It has been a while since Extemp Central recapped the action taking place at state tournaments across the country. To get caught up, we will be posting a collection a state tournament results over the course of the next four weeks. Our first state tournament recap provides results for state tournaments in Arizona, Indiana, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Utah High School Activities Association State Tournament

Utah utilizes five different classes for its state tournament. Class 3A held its state tournament on March 13-14 at Park City High School in Park City, Utah. In International Extemp, Adelaide MacKay of Cedar High School achieved a two rank victory over Olivia Heggar of Juan Diego Catholic High School. In United States Extemp, Caleb Barton of Richfield High School won his first state title, defeating Andrew Schuman of Juan Diego by two ranks.

American Leadership Academy on March 21 played host to the Class A and Class 2A state tournaments. In Class A, Cana Buckley of Intermountain Christian School beat Slader Matthew of Panguitch High School and in Class 2A Sean Robinson of Maesar Preparatory Academy successfully defended his state championship, defeating Jimmy Pearson of Summit Academy.

Class 3A International Extemp (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Adelaide MacKay (Cedar High School)
2nd: Olivia Heggar (Juan Diego Catholic High School)
3rd: Megha Kundra (Juan Diego Catholic High School)
4th: Shelby Cameron (Juab High School)
5th: Nate Smith (Juab High School)
6th: Matthew Erisman (Grantsville High School)

Class 3A United States Extemp

Champion: Caleb Barton (Richfield High School)
2nd: Andrew Schuman (Juan Diego Catholic High School)
3rd: Morgan Naylor (Juab High School)
4th: Kade Jackson (Juab High School)
5th: Nicole Christensen (Richfield High School)
6th: Kaden Matthews (Morgan High School)
7th: Stef Whiting (Juab High School)

Class 2A (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Sean Robinson (Maeser Preparatory Academy)
2nd: Jimmy Pearson (Summit Academy)
3rd: Emilia Cubelos (Grand County High School)
4th: Antonio Vazquez (Summit Academy)
5th: Ted Kanell (Beaver High School)
6th: Jacob Savage (American Leadership Academy)

Class A (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Cana Buckley (Intermountain Christian School)
2nd: Slader Matthew (Panguitch High School)
3rd: Sonya Wirkus (Intermountain Christian School)
4th: Garrett Finch (Panguitch High School)
5th: Drew Fischer (Panguitch High School)

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Wyoming Forensic Association State Tournament

The Wyoming Forensic Association State Tournament took place in Buffalo, Wyoming from March 12-14. Caroline Pring won this year’s tournament, giving Cheyenne Central its first ever state champion in the category. Alexander Machal of Green River High School took second. Cheyenne Central had two finalists, which was the most of another other school at the tournament.

Champion: Caroline Pring (Cheyenne Central High School)
2nd: Alexander Marchal (Green River High School)
3rd: Suzie Schmid (Rock Springs High School)
4th: Lucas Davis (Campbell County High School)
5th: Tyler Hawley (Cheyenne Central High School)
6th: Mary Gray (Kelly Walsh High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Allison Arp (Cheyenne Central High School)
*Ben Barton (Laramie High School)
*Martin Eby (Jackson High School)
*James Fantin (Rock Springs High School)
*Alex Fife (Evanston High School)
*Katarina Huss (Natrona County High School)
*Adrienne MacKenzie (Wright High School)
*Jacob Skoda (Worland High School)
*Tristan Wagner (Jackson High School)

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Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet)

There are two classes of extemporaneous speaking at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Tournament, 3A and 4A. In Class 3A, Sorana Nance of Kingston High School became the first Kingston extemper to claim a state title since 2009. Nance won the tournament by four ranks, taking two first place ranks in the final round to beat Tate Adams of Capital High School. In Class 4A, Jayaram Ravi of Tahoma High School took two first place ranks in the final round, but narrowly defeated Shad Strehle of Snohomish High School by one rank to claim Tahoma’s first extemp championship of the twenty-first century.

