Oklahoma divides its state tournament competition into four groups (3A-6A) and then separates those groups into International and United States Extemporaneous Speaking categories. In 6A, Booker T. Washington High School had a great run as Arel Rende, this year’s Harvard winner and last year’s NFL national champion in U.S. Extemp, won his third straight state championship in U.S. Extemp. Rende’s teammate Patrick Wilson won International Extemp. In 5A, Josh Yoo of Metro Christian Academy won International Extemp and Peter Simmons of Bishop Kelley High School won United States Extemp. Muldrow High School swept the 4A categories as Taylor Putnam won International Extemp and Jessie Hearn won United States Extemp. And in 3A, Eli Hobbs of Haskell High School won International Extemp for the second straight year and Tom Crews of Okarche High School won United States Extemp.

All of the underclassmen that made the final round in their respective extemp category earned an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Nineteen extempers qualified to next year’s TOC through this avenue and they are indicated in italics below.

Here are the results of the 2014 Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association State Tournament:

Class 6A International Extemp

Champion: Patrick Wilson (Booker T. Washington High School)
2nd: Nicky Halterman (Norman High School)
3rd: Will Thompson (Sand Springs High School)
4th: Lawrence Zhou (Bartlesville High School)
5th: Sophia Alvarez (Booker T. Washington High School)
6th: Aaron Hockett (Booker T. Washington High School)

Class 6A United States Extemp

Champion: Arel Rende (Booker T. Washington High School)
2nd: Grant Bumgarner (Booker T. Washington High School)
3rd: Adam Harder (Norman North High School)
4th: Dylan Dawson (Norman North High School)
5th: Ben Parker (Norman High School)
6th: Leland Strange (Booker T. Washington High School)

Class 5A International Extemp

Champion: Josh Yoo (Metro Christian Academy)
2nd: Cai Barias (Guymon High School)
3rd: Karis D’Alesandro (Cascia Hall Preparatory School)
4th: Cole McNeese (Metro Christian Academy)

Class 5A United States Extemp

Champion: Peter Simmons (Bishop Kelley High School)
2nd: Euan Williams (Metro Christian Academy)
3rd: Jorja Rose (Harding Charter Preparatory)
4th: Andrew Price (Classen School of Advanced Studies)

Class 4A International Extemp

Champion: Taylor Putman (Muldrow High School)
2nd: Alex Hinshaw (Comanche High School)
3rd: Eli Tatman (Muldrow High School)
4th: Montrey Bond (Prague High School)

Class 4A United States Extemp

Champion: Jessie Hearn (Muldrow High School)
2nd: Gagan Moorthy (Alva High School)
3rd: Timothy Wise (Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences)
4th: Meeka Smith (Muldrow High School)

Class 3A International Extemp

Champion: Eli Hobbs (Haskell High School)
2nd: Emma Keely (Riverfield High School)
3rd: Chris Rogers (Haskell High School)
4th: Nathan Minyard (Quinton High School)

Class 3A United States Exemp

Champion: Tom Crews (Okarche High School)
2nd: Robert Beers (Riverfield High School)
3rd: Bryson Reece (Haskell High School)
4th: Mitchell Bibelheimmer (Haskell High School)

Extemp Central thanks the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association for posting the results of the tournament online and to Arel Rende for sending us the fifth and sixth places finishers in the 6A extemp categories.

North Dakota classes its state speech competitions and the North Dakota High School Activities Association Class A State Speech Tournament took place at Jamestown High School on April 12. Thomas Startz continued Fargo Shanley High School’s dominance in extemporaneous speaking, winning the state championship over William Fleck of Mandan High School. Since 2009, Fargo Shanley has won the state extemporaneous speaking title. Kelsey Becker of Jamestown High School took third place.

Four underclassmen made the final round of the state tournament and have earned their qualifications to the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University. They are indicated in italics in the results listing.

Here are the results of the 2014 North Dakota High School Activities Association Class A State Speech Tournament:

Champion: Thomas Startz (Shanley High School)
2nd: William Fleck (Mandan High School)
3rd: Kelsey Becker (Jamestown High School)
4th: Reece Burckhard (Bismarck St. Mary’s Central High School)
5th: Oliva Larsen (Williston High School)
6th: Gabriel Thomas (Shanley High School)
7th: Casey Orvedal (Fargo Davies High School)
8th: Prajwal Bharadwaj (Bismarck St. Mary’s Central High School)

Extemp Central thanks the North Dakota High School Activities Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

The Minnesota High School League State Speech Tournament usually attracts attention due to the state’s success over the last decade at the CFL and NSDA national tournaments. The tournament divides its schools into two classes: Class A and Class AA. This year saw Sydney Erhardt of Cannon Falls High School repeat as the Class A state champion and she won the final round by three ranks over Shane Price of Mankato Loyola Catholic School. Nicole Riegert of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School took third place.

In Class AA, two prominent competitors at last year’s NSDA National Tournament faced off in the final round. Dylan Adelman of Lakeville South High School, a semi-finalist in last year’s NSDA International Extemp category, defeated last year’s U.S. Extemp finalist Adam Stromme of Eagan High School by two ranks. Adelman’s win is the first by an extemper from Lakeville South since Dylan Slinger won consecutive state championships in 2010 and 2011. Andrew Urevig of Robbinsdale Armstrong High School finished third and Haley Brahmbhatt of Chanhassen High School, who won the Chanhassen High School Tournament (a TOC qualifier held a few months ago), finished fifth.

