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This weekend saw George Mason University host its 10th annual Patriot Games Classic in Fairfax, Virginia. 161 extempers competed and the tournament featured the winners of this year’s Wake Forest, Yale, St. Mark’s, Blue Key, Glenbrooks, and Villiger tournaments. When the tournament ended on Sunday evening Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA) captured the championship by three ranks over Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY). Chase Harrison of Millburn High School (NJ) placed third. Primack’s victory puts Newton South High School, a recognized extemp power in the Northeast, back in the winner’s circle of a major national circuit event for the first time since Becca Goldstein won the Harvard National High School Invitational Tournament in 2008. New Jersey placed two extempers in the final, Harrison and Darius Hunt of Ridge High School, which was more than any other state. Defending champion Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) was in the field, but failed to clear to elimination rounds.
In the tournament’s annual Extemp Round Robin, Nellans successfully defended her title and won the Exhibition Round over Harrison 24-7. Nellans and Harrison posted 6-1 records during the competition. Miles Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) took third, posting a 5-2 record. Saffran placed fourth in the general tournament.
All extempers who made elimination rounds earned a qualfying leg to the 2014 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Three extempers, Rahul Ravinda of John Champe High School (VA), Harrison Stall of Southside High School (SC), and Andrea Zhang of Ardrey Kell High School (NC), acquired their second qualifying leg and qualified for this season’s TOC. Fifteen extempers earned their first qualifying leg and will have next week’s tournaments, as well as a batch of tournaments in January and February, not including state tournaments, to earn their second TOC qualifying leg. All extempers that earned a qualfying leg are indicated in italics in the results.
This week will feature the last two TOC qualfying tournaments of the first semester: The Dowling Catholic Paradigm, hosted by Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Western Kentucky University Hilltopper Classic, hosted by Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Here are the full results of this year’s George Mason University Patriot Games Classic (Click here for tab sheet):