Class 4A

Champion: Jayaram Ravi (Tahoma High School)
2nd: Shad Strehle (Snohomish High School)
3rd: Austin Jang (Union High School)
4th: Elisa Pavesi (Kamiak High School)
5th: Patrick Spieker (Gig Harbor High School)
6th: Jessica Shattuck (Snohomish High School)
7th: Heather Selby (Gig Harbor High School)

Class 3A

Champion: Sorana Nance (Kingston High School)
2nd: Tate Adams (Capital High School)
3rd: Gamy De La Torre (Othello High School)
4th: Angelia Miranda (TAF Academy)
5th: Karl Nielsen (Aviation High School)
6th: Andrew Davis (Glacier Peak High School)
7th: Xenon Berkeley (Hockinson High School)

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Arizona Interscholastic Association State Tournament

The Arizona Interscholastic Association State Tournament was held on March 20-21. The state features two categories of extemporaneous speaking. In Division I, Prinaka Kumar of Desert Vista High School won the state championship over teammate Michael Solomentsev. Desert Vista had an impressive showing in Division I, taking four of the six available final round spots. In Division II, Troy Tauscher of North Pointe Preparatory won the championship, defeating Parker Whitfill of Phoenix Country Day School.

Division I (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Prianka Kumar (Desert Vista High School)
2nd: Michael Solomentsev (Desert Vista High School)
3rd: Tristan Brown (Brophy College Preparatory)
4th: Stephanie Miller (Desert Vista High School)
5th: Ryan Fedasiuk (Desert Vista High School)
6th: Shaloni Pinto (Brophy College Preparatory)

Division II (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Troy Tauscher (North Pointe Preparatory)
2nd: Parker Whitfill (Phoenix Country Day School)
3rd: William Porter (Phoenix Country Day School)
4th: Ryan Ferdowsian (Chandler Preparatory Academy)
5th: Daniel Bashir (Phoenix Country Day School)
6th: Vincent Jasso (North Pointe Preparatory)

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Indiana High School Forensic Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet)

The Indiana High School Forensic Association (IHSA) State Tournament was held at Fishers High School in Fishers, Indiana on March 28. In International Extemp, Kendall Gardner of Fishers achieved a three rank win over Kylee Rippy of Plymouth High School. With the victory Gardner became the first Fishers extemper to win the International Extemp category at the IHSA State Tournament. In United States Extemp, Jane Tullis of Valparaiso High School successfully defended her state championship, becoming the first back-to-back winner in the category since Emma Hong of Munster High School won consecutive titles in 2013. David Brown of Culver Academies took second place, finishing four ranks behind Tullis.

International Extemp

Champion: Kendall Gardner (Fishers High School, Indiana)
2nd: Kylee Rippy (Plymouth High School, Indiana)
3rd: Thomas Ritz (Fishers High School, Indiana)
4th: Tim Vincent (Chesterton High School, Indiana)
5th: Christian Sayers (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
6th: Frank Zhang (Culver Academies, Indiana)

Semi-Finalists

*Srikiran Dasari (Northrop High School, Indiana)
*Tommy Foreman (Warren Central High School, Indiana)
*Nathan Gray (Cathedral High School, Indiana)
*A.J. Hagemann (Carroll High School, Indiana)
*Aaron King (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
*Zach Long (Munster High School, Indiana)
*Sara Maier (Carroll High School, Indiana)
*Ryan MacDonald (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
*Brian Schnoor (Noblesville High School, Indiana)
*Kaitlin Wells (Warren Central High School, Indiana)
*Lena Yeakey (Behtany Christian High School, Indiana)
*Howard Yeh (F.J. Reitz High School, Indiana)

