by Logan Scisco
The Extemp Central National Points Race is a competition designed to reward extempers for placing high at selected national circuit competitions throughout the year. Tournaments are placed into five tiers based on their level of prestige and each tier awards a different amount of points towards the top six finishers (CFL and NFL Nationals award points for semi-finalists). To find out what point value tournaments are worth, check out the first issue of The Ex Files on the tab above. At the end of the season, the winner of the National Points Race will receive a customary glass trophy recognizing their achievement courtesy of Extemp Central.
Extemp Central also sponsors a National Team Points Race competition. When extempers compete and place highly at selected tournaments they earn points for themselves and their school. In the case of a tie, the number of finalists schools have had throughout the year is used as a tiebreaker.
Due to the five tier system utilized for this year’s National Points Race, the National Forensic League national tournament in Kansas City, Missouri created a major shift in the rankings. Jacob Baker of Bellarmine College Prep (California) won the International extemp national championship and the final round. The 225 points that Baker earned for these victories allowed him to edge out James Mohan of Danville High School (Kentucky), who placed second at CFL and NFL nationals this season. Baker and Mohan had an identical total in the final round, but Baker won because of judges preference. If Baker had failed to win the final round he would not have won this year’s points race because the 25 bonus points given to the winner of the round put him over the top. Dillon Huff of Southlake Carroll High School (Texas) led the National Points Race for most of the year but his elimination in the quarter-final round did not allow him to accumulate points and he finished fourth in this year’s race. Dylan Slinger of Lakeville South High School (Minnesota) used his victory at the CFL national tournament, second place finish in United States extemp at NFL nationals, and final round victory there to place third in the final standings. Slinger was outside of the top 15 before CFL. NFL United States extemp national champion Tyler Fabbri of Chesterton High School (Indiana) finished the year in sixth place because of his victory and Oscar Wang‘s third place finish at NFL nationals in United States extemp allowed him to leapfrog San Marino High School (California) teammate Nabeel Zewail and finish fifth. Rohan Bhargava of Jackson High School (Ohio) used his third place finish in International extemp to move into the top fifteen after a lengthy absence and Jane Kessner of Walt Whitman High School (Maryland), Shahid Ahmed of Plano Senior High School (Texas), and Jared Odessky of Nova High School (Florida) used their semi-final placings at NFL to move into the top fifteen.
Here is the final top fifteen of the 2009-2010 Extemp Central National Points Race:
| RANK | NAME | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1 | Jacob Baker | Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, CA) | 395 |
| 2 | James Mohan | Danville HS (Danville, KY) | 380 |
| 3 | Dylan Slinger | Lakeville South HS (Lakeville, MN) | 330 |
| 4 | Dillon Huff | Southlake Carroll HS (Southlake, TX) | 320 |
| 5 | Oscar Wang | San Marino HS (San Marino, CA) | 280 |
| 6 | Tyler Fabbri | Chesterton HS (Chesterton, IN) | 250 |
| 7 | Nabeel Zewail | San Marino HS (San Marino, CA) | 230 |
| 8 | Aaron Lutkowitz | Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, TN) | 220 |
| 9 | Michael Barton | Regis HS (New York, NY) | 210 |
| 10 | Steven Elliott | Lakeville North HS (Lakeville, MN) | 210 |
| 11 | Rohan Bhargava | Jackson HS (Massillon, OH) | 185 |
| 12 | Jane Kessner | Walt Whitman HS (Bethesda, MD) | 185 |
| 13 | Mirza Germovic | Des Moines Roosevelt HS (Des Moines, IA) | 167 |
| 14 | Shahid Ahmed | Plano Senior HS (Plano, TX) | 152.5 |
| 15 | Jared Odessky | Nova HS (Davie, FL) | 119 |
Led by Oscar Wang and Nabeel Zewail, San Marino High School in California took the lead in the National Team Points Race late in the season and although Zewail dropped early at NFL nationals, Wang’s third place finish gave San Marino enough breathing room to survive a late rally by their California counterpart Bellarmine College Prep. Bellarmine earned 260 points at the NFL national tournament, with most of it coming from Jacob Baker’s victory in International extemp and victory in the final round. This is the second year in a row that Bellarmine has finished runner-up in the team points race. Danville High School in Kentucky finishes third due to James Mohan’s runner-up finish in International extemp. Similarly, Dylan Slinger’s runner-up finish in United States extemp and final round victory moved Lakeville South High School in Minnesota into the fourth spot in the rankings. Tyler Fabbri and Rohan Bhargava’s NFL finishes also enable Chesterton High School in Indiana and Jackson High School in Ohio to crack the final top ten rankings of the season.
Here is the final 2009-2010 Extemp Central National Team Points Race top ten:
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | # OF FINALISTS |
| 1 | San Marino HS (San Marino, CA) | 510 | 7 |
| 2 | Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, CA) | 457 | 5 |
| 3 | Danville HS (Danville, KY) | 380 | 4 |
| 4 | Lakeville South HS (Lakeville, MN) | 330 | 3 |
| 5 | Southlake Carroll HS (Southlake, TX) | 320 | 4 |
| 6 | Lakeville North HS (Lakeville, MN) | 295 | 3 |
| 7 | Chesterton HS (Chesterton, IN) | 293 | 3 |
| 8 | Regis HS (New York, NY) | 253 | 4 |
| 9 | Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, TN) | 232 | 4 |
| 10 | Jackson HS (Massillon, OH) | 200 | 3 |
This completes this year’s Extemp Central National Points Race. Check back in a few days to see the final complete standings posted to the site so you can see where those who fell outside of the top fifteen in the individual points race and top ten in the team points race ended up.
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2009-2010 National Points Race Tournaments w/Tier, Points Awarded to the Winner, and Champion
Wake Forest National Early Bird (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Emily Martin (Boone County High School, Kentucky)
Yale University Invitational (4th Tier, 70 pts.):
Aaron Lutkowitz (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)
St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
The Glenbrooks (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Steven Elliott (Lakeville North High School, Minnesota)
George Mason University Patriot Games (4th Tier, 70 pts.):
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin (2nd Tier, 150 pts.):
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
The Barkley Forum (4th Tier, 70 pts.):
Jamie Mohan (Danville High School, Kentucky)
Harvard National High School Invitational (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Michael Barton (Regis High School, New York)
The California Invitational (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Amode Thebhekar (Leland High School, California)
The Extemp Tournament of Champions (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Nabeel Zewail (San Marino High School, California)
Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South High School, Minnesota)
National Forensic League National Tournament–International Extemp (1st Tier, 200 pts.):
Jacob Baker (Bellarmine College Prep, California)
National Forensic League National Tournament–United States Extemp (1st Tier, 200 pts.):
Tyler Fabbri (Chesterton High School, Indiana)
National Forensic League National Tournament U.S. Extemp Final Round Winner (1st Tier, 25 pts.):
Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South High School, Minnesota)
National Forensic League National Tournament IX Final Round Winner (1st Tier, 25 pts.):
Jacob Baker (Bellarmine College Prep, California)
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2009-2010 National Points Race Final Standings:
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Team Standings
2008-2009 National Points Race Final Standings:
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Team Standings