The finals of both classes were dominated by seniors as evidenced by only four underclassmen extempers earning bids to next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. They are indicated in italics below.

Here are the results of the 2014 Minnesota High School League State Tournament (Click here for tab sheets):

Class AA

Champion: Dylan Adelman (Lakeville South High School)
2nd: Adam Stromme (Eagan High School)
3rd: Andrew Urevig (Robbinsdale Armstrong High School)
4th: Cody Goodchild (St. Michael-Albertville High School)
5th: Haley Brahmbhatt (Chanhassen High School)
6th: Anant Naik (Eastview High School)
7th: Parker Breza (Benilde-St. Margaret’s School)
8th: Shaker Ali (Moorhead High School)

Class A

Champion: Sydney Erhardt (Cannon Falls High School)
2nd: Shane Price (Mankato Loyola Catholic School)
3rd: Nicole Riegert (Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School)
4th: Josh Siebenaler (Cannon Falls High School)
5th: Charlie Stejskal (Maple Lake High School)
6th: Bradley Foster (Walter-Hackensack-Akeley High School)
7th: Spencer Svendsen (Staples-Motley High School)
8th: Brent Larson (Marshall School – Duluth)

Extemp Central thanks the Minnesota High School League for putting the results of the tournament online.

James Enochs High School hosted the 2014 California High School Speech Association (CHSSA) State Tournament on April 25 through April 27 at James Enochs High School in Modesto. The tournament was cumulative. In International Extemp, Rohan Deskmukh of Carlsbad High School won his school’s first extemp state championship since at least 2003 by defeating Asher Kalman by three ranks. Alex Ye of Gabrielino High School , who won International Extemp at this year’s James Logan High School MLK Invitational (a TOC qualifier), placed third. Defending champion Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Preparatory, who was a participant at this year’s Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, was knocked out in the semi-finals.

In United States Extemp, Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School successfully defended his state championship, and won the tournament by four ranks over Ankur Mahesh of Bellarmine College Preparatory. Yu was this year’s California Invitational winner and he becomes the third California extemper since 2003 to win the United States Extemp category twice. Jonas Trevethan of Turlock High School finished third.

Six of the extempers in the final rounds of the tournament were non-seniors, and have earned automatic qualifications to next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. They are indicated in italics in the results listing.

Here are the results of the 2014 California High School Speech Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Rohan Deshmukh (Carlsbad High School)
2nd: Asher Kalman (Miramonte High School)
3rd: Alex Ye (Gabrielino High School)
4th: Brandon Ye (Dougherty Valley High School)
5th: Charles Michael Hinman (Miramonte High School)
6th: Alex Doan (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
7th: Yue Lu (Dougherty Valley High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Clayton Becker (Claremont High School)
*Rohan Dhoopar (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
*Daniel Ginsburg (Miramonte High School)
*Rohith Kuditipudi (The Harker School)
*Brandon Miller (James Enochs High School)
*Nadia Perl (Bishop O’Dowd High School)
*Kevin Prabakhar (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
*Nikhil Sharma (Carlsbad High School)
*Javion Sun (Schurr High School)
*Neil Tagare (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
*Jack Wright (Yuba City High School)

United States Extemp

Champion: Brian Yu (Monte Vista High School)
2nd: Ankur Mahesh (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
3rd: Jonas Trevethan (Turlock High School)
4th: Bryan Yuan Wang (Miramonte High School)
5th: Charlie Liao (Monte Vista High School)
6th: Anubhav Sarkar (Leland High School)
7th: Luiza Coelho (Carlsbad High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Alex Gao (Oxford Academy)
*Ethan Hu (Leland High School)
*Sai Sumana Kaluvai (Granite Bay High School)
*Donghun Kang (Leland High School)
*Pratyush Panda (Dougherty Valley High School)
*Prithvi Rajasekaran (Rocklin High School)
*Blair Rohring (Carlsbad High School)
*Dylan Rudolph (Sierra Canyon School)
*Omkar Savant (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
*Benjamin Sher (Dublin High School)
*Eileen Tan (Gabrielino High School)

Extemp Central thanks the California High School Speech Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

The Mississippi High School Activities Association held its 2014 state tournament last week at Ridgeland High School. Elizabeth Liu of Madison Central High School won the cumulative tournament and her first state championship by five ranks over Albert Nabiullin of Sacred Heart Catholic School. John Pearce Robertson of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, a school that had won the last two state titles, finished third. Madison Central and St. Andrew’s Episcopal had two finalists at the tournament, which was more than any other school.

Five of the six finalists in the tournament were non-seniors, so those extempers have earned an automatic qualification to next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Those earning qualifications are indicated in italics below.

Here are the results of the 2014 Mississippi High School Activities Association State Speech Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Elizabeth Liu (Madison Central High School)
2nd: Albert Nabiullin (Sacred Heart Catholic School)
3rd: John Pearce Robertson (St. Andrew’s Episcopal School)
4th: Nikhil Arora (St. Andrew’s Episcopal School)
5th: Abby Nguyen (Oak Grove High School)
6th: Ian Hennington (Madison Central High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Sarah Garris (Petal High School)
*Molly Nguyen (St. Andrew’s Episcopal School)
*Reid Roberson (Brookhaven High School)
*Will Smith (Petal High School)
*Angela Stephens (Oak Grove High School)
*Ishan Thaker (St. Andrew’s Episcopal School)

Extemp Central thanks the Mississippi High School Activities Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

Missouri, the “Show-Me” state, crowned two new state champions last week when it hosted its 2014 state tournament on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia. The state divides extemp into United States and International categories, a split that began last season. In International Extemp, Brandon Splitter of Carthage High School became the second extemper from his school to win a state extemp title in three years. Splitter defeated Raj Patel of Liberty North High School by two ranks. Benjamin Anderson of Nixa High School took third.

