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Today and tomorrow Extemp Central will be providing detailed profiles of the sixteen extempers that have been invited to this season’s Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin. The MBA Extemp Round Robin is the season’s first “major” extemp tournament.
Just like last year, Extemp Central will provide live coverage of the event by providing pairings for rounds as well as Exhibition Round participants when they become available on Sunday afternoon. Results will also be provided after the tournament concludes.
The profiles of the sixteen extempers attending will be listed in alphabetical order and today’s preview provides details about eight of the extempers in the field. These profiles are meant to illustrate the credentials of those extempers who made this year’s event.
Since Extemp Central did not do a National Points Race this season (although it will likely return next season), we used the rankings provided by debaterankings.com.
Key: DNA = Did Not Attend; DNC = Did Not Clear (Break); DNF = Did Not Final; NR = Not Ranked
BRIAN ANDERSON
*School: LaRue County High School (Hodgenville, Kentucky)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: First appearance for school
*National Ranking: 7th
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Western Kentucky – 1st ; George Mason – 2nd (Patriot Games) ; Participant (Round Robin); Barkley Forum – 5th ; Glenbrooks – Semifinalist ; Wake Forest – Semifinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-Semifinalist; NFL-Octofinalist (USX)
*Notes: Won both state tournaments, the Kentucky Educational Speech and Drama Association (KESDA) and Kentucky High School Speech League (KHSSL), last season as a sophomore…Is the second junior in Kentucky history to be invited to the Round Robin and the first in more than a decade…Is the sixth Kentucky extemper to earn a Round Robin bid. The highest Kentucky finisher was Hunter Kendrick, who placed third in 2008…Had a strong closing stretch to the first half of the season, with a picket fence victory at the Western Kentucky University Hilltopper Classic, a second place finish at the George Mason University Patriot Games Classic, and a semi-final finish at the Glenbrooks…The highest placing CFL Grand Nationals finisher in this year’s field.
VAIKUNTH BALAJI
*School: Ridge High School (Basking Ridge, NJ)
*Class: Sophomore
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: Participant (Bharat Ayyar – 2006; Peter Vogel – 2011)
*National Ranking: 8th
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Villiger – 4th ; Yale – 4th ; George Mason – Quarterfinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NFL-Quarterfinalist (USX)
*Notes: The only sophomore invitee in this year’s field…Two sophomores have made the MBA Exhibition Round in the past, Ron Kendler of Newton South High School (2003) and Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (2012)…A finish of sixth or higher would make Balaji the highest placing Ridge extemper in MBA history…The highest New Jersey state finish at the Round Robin was Matt Arons of Millburn High School in 2009, who won the tournament…Had an impressive quarterfinalist placing as a freshman at last year’s NFL National Tournament in United States Extemp.
ROHAN DHOOPAR
*School: Bellarmine College Preparatory (San Jose, California)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: 2nd (Evan Larson – 2009)
*National Ranking: NR
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: California Invitational – 2nd
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NFL-12th (IX)
*Notes: Won the California High School Speech Association state championship in International Extemp last season, which is an impressive feat for a sophomore…With that victory he became the first Bellarmine student to win an International Extemp state title since Will Rafey in 2008…Followed this up with a twelfth place finish in International Extemp at the NFL National Tournament, which helped secure a bid to this year’s Round Robin…Placed second at the California Invitational to teammate John Cherian, a third place finisher at the 2012 Round Robin, last season…The sixth Bellarmine extemper to compete at the Round Robin and he is the school’s eighth bid recipient.
JACK GLASER
*School: George Washington High School (Denver, Colorado)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: First appearance for school
*National Ranking: 41st
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Harvard – Semifinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NFL-13th (IX)
*Notes: One of the wild cards in this year’s field because of his absence from TOC national circuit events this season…Finished a place behind fellow Round Robin competitor Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Prep in International Extemp at the NFL National Tournament…This showing, as well as a semifinal finish at Havard, as a sophomore warranted a bid to this year’s tournament…Finished third behind Miles Saffran and Adam Stromme at the New York Invitational hosted by the Bronx High School of Science this season…Is one of two Colorado extempers in this year’s field with Gabe Slater. The highest Colorado finisher in Round Robin history occurred in 2007 when Spencer Rockwell of Palisade High School finished fourth.
