After four preliminary rounds of competition, the field of 39 has been narrowed to 12. Each of the semi-final rooms will have three judges and the top three competitors in each semi-final room will advance to the final round. The competitors are listed in the order they are listed to speak in, although there will be some changes as there are many doubling in Impromptu.
We have been told that the topic area for this round is “Energy and the Environment.”
Section 1
Judges: Steve Burgin, Libby Carter, and Georgi Perrotta
1. Nathaniel Donahue (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
2. Matthew Alonsozana (Loyola-Blakefield High School, Maryland)
3. Paavan Gami (Southside High School, South Carolina)
4. Matt Meeks (Perry High School, Ohio)
5. Taylor Thompson (Carrollton High School, Ohio)
6. Rohan Bhargava (Jackson High School, Ohio)
Section Two
Judges: Caroline Butler, Brianna Doyle, and Sheela Chokshi
1. Ben Denton (Pinecrest High School, North Carolina)
2. Ross Slaughter (Walt Whitman High School, Maryland)
3. Emily Martin (Boone County High School, Kentucky)
4. Aaron Strickland (Jackson HS, Ohio)
5. Karthik Sastry (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)
6. Brianna Willits (Perry High School, Ohio)