In United States Extemp, Michael Menkhus of Oakville High School won a sizable victory, beating Matthew Estes of Seneca High School by four ranks. Alexis Jackson of Nixa High School placed third.

The non-senior extempers in each of the final rounds earned automatic qualifications to the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Six extempers met this criteria and they are indicated in italics below.

Here are the results of the 2014 Missouri High School Activities Association State Championship (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Brandon Splitter (Carthage High School)
2nd: Raj Patel (Liberty North High School)
3rd: Benjamin Anderson (Nixa High School)
4th: Jonathan Christy (Lee’s Summit High School)
5th: Ryan Houston (Republic High School)
6th: Keerthi Gondi (Parkway West High School)
7th: Anubhav Garg (Central-Springfield High School)
8th: Thomas Sarsfield (Pattonville High School)

United States Extemp

Champion: Michael Menkhus (Oakville High School)
2nd: Matthew Estes (Seneca High School)
3rd: Alexis Jackson (Nixa High School)
4th: Jonah Ragsdale (Monett High School)
5th: Ashleigh Tucker (Central-Springfield High School)
6th: John Langa (Parkway Central High School)
7th: Garrett Sauer (Blue Springs South High School)
8th: Cole Culp (Neosho High School)

Extemp Central thanks the Missouri High School Activities Association for posting the results of the tournament online.

North Dakota divides its state competitions into two classes and these classes traditionally hold their state championship competitions on different dates. The Class B North Dakota High School Activities Association State Speech Tournament took place last week at Mandan High School. Gavin Muscha of Richland High School successfully defended his tournament title and gives Richland its third extemporaneous speaking state title in at least the last four years. Brandt Vernon and Dakota Degenstein of Hazen High School finished second and third, respectively.

Two extempers earned an automatic qualification to next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University based on their non-senior status and reaching the final round of the tournament. These individuals are indicated in italics in the results listing. However, other students may have qualified since the graduation year status of all of the final round competitiors could not be verified. If you notice an underclassmen not italicized below, please let us know.

Here are the results of the 2014 North Dakota High School Activities Association Class B State Speech Tournament:

Champion: Gavin Muscha (Richland High School)
2nd: Brandt Vernon (Hazen High School)
3rd: Dakota Degenstein (Hazen High School)
4th: Caitlin Hurst (Harvey/Wells County High School)
5th: Riley Abrahamson (Bowman County High School)
6th: Nicole Bartholomay (Enderlin/Mapley Valley High School)
7th: Cheyenne Leingang (Richardton-Taylor High School)
8th: Alex Syverson (Enderlin/Maple Valley High School)

Extemp Central thanks the North Dakota High School Activities Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

Westview High School returned to the winner’s circle at this year’s Oregon School Activities Association State Speech Tournament when Suyash Sharma edged McKinley Rodriguez of Lincoln High School by judges’ preference to capture the state title. Sharma’s victory is the first by a Westview extemper since Nima Ahmadi, an NFL finalist in International Extemp, won in 2008. Edward Szczepanski of Wilson High School palced third.

Underclassmen extempers dominated the final round, as five of the six earned automatic qualifications to next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Those who automatically qualified are indicated in italics below.

Here are the results of the 2014 Oregon School Activities Association State Speech Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Suyash Sharma (Westview High School)
2nd: McKinley Rodriguez (Lincoln High School)
3rd: Edward Szczepanski (Wilson High School)
4th: Ben Delsman (West Albany High School)
5th: Allen Roush (Clackamas High School)
6th: Ammas Tanveer (Lake Oswego High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Shyan Akmal (Westview High School)
*Austin Carsh (Tigard High School)
*Rohan Hiatt (Southridge High School)
*Cameron Marquez (Sam Barlow High School)
*Quentin Michael (Sprague High School)
*Becky Mikova (Sam Barlow High School)
*Alex Parini (Clackamas High School)

Extemp Central thanks the Oregon School Activities Association for posting the results of the tournament online.

Last month, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Speech Tournament took place on the campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. The highlight of the tournament was Alex Sapadin of Snohomish High School winning his third consecutive Class 4A state championship. Sapadin’s historic victory was not easy, though, as Heather Selby of Gig Harbor High School tied him in the tournament’s final round and won a majority of the judges, but lost on reciprocals. Austin Jang of Union High School placed third.

In Class 3A, Calvin Clark of Mountain View High School won his school’s first state extemp championship of this century by two ranks over teammate Grant Mathers. Maddie Lee of Seattle Academy was the third place finisher.

Here are the results of the 2014 Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Speech Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Class 4A

Champion: Alex Sapadin (Snohomish High School)
2nd: Heather Selby (Gig Harbor High School)
3rd: Austin Jang (Union High School)
4th: Kendall Dunovant (Walla Walla High School)
5th: Patrick Spieker (Gig Harbor High School)
6th: Jina Yi (Thomas Jefferson High School)
7th: Jayaram Ravi (Tahoma High School)

Class 3A

Champion: Calvin Clark (Mountain View High School)
2nd: Grant Mathers (Mountain View High School)
3rd: Maddie Lee (Seattle Academy)
4th: Jacob Anderson-Kester (Ridgefield High School)
5th: Gamy De La Torre (Othello High School)
6th: Jake MacDuff (Eastside Catholic High School)
7th: Carlin Cherry (Ingraham High School)

Extemp Central thanks the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association for putting the results of the tournament online and Amy McCormick for bringing them to our attention.

