Pre-season rankings, whether we apply them to forensics or professional sports are very unreliable. Simply because 
someone had a great season the year before does not always foreshadow a great season the next year and competitors who are not yet nationally known are honing their skills during the off-season. However, because pre-season rankings are usually asked of any forensics site, Extemp Central has decided to give a top ten listing of extempers to watch for the 2009-2010 season.
The top ten below were selected based simply on last year’s National Points Race standings. The logic goes that the standings showed finishes that were accumulated by competitors during last season at major tournaments and since points in the National Points Race are only given out for final placings (with the exception of nationals), all of the competitors below had some major showings last year.
The competitors are listed in the order that they finished in last year’s National Points Race. Extemp Central recognizes that people improve and it would be unwise for us to proclaim someone as the definitive early favorite for this season’s National Points Race championship. Also, some people who do not travel the national circuit only have CFL and/or NFL to accumulate points so their lack of wins and top three finishes does not reflect that they are any less talented than people with wins and top three finishes at national circuit tournaments. Therefore, keep in mind that below is just a snapshot of some of the names you might see return to the standings in 2009-2010.
Note: Wins are counted in the number of top three finishes.
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas):
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: 3rd
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 2 (St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational IX, MBA Exhibition Round)
Top 3 Finishes: 5 (2nd-St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational USX, 2nd-Barkley Forum, 2nd-Extemp TOC)
Other Finishes: 5th-Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin
Jacob Baker (Bellarmine College Prep, California)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: 12th
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 1 (3rd-NFL Nationals International Extemp)
Jane Kessner (Walt Whitman High School, Maryland)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: Tied for 19th
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 2 (2nd-George Mason Patriot Games Round Robin, 3rd-Barkley Forum)
Other Finishes: 4th-Glenbrooks, 6th-MBA Extemp Round Robin, CFL semi-finalist
Tyler D. Fabbri (Chesterton High School, Indiana)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: Tied for 22nd
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 0
Other Finishes: 5th-NFL Nationals US Extemp
Sesenu Woldemariam (Lamar High School, Texas)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: Tied for 22nd
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 0
Other Finishes: 5th-NFL Nationals International Extemp
Oscar Wang (San Marino High School, California)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: Tied for 22nd
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 1 (2nd-The California Invitational)
Other Finishes: 11th-NFL Nationals U.S. Extemp
Audrey Denis (Berkeley Carroll School, New York)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: Tied for 22nd
Class: Junior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 0
Other Finishes: 5th-CFL Nationals, Extemp TOC semi-finalist
Aaron Lutkowitz (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: 26th
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 1 (George Mason University Patriot Games)
Top 3 Finishes: 2 (3rd-George Mason University Patriot Games Round Robin)
Other Finishes: 6th-Barkley Forum, Extemp TOC semi-finalist
Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South High School)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: 33rd
Class: Junior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 0
Other Finishes: 5th-Extemp TOC
Carl David Goette-Luciak (Blacksburg HS, Virginia)
Last Year’s Points Race Ranking: 34th
Class: Senior
Major Wins: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 1 (3rd-Wake Forest)
Other Finishes: 6th-George Mason University Patriot Games