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 elimination round participants. To find out what point value tournaments are worth, click here. At the end of the season, the winner of the National Points Race receives a customary glass trophy recognizing their achievement courtesy of Extemp Central.
This year’s National Points Race was the closest since 2014-2015, going down to the wire at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament. Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Prepatory School (CA) used a third place finish in International Extemp to vault past Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ), who led the National Points Race for most of the second semester after a win at Harvard. If Cheng had finished one place lower at NSDA then Peddi would have been this year’s champion. Cheng had six National Points Race final round appearances this season, more than any other competitor. Those finals happened at the National Speech and Debate Season Opener, the New York City Invitational, the Longhorn Classic, Stanford, Harvard, and NSDA. Cheng’s total of 493 points is the lowest for a National Points Race winner since 2009-2010.
It was a season where consistency was more important than wins as Cheng only won one National Points Race event – the Stanford Invitational – which is the lowest number of wins for a National Points Race winner since Jacob Baker of Bellarmine College Preparatory won in 2009-2010. Amy Cao of Ridge High School (NJ) had three wins at National Points Race competitions this season – the National Season Opener, Yale, and NCFL Grand Nationals -the most of any competitor. Cao also won every time that she reached a final round this season. The only problem was that she did not reach enough of them to climb higher in the rankings, ending a strong season in ninth place.
NSDA national champions Anthony Babu of Concord-Carlisle High School (MA) and Tea Shouldice of Half Hollow Hills High School East (NY) were unranked going into the national tournament but end the year in the top ten. Babu earned 300 points for winning International Extemp and its final round, ending this year ranked third, and Shouldice earned 240 points for winning United States Extemp and its final round, ending the year in seventh place.
Along with Cheng’s win, California had a strong showing in this year’s National Points Race. Rohit Vakkalagadda of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) was runner-up in International Extemp at NSDA and that moved him into the top five. Evelyn Tsoi of Arcadia High School (CA) finished tenth.
Taylor Burris of the Potomac School (VA) was one of the more consistent extempers on the national circuit this season. She notched five final round appearances and was the only extemper to earn points at all four post-season competitions. A few breaks and higher finishes across those tournaments may have given her a shot at the National Points Race title.
Next year’s National Points Race could be a dogfight because six of the top ten competitors – Cheng, Babu, Waleed Haider of Hendrickson High School (TX), Shouldice, Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX), and Tsoi – are returning. Cheng will have the opportunity to repeat as National Points Race winner, which has never been done in the history of the competition (although it should be noted that Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt (IA) would have won three National Points Race titles between 2012-2014 if the competition happened in 2013 and 2014).
Extemp Central thanks all of its readers who assisted in providing results of National Points Race tournaments. It congratulates all of the extempers who placed in the top 25, a testament to their hard work throughout the season. If extempers wish to see the complete standings for the 2023-2024 season, they can click on the link at the bottom of the page.
Here are the final standings of the 2023-2024 National Points Race:
| RANK | NAME | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1 | Brandon Cheng | Flintridge Preparatory School (Flintridge, CA) | 493 |
| 2 | Sruti Peddi | BASIS Scottsdale (Scottsdale, AZ) | 454 |
| 3 | Anthony Babu | Concord-Carlisle HS (Concord, MA) | 368 |
| 4 | Rohit Vakkalagadda | Bellarmine College Preparatory (San Jose, CA) | 358 |
| 5 | Taylor Burris | The Potomac School (McLean, VA) | 354 |
| 6 | Waleed Haider | Hendrickson HS (Pflugerville, TX) | 305 |
| 7 | Tea Shouldice | Half Hollow Hills High School East (Dix Hills, NY) | 296 |
| 8 | Robert Zhang | Elkins HS (Missouri City, TX) | 264 |
| 9 | Amy Cao | Ridge HS (Somerset County, NJ) | 260 |
| 10 | Evelyn Tsoi | Arcadia HS (Arcadia, CA) | 251 |
| 11 | April Zhang | Neuqua Valley HS (Naperville, IL) | 248 |
| 12 | Lishore Kumar | Tomball Memorial HS (Harris County, TX) | 241 |
| 13 | Charlotte Reitman | NSU University School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | 230 |
| 14 | Siri Ural | Shrewsbury HS (Shrewsbury, MA) | 221 |
| 15 | Katherine Lee | Plano West Senior HS (Plano, TX) | 210 |
| 16 | Tyler Crivella | Seven Lakes HS (Katy, TX) | 200 |
| 17 | Abhijay Rana | Bellarmine College Preparatory (San Jose, CA) | 193 |
| 18 | Daniel Rupawalla | Tompkins HS (Katy, TX) | 190 |
| 19 | Ellie Sohn | Flintridge Preparatory School (Flintridge, CA) | 179 |
| 20 | Brayson Holmes | Clark HS (Las Vegas, NV) | 170 |