Two weeks ago, the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association held its 2014 state speech tournament. The state divides teams into two classes: Class A and Class BCD. The tournament is cumulatively tabbed. In Class A, Matt Greydanus of Grand Rapids Christian School won the state title by four ranks over teammate Johan Lee. Kendall Hitch of Seaholm High School finished third. Greydanus is the first Grand Rapids Christian School extemper to win a state title in the twenty-first century.

In Class BCD, Jason Michevich of Mason County Central High School defeated Justin Dolkowski of Divine Child High School by one rank to capture his first state championship. Alex Reeves of Greenhills High School placed third. Like Greydanus, Michevich is the first extemper from his school to win a state championship since 2000.

All underclassmen in the final rounds of their respective class earned automatic qualificatons to the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. One extemper, Greydanus, met this qualification and will be added to the 2015 TOC qual board. Extemp Central could not gather all of the information on whether other finalists were non-seniors, so if you happen to have this information, please let us know and we will modify our qual list.

Here are the results of the 2014 Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association State Speech Tournament (Click here for tab sheets):

Class A

Champion: Matt Greydanus (Grand Rapids Christian High School)
2nd: Johan Lee (Grand Rapids Christian High School)
3rd: Kendall Hitch (Seaholm High School)
4th: Josh Inwald (Bloomfield Hills High School)
5th: Tak Alguire (Walled Lake Western High School)
6th: America Edwards (Loy Norrix High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Stephen Brown (Groves High School)
*Max Evans (Loy Norrix High School)
*Kyle Huitt (Portage Northern High School)
*Humza Mirza (Portage Central High School)
*Alex Sitner (Seaholm High School)
*Jeremy Talgman (Bloomfield Hills High School)

Class BCD

Champion: Jason Michevich (Mason County Central High School)
2nd: Justin Dolkowski (Divine Child High School)
3rd: Alex Reeves (Greenhills High School)
4th: Henry Atkins (Grand Rapids City High School)
5th: Wynn Petersen (Mason County Central High School)
6th: Seth Kronick (Washtenaw International High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Isabel Ivanescu (Roeper High School)
*Powel Kazanjian (Greenhills High School)
*Dominique Nikolaidis (Detroit Country Day School)
*James Smock (Powers Catholic High School)
*Rhea Verma (International Academy)
*Maggie West (Birch Run High School)

Extemp Central thanks the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

Texas usually hosts one of the largest state tournaments in the country and this year’s Texas Forensic Association (TFA) State Tournament lived up to that billing by attracting more than one hundred competitors in International Extemp and ninety-nine competitors in United States Extemp.

In International Extemp, Abhinav Sridharan of Plano Senior High School successfully defended his state championship, achieving a dominating eight rank victory over second place finisher Matthew Feng of Plano West High School. Sridharan took four of the five available first place ranks in the final round. Sridharan becomes the first extemper to win consecutive International Extemp titles at TFA since Jeff Geels of Southlake Carroll High School won three consecutive championships between 2003 and 2005. Junyuan Tan of Alief Kerr High School was the third place finisher.

Saint Mary’s Hall won its first TFA extemp championship in United States Extemp when Marshall Webb edged out Neil Patel of Plano West High School by one rank. Webb won a majority of the first place ranks in the final round, but Patel’s string of second place ranks was nearly enough to win as Webb’s other two final round ranks were three’s. David Dam of Westwood High School finished in third place.

All of the finalists at the tournament received an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemp TOC at Northwestern University. Six extempers were not previously qualified to this year’s TOC and thereby earn an entry into the tournament this May.

Here are the results of the 2015 Texas Forensic Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet)

International Extemp

Champion: Abhinav Sridharan (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
2nd: Matthew Feng (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
3rd: Junyuan Tan (Alief Kerr High School, Texas)
4th: Azhar Hussain (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
5th: Lindsey Li (Cinco Ranch High School, Texas)
6th: Tiffany Wang (Guyer High School, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Perry Alagappan (Clear Lake High School, Texas)
*Aprotim Basu-Roy (Westlake High School, Texas)
*Maxim Belov (Lake Travis High School, Texas)
*Nicholas Curtis (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Lyle Derden (Houston Lamar High School, Texas)
*Phoebe Lin (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Rupasri Shankar (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Shreetika Singh (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Kishan Srikanth (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Hina Uddin (Foster High School, Texas)
*Mark Wilson (The Parish Episcopal School, Texas)
*Joshua Yang (Clements High School, Texas)

Quarter-Finalists

*Mohammad Asif (Clements High School, Texas)
*Zain Aziz (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
*Summer Gregurek (Victoria East High School, Texas)
*Ayesha Karnik (Flower Mound High School, Texas)
*Sarah Lanier (Northland Christian School, Texas)
*Amber Liu (Bellaire High School, Texas)
*Walton-Gray Martin (Friendswood High School, Texas)
*Simbai Mutandiro (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Darren Pomida (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Colin Price (Cypress Creek High School, Texas)
*Aaron Raj (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Blake Seaman (Allen High School – Lowery Freshman Center, Texas)
*Saurabh Sharma (Allen High School – Lowery Freshman Center, Texas)
*Madeline Spears (Guyer High School, Texas)
*Nader Syed (C.T. Johnson High School, Texas)
*Mafaaz Tanzeem (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
*Samuel Tekie (Houston Lamar High School, Texas)
*Ashley Tsao (Garland High School, Texas)
*Rohan Vaidya (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Mark Werner (Prosper High School, Texas)

