boyd Anderson High School in Florida, who is eighth in the National Points Race, lead the field.

Once the tournament hits elimination rounds, there are always some notable drops from the field. The biggest drop in International Extemp was Teagan Lende, who was a fifth place finisher at the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin this season and was ranked twenty-sixth in the National Points Race. In United States Extemp, Kelly Wu of Leland High School, who was a finalist last season, was eliminated. Qian Wang of Mason High School in Ohio and Brandon Slotkin of Nova High School in Florida, who were semi-finalists last year, were also knocked out. The last major casualty in United States Extemp was Zachary Stone of Plano West High School in Texas, who was the winner of International Extemp at the St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational this year.

Each extempers National Points Race rank is listed by their name, with NR meaning that an extemper is not ranked.