| T21 | Kajal Parmar | Cary Academy (Cary, NC) | 163 |
| T21 | Saathvik Kannan | Columbia-Hickman HS (Columbia, MO) | 163 |
| 23 | Kate Liu | Plano East Senior HS (Plano, TX) | 162 |
| 24 | (Alexandre) Sasha Morel | Plano West Senior HS (Plano, TX) | 158 |
| 25 | Claire Han | Munster HS (Munster, IN) | 141 |
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2023-2024 National Points Race Tournaments w/Tier, Points Awarded to the Winner, and Champion
National Speech and Debate Season Opener Hosted by UK (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Amy Cao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
Yale University Invitational (4th Tier, 70 pts.):
Amy Cao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
New York City Invitational (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Eshaal Ubaid (Stuyvesant High School, New York)
The Florida Blue Key (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Charlotte Reitman (NSU University School, Florida)
The Glenbrooks (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Lishore Kumar (Tomball Memorial High School, Texas)
George Mason University Patriot Games (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Siri Ural (Shrewsbury High School, Massachusetts)
University of Texas-Longhorn Classic (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Katherine Lee (Plano West Senior High School, Texas) & Waleed Haider (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin (2nd Tier, 150 pts.):
April Zhang (Neuqua Valley High School, Illinois)
James Logan MLK Invitational (4th Tier, 70 pts.):
Abhijay Rana (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California) & Evelyn Tsoi (Velasquez Academy, California)
The Barkley Forum (4th Tier, 70 pts.):
Katherine Lee (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
The Apple Valley Minneapple (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Eunsol Lee (Woodbury High School, Minnesota) & Nick Zylstra (Eastview High School, Minnesota)
The Stanford Invitational (5th Tier, 40 pts.):
Brandon Cheng (Flintridge Preparatory School, California) & Matthew Abrams (George Washington High School, Colorado)
Harvard National High School Invitational (2nd Tier, 150 pts.):
Sruti Peddi (BASIS Scottsdale, Arizona)
The California Invitational (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Austin Bauman (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Charlotte Reitman (NSU University School, Florida)
The Extemp Tournament of Champions (3rd Tier, 100 pts.):
Sasha Morel (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament (2nd Tier, 150 pts.):
Amy Cao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament–International Extemp (1st Tier, 200/250 pts.):
Anthony Babu (Concord-Carlisle High School, Massachusetts)
National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament–United States Extemp (1st Tier, 200/250 pts.):
Tea Shouldice (Half Hollow Hills High School East, New York)
National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament International Extemp Final Round Winner (1st Tier, 40/50 pts.):
Anthony Babu (Concord-Carlisle High School, Massachusetts)
National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament U.S. Extemp Final Round Winner (1st Tier, 40/50 pts.):
Tea Shouldice (Half Hollow Hills High School East, New York)
2023-2024 National Points Race Final Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
2022-2023 National Points Race Final Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
2021-2022 National Points Race Final Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
2015-2016 National Points Race Final Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
2014-2015 National Points Race Final Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
2011-2012 National Points Race Final Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Team Standings
2010-2011 National Points Race Final Standings:
Spreadsheet of Final Individual Standings
Spreadsheet of Final Team Standings
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
Theodore Gercken
I just wanted to let you know the Stanford Tournament has not been canceled. It’s been renamed the Palm Classic and is inheriting its TOC, ETOC, and NIETOC bids. As such, is there a reason it’s not inheriting its points race points?
Logan Scisco
We weren’t aware of the change! We will make sure to make this change, so the tournament will be added into the National Points Race this week!
Dev
Hi Logan, is there a reason the UPenn tournament, with 75 entries, is not included in the points race?
Logan Scisco
For a long time UPenn ran opposite of Harvard and its field was relatively weak. It was part of the first National Points Race but was removed when the tournament started going the same weekend as Harvard/Cal and the quality of its field became too poor to warrant points. Another reason is that the National Points Race is pretty heavy on East Coast tournaments already. For the sake of expansion, we’d also prefer adding events in the Midwest or West Coast. However, after each season the National Points Race undergoes some changes/revisions based on the results in 3 year cycles for tournaments, which can alter tiers or remove some tournaments entirely. So UPenn will get some consideration when that reevaluation is done in the offseason along with other tournaments like the NIETOC and such.