United States Extemp

Champion: Marshall Webb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
2nd: Neil Patel (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
3rd: David Dam (Westwood High School, Texas)
4th: Gregory Fantin (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
5th: Karna Venkatraj (A&M Consolidated High School, Texas)
6th: Katherine Hu (Jasper High School, Texas)

Semi-Finalists

*Romic Aevaz (Clements High School, Texas)
*Zach Aikman (Seven Lakes High School, Texas)
*Steven Clark (Byron Nelson High School, Texas)
*Levi Debose (Houston Lamar High School, Texas)
*Rachel Evans (Salado High School, Texas)
*Angelo Gaunichaux (Westfield High School, Texas)
*Danny Li (Bellaire High School, Texas)
*John Thornton Lindsey (Montgomery High School, Texas)
*Joshua Merritt (La Vernia High School, Texas)
*Rakesh Vijayakumar (Clear Brook High School, Texas)
*Madelyn Warren (Friendswood High School, Texas)
*Natasha Wroblewski (Friendswood High School, Texas)

Quarter-Finalists

*Jacqueline Doan (Plano Senior High School, Texas)
*Jackson Freeman (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Carlos Gregory (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
*Luke Hogg (Central High School, Texas)
*Shishir Jessu (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Jana Kholy (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Anna Charlotte Lavers (Snyder High School, Texas)
*Priyanka Mara (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Amethyst Marroquin (Harlingen High School, Texas)
*Jeremiah Menslage (Spring Woods High School, Texas)
*Whitley Perryman (Montgomery High School, Texas)
*Graham Anthony Phileger (Crandall High School, Texas)
*Samir Rahi (Clements High School, Texas)
*Jacob Redmon (Richardson High School, Texas)
*Jordan Rojas (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
*Anzhe Wang (Flower Mound High School, Texas)
*Emma Weatherford (Coram Deo Academy, Texas)
*Justin Yan (Flower Mound High School, Texas)

Extemp Central thanks the Texas Forensic Association for posting the results of the tournament online.

Two weeks ago, extempers from South Dakota competed in the South Dakota Activities Association State Tournament. South Dakota has two classes for its state tournament, which are then divided into International and United States Extemp categories.

In Class A International Extemp, Brady S. Jandl of Lennox High School became the first winner from Lennox since 2010. Jandl defeated Kadon Leddy of Milbank High School for the title. Jandl’s Lennox teammate August W. Meyer finished in third place.

In Class A United States Extemp, Berk Ehrmantraut of Beresford High School became the first state champion from his school in the category since 1992. Joe Miller of Vermillion High School finished runner-up for the second consecutive year and was trying to become the second consecutive Vermillion extemper to win the U.S. Extemp state title. Connor Lightfield of Milbank High School took third place, an improvement over his seventh place finish last season.

Class AA International Extemp saw Shyanne Redlin of Watertown High School successfully defend her state championship. Redlin defeated Ryan Wellman of SF Lincoln High School. She becomes the first back-to-back winner in AA International Extemp since Ann Fishback of Brookings High School accomplished the feat in 1996. Yilun Li of Brookings High School finished third.

And in Class AA United States Extemp Ryan Solberg gave Mitchell High School its fourth consecutive winner in the category, defeating Caleb Munce of SF Lincoln. Solberg was a return finalist, having placed fifth at last year’s state tournament. Emily Meier of Aberdeen Central High School rounded out the top three.

All of the finalists at the tournament earned an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemp TOC at Northwestern University.

Here are the results of the 2015 South Dakota High School Activities Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Class A International Extemp

Champion: Brady S. Jandl (Lennox High School, South Dakota)
2nd: Kadon Leddy (Milbank High School, South Dakota)
3rd: August W. Meyer (Lennox High School, South Dakota)
4th: Sowmya Ragothaman (Vermillion High School, South Dakota)
5th: Brianna Schreurs (Milbank High School, South Dakota)
6th: Kevin Huot (Beresfod High School, South Dakota)

Class A United States Extemp

Champion: Berk Ehrmantraut (Beresford High School, South Dakota)
2nd: Joe Miller (Vermillion High School, South Dakota)
3rd: Connor Lightfield (Milbank High School, South Dakota)
4th: Kolby C. Reinke (Lennox High School, South Dakota)
5th: Erika Moen (Vermillion High School, South Dakota)
6th: John T. Steever (Lennox High School, South Dakota)

Class AA International Extemp

Champion: Shyanne Redlin (Watertown High School, South Dakota)
2nd: Ryan Wellman (SF Lincoln High School, South Dakota)
3rd: Yilun Li (Brookings High School, South Dakota)
4th: Brett Duffek (SF O’Gorman High School, South Dakota)
5th: Destiny Pinder-Buckley (Mitchell High School, South Dakota)
6th: Derek Hamre (SF Lincoln High School, South Dakota)

Class AA United States Extemp

Champion: Ryan Solberg (Mitchell High School, South Dakota)
2nd: Caleb Munce (SF Lincoln High School, South Dakota)
3rd: Emily Meier (Aberdeen Central High School, South Dakota)
4th: Sydney Gelling (Aberdeen Central High School, South Dakota)
5th: Jonah Dally (SF O’Gorman High School, South Dakota)
6th: Alexander King (SF O’Gorman High School, South Dakota)

Extemp Central thanks the South Dakota High School Activities Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

This year’s South Carolina Forensic Coaches Associatin State Tournament featured a first-time winner as Roann Abdeladi of Greenville Tech Charter High School captured the championship by five ranks over Unshu Biyani of Riverside High School. The victory is the first for Greenville Tech, with Abdeladi thwarting Riverside’s effort to have back-to-back winners after Nida Ansari won last year’s title.