JAD HAMDAN
*School: Jackson High School (Massillon, Ohio)
*Class: Junior
*Previous Invites to MBA: Participant (2013)
*Top School Finish at MBA: Participant (Rohan Bhargava – 2010; Abhishek Bhargava – 2012; Alex Wasdahl – 2012; Jad Hamdan – 2013)
*National Ranking: NR
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: George Mason – Semifinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NFL-Quarterfinalist (USX)
*Notes: One of the five veteran competitors of the Round Robin in this year’s field. Finished outside of the Exhibition Round last season and will look to improve on that performance…Was last year’s runner-up in United States Extemp at the Ohio High School Speech League State Tournament…Will seek to become the first Jackson High School extempers to make the Exhibition Round. The school has received five Round Robin bids in the last five years, but has not placed a competitor in the top six…Jackson High School is an extemp powerhouse in Ohio, winning three of the last five International Extemp state titles and two of the last five United States Extemp state titles…Finished 10th in United States Extemp at the 2012 NFL National Tournament as a freshman.
CHASE HARRISON
*School: Millburn High School (Millburn, New Jersey)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: 5th (2013); Participant (2012)
*Top School Finish at MBA: 1st (Matt Arons – 2009)
*National Ranking: 2nd
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Extemp TOC – 2nd; Villiger – 2nd ; Yale – 2nd ; George Mason – 3rd (Patriot Games), 2nd (Round Robin); Harvard – Quarterfinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-Octofinalist; NFL-3rd (USX)
*Notes: Making his third and final appearance at the Round Robin…Is the fourth extempers from Millburn High School to be represented in the Round Robin and the school won the tournament five years ago…Made national news outside of the forensic world by winning a seat on the Millburn School Board making him the youngest elected officeholder in New Jersey history…Has three runner-up finishes on the national circuit this season…Has made the final round of the NFL National Tournament in United States Extemp the last two seasons, placing third last year and sixth in 2012…Has finished runner-up at the Extemp TOC the last two seasons…Won the 2011 Yale University Invitational as a sophomore and the 2012 Villiger Tournament.
CHRISTOPHER JORDAN
*School: Brophy College Preparatory (Phoenix, Arizona)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: 6th (Bill McDonald – 2012)
*National Ranking: 21st
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Glenbrooks – 3rd
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NFL-2nd (USX)
*Notes: Earned his Round Robin bid by finishing runner-up to fellow Round Robin participant Arel Rende at last year’s NFL National Tournament in United States Extemp…Is one of four finalists in United States Extemp at last year’s NFL National Tournament in this year’s field…The second extemper from Brophy College Preparatory to be invited to the Round Robin. The school has not had an Exhibition Round participant…If he were to win United States Extemp at this year’s NFL Nationals he would give Brophy College Preparatory two United States Extemp champions in three seasons…Two of the competitors that bested him at Glenbrooks, Lily Nellans and Gabe Slater, are also attending this year’s Round Robin…The highest finish for an Arizona extemper occurred thirteen seasons ago when Matt Williams of Payson High School took third in 2001.
LYUBOV KAPKO
*School: Tempe Preparatory Academy (Tempe, Arizona)
*Class: Senior
*Previous Invites to MBA: None
*Top School Finish at MBA: First appearance for school
*National Ranking: NR
*2013 TOC National Circuit Finishes: Harvard-Semifinalist
*National Finishes Last Season: CFL-DNA; NFL-3rd (IX)
*Notes: A dark horse in this year’s field…Has not attended any TOC national circuit tournament thus far this season…Finished third in International Extemp at last year’s NFL National Tournament in a round that was considered one of the better NFL extemp final rounds in recent memory. She finished behind seniors Nathan Leys and Ashesh Rambachan, which makes her the de facto frontrunner for this year’s tournament…Is the first extemper from Tempe Preparatory Academy to attend the Round Robin and is one of two Arizona extempers in this year’s tournament…Analytical style is a nice fit for the judging pools MBA assembles…Was an octofinalist in International Extemp at the 2012 NFL National Tournament.
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