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The 2014 Illinois High School Association’s State Series culminated last weekend in Peoira, Illinois and produced the most unusual finish to a state championship in recent memory. At the end of three rounds of competition, which included eleven judges, Saumya Jain of Neuqua Valley High School, Vinesh Kannan of the Illinois Math and Science Academy, and Parth Patel of Huntley High School ended up with eighteen cumulative ranks. Judges preference was not an effective tiebreaker for the round, as none of the three competitors established dominance, so all three shared this year’s state championship in extemporaneous speaking. In the records Extemp Central possess of state championships this is an unprecedented event.
Four of the extempers in the final round of the Illinois state final earned automatic qualifications to this year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC). Kannan and Patel were previously qualified to this year’s TOC prior to last weekend. Those extempers earning automatic qualifications are indicated in italics below.
With at-large tournaments completed, the only way for extempers to lock in a bid for this year’s TOC is to final at their state tournament. Four states will offer those opportunities this weekend – Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina – and Extemp Central wishes the competitors attending those tournaments the best of luck.
Here are the results of the 2014 Illinois High School Association State Final (Click here for tab sheet)