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Here is day two of our participant capsules for this year’s Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin in Nashville, Tennessee. Check back tomorrow for a poll, where you can cast your vote for who you think will win this year’s tournament!
Tag: 2015 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin preview
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The Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin will take place this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament invites the best extemporaneous speakers in the country and is one of the four major extemporaneous speaking tournaments. The winner will receive 150 points in the National Points Race since MBA is one of two second tier events on the national circuit calendar.
There will be a different winner of this year’s Round Robin. Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) won the last three Round Robins and her graduation last spring ensures that this year will feature a new tournament champion. Last year, Nellans survived the sternest test to her winning streak, as she came from behind on the final day to catch Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA) and proceeded to defeat him in the tournament’s Exhibition Round. Wartel returns to this year’s competition seeking the title that he came so close to winning last year.
This year’s MBA field features six returning competitors, including one Exhibition Round participant (Wartel), the winners of eight 2014-2015 Extemp TOC qualifying tournaments, five state champions, and eight of the top ten competitors in the National Points Race. Three extempers represent schools from Texas and Florida, giving both states the most representatives in this year’s competition. There is only one female extemper in the field as well – Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX).
Glenbrooks champion Jack Glaser of George Washington High School (CO), Yale and New York City Invitational winner Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), and two-time California United States Extemp champion and NSDA finalist Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA) all declined bids to this year’s tournament due to prior commitments.
Today and tomorrow, Extemp Central will provide brief capsules for each of the sixteen extempers invited to participate in this year’s MBA Round Robin. The capsules have been arranged in alphabetical order.