United States Extemp

Champion: Jane Tullis (Valparaiso High School, Indiana)
2nd: David Brown (Culver Academies, Indiana)
3rd: Urvi Joshi (Northrop High School, Indiana)
4th: Haley Clasen (Fishers High School, Indiana)
5th: Garrett Garver (Plymouth High School, Indiana)
6th: Caroline Shanely (Fishers High School, Indiana)

Semi-Finalists

*Erin Alberda (Fishers High School, Indiana)
*Elise Boessler (Concord High School, Indiana)
*Carson Conley (Floyd Central High School, Indiana)
*Lauren David (Fishers High School, Indiana)
*Corwin Marcum (New Castle High School, Indiana)
*Kevin O’Sullivan (Brebeuf Jesuit High School, Indiana)
*Lauren Palladino (North Central High School, Indiana)
*Daniel Schumick (Carroll High School, Indiana)
*Anna Riggs (Munster High School, Indiana)
*Clay Travis (DeKalb High School, Indiana)
*Erin Tupman (Cathedral High School, Indiana)
*Emily Wierman (Munster High School, Indiana)

With the NSDA topic area analysis in the books, Extemp Central can refocus its attention on the state tournament results of the last two months. This second state tournament recap provides results for competitions in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Virginia.

Nebraska State Activities Association State Tournament

Nebraska has six different classes at its state tournament. The University of Nebraska at Kearney played host to all six state competitions on March 26 and March 27.

This year’s state tournament featured several historical firsts as schools walked away with their first extemporaneous speaking state champion. Oluwakamiye Obaro of Millard West won his school’s first title in Class A, defeating Raja Mediratta of Millard North High School by two ranks. Similarly, David City High School won its first extemporaneous title when Allegra Hardin went straight one’s in the final round of Class B and secured a comfortable six rank margin of victory. Class D1 and D2 also saw first-time winners as Jake Senff of Shelton High School defeated Breanna Lemke-Elznic of Winside High School by one rank and Colin Erickson of Rock County High School defeated defending champion Isaiah Miller by one rank.

In Class C1, Abhinav Suresh of Omaha Bronwell-Talbot High School successfully defended his state championship by one rank over teammate Caravaggio Caniglia.

And in Class C2, Elliot Gonnella put Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinaeur High School back in the winner’s circle for the first time since 2002 when he defeated Nathalie Ford of Sutton High School by judges’ preference.

Class A (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Oluwakamiye Obaro (Millard West High School)
2nd: Raja Mediratta (Millard North High School)
3rd: Jacob Moore (Lincoln Southeast High School)
4th: Jordan Wong (Kearney High School)
5th: Katlyn Martin (Omaha Marian High School)
6th: Cooper Christiancy (Lincoln Southwest High School)
7th: Drew Steinhauser (Norfolk High School)
8th: Kalynn Stoner (North Platte High School)

Class B (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Allegra Hardin (David City High School)
2nd: Johnathon Boyd (Gering High School)
3rd: Zachary Starman (Mount Michael Benedictine High School)
4th: Benjamin Larsen (Blair High School)
5th: Waleed Rehman (David City High School)
6th: Clinton Lowe (Norris High School)

Class C1 (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Abhinav Suresh (Omaha Brownell-Talbot High School)
2nd: Caravaggio Caniglia (Omaha Brownell-Talbot High School)
3rd: John Stuart (Kearney Catholic High School)
4th: Brandon Unverferth (Raymond Central High School)
5th: Lauren Taylor (Raymond Central High School)
6th: Jared Fuelberth (Hartington-Newcastle High School)

Class C2 (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Elliot Gonnella (Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinaeur High School)
2nd: Nathalie Ford (Sutton High School)
3rd: Cody McCain (Tri County High School)
4th: Jessica Larkins (Freeman High School)
5th: Ethan Schantz (Crofton High School)
6th: Sarah Smith (Creighton Community High School)

