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yaleThis year’s edition of the Yale Invitational attracted one of the largest fields in tournament history as 124 extempers turned out for the second tournament on the 2014-2015 national circuit calendar. Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA) won the cumulative tournament, as well as his second national circuit championship, by three ranks over Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler of Durham Academy (NC). Primack, who won the George Mason University Patriot Games last season, is the first extemper from Newton South to win Yale. Primack will receive seventy National Points Race points for the win.

Sapiro-Gheiler finished runner-up at a National Points Race tournament for the second consecutive week. The last extemper to start the year with consecutive runner-up finishes was Nathaniel Donahue, also of Durham Academy, who went on to win the 2011 National Points Race.

Four of the extempers who reached the final round participated were finalists or semi-finalists at last year’s NSDA National Tournament. In addition to Primack, Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), a two-time finalist in United States Extemp, finished third. Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY), who placed fourteenth at last year’s NSDA Nationals in USX, finished fourth. And Vishal Narayanaswamy of James Madison Memorial High School (WI), who finished seventh in USX at last year’s NSDA, took fifth place.

Three of the finalists from Wake Forest found their way into the Yale final round as well. The winner of that tournament, Yijia Liang of Upper Arlington High School (OH), who entered Yale as the National Points Race leader finished sixth. Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), who took third at Wake Forest, ended the tournament in fifth place.

Ridge High School (NJ) had the largest number of outround participants, sending eight extempers into elimination rounds. However, the team failed to place an extemper in the final round.

According to the new qualification procedures of the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC), all of the extempers that reached the quarter-final round and beyond earned qualifying legs. Thirteen extempers earned their first qualifying leg and four extempers – Sapiro-Gheiler, Saffran, Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School, and Brian Min of Trinity Preparatory – earned their second TOC qualifying leg and become the first at-large qualifiers of the 2014-2015 season.  The extempers who earned a TOC qualifying leg are indicated in italics in the resulting listing below. The next Extemp TOC qualifying tournament will take place in three weeks at the Crestian Tradition in Weston, Florida.

Here are the results of the 2014 Yale Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

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