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.
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 our breakdown of the semi-finalists.
Each extempers National Points Race rank is listed by their name, with NR meaning that an extemper is not ranked.