Class D1 (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Jake Senff (Shelton High School)
2nd: Breanna Lemke-Elznic (Winside High School)
3rd: Jon Krings (Humphrey St. Francis High School)
4th: Rebecca Hiatt (West Boyd High School)
5th: Jacob Whisenhunt (Maxwell High School)
6th: Adyson Furlong (Bertrand High School)

Class D2 (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Colin Erickson (Rock County High School)
2nd: Isaiah Miller (Leigh High School)
3rd: Erika Ruhnke (Lindsay Holy Family High School)
4th: Tate Schmaderer (Stuart High School)
5th: Brody Hupp (Pope John High School)
6th: Emma Franklin (Wallace High School)

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Virginia High School League State Tournament

Like Nebraska, Virginia also has six classes – referred to as groups – for its state tournament. The Virginia High School League State Tournament took place on March 28 at Clover Hill High School in Midlothian Virginia.

In Group 6A, Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School won his third consecutive state championship, becoming the one of two competitors to defend a state title at the tournament. Wartel defeated Caroline King of Patrick Henry High School-Roanoke in the final round.

In addition to Wartel, Stephen Woolwine of Bland High School defended his state title in Group A, defeating James Davis of Altavista High School.

Group 4A could have seen a repeat winner, but Jack Beddle of Salem High School-Salem emerged as tournament champion. Defending champion Akash Raje of Midlothian High School finished third, while Jonathan Corbin of Fluvanna County High School took second.

Other state winners included Victoria Bevard of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Group 5A, Ideen Ashraf of Blacksburg High School in Group 3A, and Luke Basham of Central High School-Wise in Group 2A.

Group 6A

Champion: Josh Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School)
2nd: Caroline King (Patrick Henry High School-Roanoke)
3rd: Julian Levy-Myers (South Lakes High School)

Group 5A

Champion: Victoria Bevard (Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology)
2nd: Jela Shiver (Thomas Edison High School)
3rd: Emma Goshgarian (Princess Anne High School)

Group 4A

Champion: Jack Beedle (Salem High School-Salem)
2nd: Jonathan Corbin (Fluvanna County High School)
3rd: Akash Raje (Midlothian High School)

Group 3A

Champion: Ideen Ashraf (Blacksburg High School)
2nd: Sophia LaRuth (Lafayette High School)
3rd: Anupam Pokharel (Blacksburg High School)

Group 2A

Champion: Luke Basham (Central High School-Wise)
2nd: Dustin Cone (Madison County High School)
3rd: Chandler Vaughan (Randolph-Henry High School)

Group A

Champion: Stephen Woolwine (Bland High School)
2nd: James Davis (Altavista High School)
3rd: Brittny Price (Cumberland High School)

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Louisiana High School Speech League Tournament of Champions

The Louisiana High School Speech League hosted its annual State Tournament of Champions at Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans from March 31 to April 2. At the tournament, David Ramachandran of Ruston High School claimed his first state championship over Nicolas Juarez of Lafayette High School. Isidore Newman’s bid for a repeat state winner fell short as Christy Mo finished sixth.

Champion: David Ramachandran (Ruston High School)
2nd: Nicolas Juarez (Lafayette High School)
3rd: Timothy Shertzer (Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts)
4th: Olivia Feucht (Teurlings Catholic High School)
5th: Parker Leblanc (Comeaux High School)
6th: Christy Mo (Isidore Newman School)

Extemp Central continues to get caught up on state tournament action with this third state tournament recap providing results for competitions in Idaho, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.  These tournaments and those that will be recapped over the next several weeks are 2016 Extemp TOC qualifiers as TOC guidelines provide automatic entry for a 2015 state finalist if their state championship was held after April 4.

Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association State Tournament

The University of Oklahoma hosted the 2015 Oklahoma Secondary School Activity Association (OSSAA) State Tournament on April 9-11, 2015. The tournament has four different classes ranging from 3A to 6A and there are International and United States Extemp divisions within each.

