Round four prep is now underway and it is the so-called “silly” round.  An explanation of what this entailed will be dismbalivecussed when round five pairings are released in several hours.  Past “silly” rounds have included forming a question from the New York Times, picking a world leader and writing a question, or interpreting a political cartoon.

Here are the pairings:

Section One:

Judges: Sharon Volpe, Matthew Vansuch, and Bill Healy

1. Jane Kessner (Walt Whitman HS, Maryland)
2. Nicholas Cugini (Cypress Ridge HS, Texas)
3. Rahul Sangal (Plano East HS, Texas)
4. Brennan Morris (Randolph Macon Academy, Virginia)

Section Two:

Judges: Jimmy Ficaro, Jason Warren, and David Tucker

1. Morgan Booksh (McNeil HS, Texas)
2. Karen Zhou (Lakeville North HS, Minnesota)
3. Alex Tolkin (Newton South HS, Massachusetts)
4. Amanda Johnson (Eagan HS, Minnesota)

Section Three:

Judges: Steve Moss, Logan Scisco, and Matt Murrell

1. Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll HS, Texas)
2. Ryan Pereira (Nova HS, Florida)
3. Matthew Arons (Millburn HS, New Jersey)
4. Evan Larson (Bellarmine College Prep, California)

Section Four:

Judges: Dean Rhoads, Jon Cruz, and Eric Melin

1. Stacey Chen (North Allegheny Senior HS, Pennsylvania)
2. Alex Draime (Howland HS, Ohio)
3. Jason Bell (Ladue Horton Watkins HS, Missouri)
4. Aaron Lutkowitz (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)