After two years online, the Yale University Invitational resumed its tournament in past last weekend in New Haven, Connecticut. Despite the change of venue, the tournament champion remained the same as McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) won her third straight Yale championship, besting Jonathan Tubb of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) by eight cumulative ranks.

Paltzik becomes the first person in the history of the Yale University Invitational to win it three consecutive times. Prior to this year there had been three extempers in Yale’s history to win back-to-back titles: Josh Bone of Milton Academy (MA) in 2002 and 2003, Daniel Rauch of Millburn High School (NJ) in 2004 and 2005, and Kate Fisher of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) in 2017 and 2018.

It is also the sixth straight time dating back to last year’s Yale tournament that Paltzik won a National Points Race event after reaching the final round.

Katherine Lee of Plano West Senior High School (TX) was the third place finisher, ending up one cumulative rank behind Tubb. If not for Yale’s tabulation system that counts all ranks from prelims to finals, Lee would have finished second as she placed one rank behind Paltzik in the final round and beat Tubb by eight ranks.

Lee’s teammate, Kyle Letterer, finished fourth, while Kevin Li of Ridge High School (NJ) was fifth, and Dana Ko of Pine Creek High School (CO) was sixth.

There were seventy-eight extempers competing at Yale, so all extempers who reached the semi-final round earn a bid leg to the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC). Although the Extemp TOC has not released its qualification system for 2022-2023 it can also be assumed that all semi-finalists earn a bid leg to that tournament as well.

Yale is a fourth tier event in the National Points Race. Paltzik will earn seventy points for her victory and all extempers who reached the semi-final round will earn points. New National Points Race standings will be released on Friday.