The tournament featured some repeat winners as Patrick Wilson of Booker T. Washington High School defended his International Extemp championship in Class 6A and Taylor Putman of Muldrow High School, a sophomore, won the International Extemp title in Class 4A.  Class 5A International Extemp nearly saw a repeat winner as well, but defending champion Josh Yoo of Metro Christian Academy was defeated by teammate Cole McNeese.

Another headline of the tournament was freshman James Morley of Riverfield Country Day School winning the Class 3A United States Extemp category.

The other state winner in International Extemp was Nicholas Hartman of Riverfield Country Day in Class 3A.

Micah Cash took the Class 6A United States Extemp title, winning it for Booker T. Washington for a fourth consecutive year. Cash was an MBA invitee earlier in the season. Other United States Extemp state champions were Chris Allen of Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Class 5A and Gagan Moorthy of Alva High School in Class 4A.

Since Oklahoma’s state tournament happened after April 2, all underclassmen that reached the final round of their respective extemp category earned an automatic qualification to the 2016 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Those automatically qualifying are indicated in italics below.

Class 6A International Extemp

Champion: Patrick Wilson (Booker T. Washington High School)
2nd: Grant Bumgarner (Booker T. Washington High School)
3rd: Nicky Halterman (Norman High School)
4th: Gabi Glidewell (Moore High School)

Class 5A International Extemp

Champion: Cole McNeese (Metro Christian Academy)
2nd: Josh Yoo (Metro Christian Academy)
3rd: Garrett Eakers (Harding Charter Preparatory High School)
4th: Isaac Kabrick (Harding Charter Preparatory High School)

Class 4A International Extemp

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

Class 3A International Extemp

Champion: Nicholas Hartman (Riverfield Country Day School)
2nd: Emma Keely (Riverfield Country Day School)
T3rd: Alyssa Cherry (Colbert High School)
T3rd: Grant Crews (Okarche High School)
T3rd: Joseph Wagner(Cherokee High School)
4th: Chris Rogers (Haskell High School)

Class 6A United States Extemp

Champion: Micah Cash (Booker T. Washington High School)
2nd: Dylan Dawson (Norman North High School)
3rd: Leland Stange (Booker T. Washington High School)
4th: Maureen Haynes (Union High School)

Class 5A United States Extemp

Champion: Chris Allen (Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School)
2nd: Reece Vadney (Altus High School)
3rd: Raeleigh Pulliam (East Central High School)
4th: Seth Hale (Guymon High School)

Class 4A United States Extemp

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

Class 3A United States Extemp

Champion: James Morley (Riverfield Country Day School)
2nd: Bryson Reece (Haskell High School)
3rd: Josh Hill (Hennessey High School)
4th: Logan Biggins (Binger-Oney High School)

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Idaho High School Activities Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet)

Highland High School retained the Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA) State Extemporaneous Speaking Championship for the second consecutive year at this year’s IHSAA State Tournament. The tournament took place between April 10 and 11 at Century High School in Pocatello, Idaho.

Gabe Grow of Highland won his first state championship by three ranks over Kaitlyn Dey of Meridian High School. Grow took two first place ranks in the final round to give Highland its third state winner since 2011 and second in as many years. Christian Cousins of Lake City High School finished third.

Dey automatically qualifies to next year’s Extemp TOC at Northwestern University by virtue of reaching the final round.