Brandon
Hi there,
I wonder why points are not awarded to the 7th-place finisher in tournaments whose final rounds include seven participants. The information blurb for Tier 5 tournaments states the following:
Fifth tier tournaments are make-or-break affairs. Only those extempers who reach the final round will receive points.
If “extempers who reach the final round will receive points,” I think it is only fair that students who reach said round but place seventh should be awarded a commensurate number of points at tournaments that allow seven competitors to advance to finals, such as James Logan in California. Thank you for your consideration!
Logan Scisco
Hi Brandon, this is because if you look at the National Points Race calculations, points are only awarded for the top six. If tournaments opt to let seven or eight competitors into finals, that is their decision but to standardize how points are awarded across tournaments we will only award finalist points for the top six. This is because nearly every circuit tournament in the country only breaks to a final round of six competitors.
Anthony
Hi –
Thanks for running such a detailed and thorough website!
I was wondering if you plan on including Villiger and Princeton in the national points race next year.
This year, Villiger received 54 entries. That was more than the Season Opener, the NYC Invitational, and about the same as GMU.
Princeton received 87 entries. That was more all the tournaments listed above, as well as Blue Key. It was about the same as the Longhorn Classic.
I am asking because both Villiger and Princeton are cheaper for me to attend (than the alternatives, Glenbrooks and GMU), but I would consider the others if points race calculations stay the same as I plan out my travel for next year.
Thank you so much!
Logan Scisco
Thanks for the question. While I always consider adding tournaments, I probably will not add Villiger and probably not for Princeton. Both are good tournaments for sure and have good histories but a big reason not to include them is that the Northeast already has three National Points Race tournaments (Yale, NYC, and Harvard). Putting more there starts to imbalance things geographically, moreso because Yale and Harvard are fourth and second tier contests. Also, when tournaments are held sort of matters too as NYC happens earlier in October but Princeton’s weekend also has GMU and the Longhorn Classic. I like to have a spread of tournaments in the calculations rather than firing off tons of them in a given weekend.
At the end of the year, I’ll look over tab sheets and evaluate. There could be a case for doing something with Princeton, and it is something that has been considered, but it would also require finding some other balance of tournaments for the Midwest, West Coast, and South.
Anthony
Thank you so much for the detailed and thorough response!
Robert Zhang
Hi there!
I just noticed that Sunvite used to be a tier-4 tournament, but was dropped from the NPR due to running it against MBA. However, as it is once again the week after MBA, will it be returned to the NPR? I did not personally attend, but I did notice that the field had expanded from last year and will likely grow in future years.
Thank you for your time!
Best,
Robert Zhang
Logan Scisco
Hi Robert,
I’m not sure if I’ll put Sunvitational back on for the time being since there’s already a wider regional tournament in January with the Barkley Forum. It’s also a big of a crapshoot if its date will continue to mess with MBA so that makes it a bit tricky. I go back and “audit” tournaments at the end of the year and try to think of new inclusions, shifts, etc. so it’ll be considered.
Abhijay Rana
This is pretty minor, but as someone from Naperville – #6 April Zhang’s high school is located in Naperville, IL, not Napierville.
Logan Scisco
Thanks for the correction. Our next update will reflect the change.
Paul Robinson
Hello,
Is there a reason that Texas, despite having famously strong competition, only has UT on the national points race? I have recently noticed that almost every region strong in extemp has at least two NPR tournaments (Berkeley and MLK are both in California; Yale, Harvard, and Bronx are in the Northeast; Emory and Blue Key serve competitors in the Southwest; extempers in the Midwest don’t have to travel far to Glenbrooks or Apple Valley). Is there any chance that you would add another Texas tournament to the rankings, since just having the Longhorn Classic seems to not represent Texas equitably?
Logan Scisco
Not at the present time. Texas attends the other tournaments reasonably well by our standards and performs well in our tournaments rankings each year on the basis of that, which has not warranted adding another one. The reason California has three is because there is a dearth of West Coast tournaments. St. Mark’s used to be included as a fifth tier event but fell off the radar screen for national competition. Longhorn was upgraded to a third tier event this year to reflect strong competition. We obviously welcome feedback but any addition of another Texas tournament would need to include competitors who attend from surrounding states and multiple Texas regions instead of just one. St. Mark’s used to do that, which is why it was included.