The tournament was cumulatively tabbed, with a competitors preliminary, semi-final, and finals rankings factoring into their total score. Abdeladi won the final round with a composite score of six versus Biyani’s score of nine. Fifth place finisher Jordan Childs of Riverside also finished the final round with a total of nine ranks.

Andrew P. Clater of Bob Jones Academy finished third.

All of the finalists earned an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemp TOC at Northwestern University.

Here are the results of the 2015 South Carolina Forensic Coaches Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Roann Abdeladi (Greenville Tech Charter High School, South Carolina)
2nd: Unshu Biyani (Riverside High School, South Carolina)
3rd: Andrew P. Clater (Bob Jones Academy, South Carolina)
4th: Jared Boggs (Riverside High School, South Carolina)
5th: Jordan Childs (Riverside High School, South Carolina)
6th: Elliot X. Lin (Riverside High School, South Carolina)

Semi-Finalists

*Jordan Childs (Riverside High School, South Carolina)
*Carter Henderson (Bob Jones Academy, South Carolina)
*Sandeep Kattepogu (Bob Jones Academy, South Carolina)
*Ronak Malde (Southside High School, South Carolina)
*Brant Safrit (Riverside High School, South Carolina)
*Kevin Tian (Southside High School, South Carolina)

Extemp Central thanks the South Carolina Forensic Coaches Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

Last weekend saw Utah host its state tournaments for classes 4A and 5A (3A as well but we do not have the results for those tournaments yet). The state divides extemporaneous speaking into International and United States Extemp categories and the 4A and 5A state events crowned a set of of first-time winners.

In Class 4A International Extemp, Joseph Cieslewicz of Wasatch High School achieved a five rank victory over J.R. Hunsaker of Clearfield High School. Isidora Stankovic took third place. In the United States Extemp half of the tournament, Max Cline won the state title by five ranks over Joshua Williams of Sky View High School. Williams’ teammate Colleen Coyle was the third place finisher.

In Class 5A, Chantelle Gossner of Weber High School won a narrow one rank victory over Ethan Bastian of Copper Hills High School. Carson Robb of Davis High School and Alexander Holt of Copper Hills High School tied for third place. In United States Extemp, Bridges Sayers of Copper Hills High School won by five ranks over Malcolm Harrison of Hunter High School. Alex Day of Lone Peak High School finished third.

Utah did not have any extempers pre-qualified to this year’s 2015 Extemp TOC at Northwestern University, so all of the extempers who reached the final round earned an automatic qualification to this year’s event in May.

Here are the results of the 2015 Utah High School Activities Association State Tournament (Click here for 4A Tab Sheet ; Click here for 5A Tab Sheet):

Class 4A International Extemp

Champion: Joseph Cieslewicz (Wasatch High School, Utah)-5 rank win
2nd: J.R. Hunsaker (Clearfield High School, Utah)
3rd: Isidora Stankovic (Bountiful High School, Utah)
4th: Jack Tingey (Olympus High School, Utah)
5th: Riley Adams (Roy High School, Utah)
6th: Seth Brown (Olympus High School, Utah)

Class 4A United States Extemp

Champion: Max Cline (Skyline High School, Utah)
2nd: Joshua Williams (Sky View High School, Utah)
3rd: Colleen Coyle (Sky View High School, Utah)
4th: Colton Osguthorpe (Wasatch High School, Utah)
5th: Halley Brown-Garner (Roy High School, Utah)
6th: McKaleigh Rogers (Murray High School, Utah)

Class 5A International Extemp

Champion: Chantelle Gossner (Weber High School – Vokalsport, Utah)
2nd: Ethan Bastian (Copper Hills High School, Utah)
T3rd: Carson Robb (Davis High School, Utah)
T3rd: Alexander Holt (Copper Hills High School, Utah)
5th: Kimia Moeinvaziri (Hillcrest High School, Utah)
6th: Emerson Ford (Bingham High School, Utah)

Class 5A United States Extemp

Champion: Bridges Sayers (Copper Hills High School, Utah)
2nd: Malcolm Harrison (Hunter High School, Utah)
3rd: Alex Day (Lone Peak High School, Utah)
4th: Quaid Green (Herriman High School, Utah)
5th: Melissa Ivie (Copper Hills High School, Utah)
6th: Chandler Wakefield (Hillcrest High School, Utah)

Extemp Central thanks the Utah High School Activities Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

This year’s New Jersey Forensic League State Tournament became a duel between Ridge High School and Montville Township High School, with both schools exchanging wins and second place finishes in the tournament’s International and United States Extemp categories.

In International Extemp, Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge successfully defended his state championship, achieving a two rank victory over Christopher Mayer of Montville. Mark Rinder of Freehold Township High School, the winner of this year’s Columbia Invitational, was the third place finisher.