Champion: Gabe Grow (Highland High School)
2nd: Kaitlyn Dey (Meridian High School)
3rd: Christian Cousins (Lake City High School)
4th: Christian Weinrich (Hillcrest High School)
5th: Jack Bradley (Highland High School)
6th: Carly Scott (Filer High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Ximena Bustillo (Vallivue High School)
*Jules Clemens (Hillcrest High School)
*Abagail Poelstra (Lake City High School)
*Hannah Spear (Rocky Mountain High School)
*Paige Thompson (Jerome High School)
*Charlee Wambolt (Eagle High School)
*Jackson Widmyer (Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy)
*Darian Wood (Eagle High School)

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Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet)

The Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association (WFCA) crowned a repeat winner at the league’s state tournament in Ripon, Wisconsin on April 10 and 11.  Alekh Kale won the tournament for the second consecutive year in dominating fashion, taking four of five available first place ranks in the final round to achieve a seven rank margin of victory. The title defense was not as easy as Kale made it look, though, as he only made it through the semi-final round by one rank. Kale becomes the first champion to successfully defend their title since Abhilash Sandireddy, also of James Madison, accomplished the feat in 2012.

Isaac Rudin of Madison West High School finished in second place and TJ Pitz of West Bend West High School rounded out the top three.

Since Kale reached the outrounds of the 2015 Extemp TOC, he did not need to automatically qualify through the state tournament. However, Anand Raman of Madison West High School earned a qualification via this route.

Champion: Alekh Kale (James Madison Memorial High School)
2nd: Isaac Rudin (Madison West High School)
3rd: TJ Pitz (West Bend West High School)
4th: Nithin Alexander (Brookfield East High School)
5th: Anand Raman (Madison West High School)
6th: Anna Sattler (Cedarburg High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Alesha Guenther (Berlin High School)
*Sam Mast (Appleton East High School)
*Ben Miller (Hortonville High School)
*Jeff Rademaker (Appleton East High School)
*Suhas Raja (Whitefish Bay High School)
*Rasika Ramanathan (James Madison Memorial High School)
*Genevieve Redsten (Madison West High School)

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Massachusetts Speech and Debate League (Click here for tab sheet)

Newton South High School, a historic extemp power, finally broke back into the winner’s circle at this year’s Massachusetts Speech and Debate League (MSDL) State Tournament, held on April 11 at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Massachusetts, even if it was not done by their highest ranked extemper in the National Points Race. Jason Ma won the tournament by one cumulative rank, defeating teammate and 2014 Yale Invitational and New York City Invitational winner Jasper Primack by two ranks in the final round. Ma is Newton South’s first extemp state champion since 2011.

This was the second year in a row that Primack finished in second place, as he was runner-up to Milton Academy’s Marshall Sloane at last year’s tournament. Sloane, who won last year’s championship as a freshman, was not able to defend his title in the final round after a fourth place rank in the first round of the tournament kept him from breaking out of prelims.

Like last year, Newton South High School placed three extempers in the final round, the most of any other school.

Four extempers – Alex Barrett of Shrewsbury High School, Rahul Chopra of Concord-Carlisle High School, and Ma and James Rao of Newton South – automatically qualify to next year’s TOC by virtue of being underclassmen in their state tournament final round.

Champion: Jason Ma (Newton South High School)
2nd: Jasper Primack (Newton South High School)
3rd: Rahul Chopra (Concord-Carlisle High School)
4th: Adam Tomasi (Sacred Heart High School)
5th: James Rao (Newton South High School)
6th: Alex Barrett (Shewsbury High School)
7th: Shaheen Bharwani (Milton Academy)

As readers wait for finals postings at NSDA, they might enjoy reading our fourth state tournament recap that provides results for state tournaments in Alabama, California, Minnesota, and North Dakota (Class A).

Alabama Speech and Debate Association State Tournament

The Alabama Speech and Debate Association’s State Tournament, contested between April 16 and April 18 at Saint James School in Montgomery, Alabama crowned two repeat winner’s in the state’s International and United States Extemp categories.

In International Extemp, Peare Barringer won his second consecutive state championship, defeating teammates Hayden Cavanaugh, Phillip Davis, and Hannah Yost for the championship.

Saint James also won United States Extemp, as McLean Stewart captured his third straight state championship in the category. Stewart defeated teammate Bradley Wascher for the title.

In all, eight underclassmen made the final rounds across both categories, which automatically qualify them for the 2016 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University. Those extempers earning an automatic qualification are indicated in italics below.

