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Although the University of Kentucky has hosted an extemporaneous speaking section of its Tournament of Champions (TOC) event for the last three years, this year was the first that a large-scale tournament was held in the Bluegrass State. Forty-eight extempers made the trip to Lexington, which included ten of the top twenty-five extempers in the National Points Race and four of the top six finishers at this year’s Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin.
Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY), ranked third in the National Points Race, defended home turf with a resounding victory, winning the cumulative tournament by nine ranks. This was Anderson’s first national circuit victory of the season, although he had several runner-up finishes before this, which include MBA and the Barkley Forum. The victory will help Anderson’s quest to regain the top spot in the National Points Race as he will earn seventy points for his win.
Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX), the National Points Race winner from St. Mark’s, was the runner-up. However, Lin did win the final round by one rank over Anderson, thereby winning her second significant final round of the year. Lin also won the MBA Exhibition Round back in January.
National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) finished third.
The final round featured an impressive collection of talent, including four state champions. Texas had two finalists – Lin and Karna Venkatraj of A&M Consolidated High School – the only state that had multiple participants in the final round.
Here are the results of the 2015 University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):