Montville’s Jay Sirot won his first state championship in United States Extemp, achieving a three-rank margin of victory over Clare Halsey of Ridge. Thomas Abel of the Delbarton School, who finished in the top three of the Barkley Forum in January, finished third.

Two extempers – Mayer and Kyle White of Matawan Regional High School – were not previously qualified to this year’s Extemp TOC at Northwestern University. They earn an automatic qualification by virtue of reaching the final round of their respective extemp category.

At the tournament, Ridge had five extemp finalists, while Montville had three.

Here are the results of the 2015 New Jersey Forensic League State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
2nd: Christopher Mayer (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
3rd: Mark Rinder (Freehold Township High School, New Jersey)
4th: Sejal Waghray (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
5th: Collin Montag (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
6th: Abhinav Karale (The Delbarton School, New Jersey)

United States Extemp

Champion: Jay Sirot (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
2nd: Clare Halsey (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
3rd: Thomas Abel (The Delbarton School, New Jersey)
4th: Noah Weinflash (Montville Township High School, New Jersey)
5th: Kyle White (Matawan Regional High School, New Jersey)
6th: Avni Mahagaokar (Ridge High School, New Jersey)

Extemp Central thanks the New Jersey Forensic League for posting the results of the tournament online.

Green Valley High School took both extemp championships at this year’s Nevada Forensic Association State Tournament, with Omar Qureshi winning International Extemp and Chace Avecilla winning United States Extemp.

Qureshi’s victory in International Extemp, which saw him take five of the six available first place ranks in the final round, gives him back-to-back state championships in the category. Phylaktis Demetriou of Green Valley was the second place finisher. Andrew Turner of Coronado High School took third.

Green Valley also took the top two placings in United States Extemp, where Acevilla defeated Conrad Palor by two ranks. Lance Ledet of Northwest Career and Technical Academy was the third place finisher.

All of the finalists earned an automatic qualification to this year’s Extemp TOC at Northwestern University.

Here are the results of the 2015 Nevada Forensic Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Omar Qureshi (Green Valley High School, Nevada)
2nd: Phylaktis Demetriou (Green Valley High School, Nevada)
3rd: Andrew Turner (Coronado High School, Nevada)
4th: Louis Shulman (Coronado High School, Nevada)
5th: Omar H. Moore (Advanced Technologies Academy, Nevada)
6th: Guillermo E. Lopez-Chavez (Palo Verde High School, Nevada)
7th: Benjamin Guido (Foothill High School, Nevada)

United States Extemp

Champion: Chace Avecilla (Green Valley High School, Nevada)
2nd: Conrad Palor (Green Valley High School, Nevada)
3rd: Lance Ledet (Northwest Career and Technical Academy, Nevada)
4th: Danica Topham (Palo Verde High School, Nevada)
5th: Donald T. Fagan (Advanced Technologies Academy, Nevada)
6th: Heather Foster (Reno High School, Nevada)
7th: Felicia Kalkman (Coronado High School, Nevada)
8th: Matthew Glavish (Sage Ridge High School, Nevada)

Extemp Central thanks the Nevada Forensic Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School made history at this year’s Kentucky High School Speech League (KHSSL) State Championshp by winning the extemporaneous speaking state title for the third consecutive year.

Anderson, last year’s Barkley Forum champion and who at one time was the top ranked extemper in the country in the Extemp Central National Points Race, went straight 1’s in the semi-final and final rounds of the tournament to defeat Jared Thomas of Harrison County High School by three ranks.  Thomas finished third at last year’s tournament.

Lane Hedrick of Rowan County Senior High School, a two-time winner of the George C. Armstrong Heart of Illinois Invitational at Bradley University, finished third.

All of the finalists earned an automatic qualification to this year’s Extemp TOC at Northwestern University by virtue of making the tournament final round. This gives Kentucky five new TOC qualifiers as Anderson was already pre-qualified due to reaching elimination rounds at last year’s TOC.

Here are the results of the 2015 Kentucky High School Speech League State Championship (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Brian Anderson (LaRue County High School, Kentucky)
2nd: Jared Thomas (Harrison County High School, Kentucky)
3rd: Lane Hedrick (Rowan County Senior High School, Kentucky)
4th: Jorge Rojas-Ortega (Trinity High School, Kentucky)
5th: Sahil Nair (Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, Kentucky)
6th: Patrick Edwards (Larry A. Ryle High School, Kentucky)

Semi-Finalists

*Shelby Amato (Henry Clay High School, Kentucky)
*Harper Anderson (Rowan County Senior High School, Kentucky)
*Mary-Scott Bugg (Danville High School, Kentucky)
*Jimmy Chen (Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, Kentucky)
*Sue Cook (Danville High School, Kentucky)
*Reagan Davis (Assumption High School, Kentucky)
*Emily Falica (SKY Academy, Kentucky)
*Leila Abou Jaoude (Lafayette High School, Kentucky)
*Ivanka Raine (Cooper High School, Kentucky)
*Nathan Terrell (Rowan County Senior High School, Kentucky)
*Rachel Todd (Murray High School, Kentucky)
*Adrianna Waters (Boone County High School, Kentucky)

Extemp Central thanks the Kentucky High School Speech League for posting the results of the tournament online.

Henry W. Grady High School continued its winning tradition at this year’s Georgia Forensic Coaches Association (GFCA) State Tournament when Sam Lombardo and Keegan Hasson took the top two places in extemporaneous speaking. Lombardo won the tournament with a cumulative score of four in the final round, three ranks better than Hasson’s cumulative score of seven. Yugnash Malik of Lee County High School was the third place finisher.

Henry W. Grady has won the last four GFCA state titles in extemporaneous speaking. At this year’s tournament, the school had half of the final round, with Denis Goldsman finishing fifth to go along with Lombardo and Hasson’s performances.

All of the extempers who reached the final round earned an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University.

Here are the results of the 2015 Georgia Forensic Coaches Association State State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Sam Lombardo (Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia)
2nd: Keegan Hasson (Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia)
3rd: Yugnash Malik (Lee County High School, Georgia)
4th: Samuel Gyorfi (Lee County High School, Georgia)
5th: Denis Goldsman (Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia)
6th: Dhruva Jandhyala (Starr’s Mill High School, Georgia)

Extemp Central thanks the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association for putting the results of the tournament online.

The 2015 Colorado High School Activities Association State Tournament featured the return of several schools to the winner’s circle after a five-year absence.

In International Extemp, Tiana Menon of Palisade High School upset Glenbrooks winner Jack Glaser of George Washington High School to claim the state title. Menon won the cumulative tournament by two ranks, causing Glaser to finish runner-up for the second consecutive year. Henry Sparks of Cheyenne Mountain High School finished third. Menon’s win is the first for a Palisade extemper since 2010.

In the United States Extemp half of the tournament, Matthew Barad gave Air Academy High School its first winner in the category since 2009, securing a five-rank triumph against Molly Naylor-Komyatte of Lakewood High School. Emma Bakken of George Washington High School was the third place finisher.

Colorado ranks the placing of its semi-finalists, so those placings are included in our results listing.

All of the finalists secured an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemp TOC. Ten extempers were not previously qualified and can head to Chicago next month. Those earning an automatic qualification are indicated in italics in the results listing.

Here are the results of the 2015 Colorado High School Activities Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

International Extemp

Champion: Tiana Menon (Palisade High School, Colorado)
2nd: Jack Glaser (George Washington High School, Colorado)
3rd: Henry Sparks (Cheyenne Mountain High School, Colorado)
4th: Addie Glickstein (Denver East High School, Colorado)
5th: Ethan Snow (Arapahoe High School, Colorado)
6th: Stewart Aslan (Palisade High School, Colorado)

Semi-Finalists

7th: Corinne Moss (Air Academy High School, Colorado)
8th: Liam Glennie (Denver East High School, Colorado)
9th: Max Davidson (Denver East High School, Colorado)
10th: Joseph Han (Poudre High School, Colorado)
11th: Aman Mital (St. Mary’s High School, Colorado)
12th: Grace Chao (Kent Denver School, Colorado)

United States Extemp

Champion: Matthew Barad (Air Academy High School, Colorado)
2nd: Molly Naylor-Komyatte (Lakewood High School, Colorado)
3rd: Emma Bakken (George Washington High School, Colorado)
4th: Helen Landwehr (Air Academy High School, Colorado)
5th: Yosef Gross (George Washington High School, Colorado)
6th: Megha Patel (Cherry Creek High School, Colorado)

Semi-Finalists

7th: Samantha Hu (Cherry Creek High School, Colorado)
8th: Sebastian McCrimmon (George Washington High School, Colorado)
9th: Shadi Nasabzadeh (Cherry Creek High School, Colorado)
10th: Joshua May (Palisade High School, Colorado)
11th: Elisabeth Bernatska (Air Academy High School, Colorado)
12th: Aver Anderson (Fairview High School, Colorado)

Extemp Central thanks the Colorado High School Activities Association for posting the results of the tournament online.

Seckin Kara returned Dallastown High School to the top of the Pennsylvania extemp circuit at the 2015 Pennsylvania High School Speech League State Tournament. Kara became the first Dallastown extemper to take home the extemporaneous speaking state championship in thirteen years by narrowly defeating Collin Quigley of Holy Ghost Preparatory by one rank. Kara and Quigley each earned two first place ranks in the final round, outdistancing the rest of the field.

Mary Breen of Gwynedd Mercy Academy finished five ranks behind Kara, taking third place overall.

Four extempers earned an automatic qualification to the 2015 Extemp TOC by virtue of their final round placing in the tournament. They are indicated in italics in the results listing.

Here are the results of the 2015 Pennsylvania High School Speech League State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Seckin Kara (Dallastown High School, Pennsylvania)
2nd: Collin Quigley (Holy Ghost Preparatory, Pennsylvania)
3rd: Mary Breen (Gwynedd Mercy Academy, Pennsylvania)
4th: Noah Huffman (Bishop McCort Catholic High School, Pennsylvania)
5th: Gaurav Bushan (Upper St. Clair High School, Pennsylvania)
6th: Chase Miller (Upper St. Clair High School, Pennsylvania)

Semi-Finalists

*Jacob Barilla (Mercyhurst Preparatory School, Pennsylvania)
*Carter Bowman (Central York High School, Pennsylvania)
*Mary Hogue (Mercer Area High School, Pennsylvania)
*Sam Huddleston (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School, Pennsylvania)
*Noah Katcher (Altoona Area High School, Pennsylvania)
*Ellis Sargeant (St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, Pennsylvania)

Extemp Central thanks the Pennsylvania High School Speech League for posting the results of the tournament online.