International Extemp

Champion: Pearce Barringer (Saint James School)
2nd: Hayden Cavanaugh (Saint James School)
3rd: Phillip Davis (Saint James School)
4th: Hannah Yost (Saint James School)
5th: Michael Butler (The Montgomery Academy)
6th: Josh Troup (Prattville High School)

United States Extemp

Champion: McLean Stewart (Saint James School)
2nd: Bradley Wascher (Saint James School)
3rd: David Zell (Altamont School)
4th: Jacob Cannon (Saint James School)
5th: Gentry Slay (Prattville High School)
6th: Scotland Kemper (The Montgomery Academy)

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California High School Speech Association State Tournament (Click here for tab sheet)

California hosts one of the largest state tournaments in the country and fifty-six extempers competed in International and United States Extemp at this year’s California High School Speech Association (CHSSA) State Tournament at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta California. The tournament took place between April 17 and April 19.

In International Extemp, Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Preparatory, a third place finisher in IX at last year’s NSDA National Tournament and a two-time invitee to the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, regained the state championship. Last season Dhoopar was eliminated in semi-finals, but he stormed back with a vengeance this year to win the title for four cumulative ranks over Matthew Zheng of Mira Loma High School.

History was made in the United States Extemp half of the tournament as Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School captured his third consecutive state championship in the category. According to our records of the CHSSA State Tournament, this has never happened before. Yu, a finalist at last year’s NSDA National Tournament in U.S. Extemp, won the title by three ranks over Bryan Yuan Wang of Miramonte High School and Brian Xu of San Marino High School.

Seven underclassmen extempers earned an automatic qualification to next year’s Extemp TOC by virtue of making the final round of one of the extemp categories. They are indicated in italics below.

International Extemp

Champion: Rohan Dhoopar (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
2nd: Matthew Zheng (Mira Loma High School)
3rd: Owen Chang (Miramonte High School)
4th: Daniel Ginsburg (Miramonte High School)
5th: Anirudh Prabhu (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
6th: Alejandra Larriva-Latt (San Marino High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Thomas Crimmel(Rancho Bernardo High School)
*Sophia Fox (St. Francis Catholic High School)
*Alexander Michael Jang (Miramonte High School)
*Rishi Krishnan (Dougherty Valley High School)
*Alex Luo (Leland High School)
*Aquila A. Maliyekkal (Stockdale High School)
*Ann-Kathrin Merz (Leland High School)
*Axel Sarkissian (Chaminade College Preparatory)
*Javion Sun (Schurr High School)
*Varun Suresh (Archbishop Mitty High School)
*Alex Ye (Gabrielino High School)

United States Extemp

Champion: Brian Yu (Monte Vista High School)
2nd: Bryan Yuan Wang (Miramonte High School)
3rd: Brian Xu (San Marino High School)
4th: Artiom Arutiunov (Leland High School)
5th: Eric Zhao (Dougherty Valley High School)
6th: Aaron Ludin Baum (Miramonte High School)
7th: Cameron Loftis (Leland High School)

Semi-Finalists

*Clayton Becker (Claremont High School)
*Dominick Van Cleve (Torrey Pines High School)
*Ryan Frazier (Clovis East High School)
*Fatima Hasanain (Miramonte High School)
*William Kunkle (Schurr High School)
*Ankur Mahesh (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
*Sanjaye Narayan (Gabrielino High School)
*Omkar Savant (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
*Ankur Somani (Oxford Academy)
*Amulya Yerrapotu (Archbishop Mitty High School)
*Jonathan Hongde Zhou (Miramonte High School)

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Minnesota High School League State Tournament

Eastview High School continued its dominance of Class 2A extemporaneous speaking at the Minnesota High School League State Tournament, contested between April 17 and 18 at Lakeville North High School in Lakeville, Minnesota. Varoon Pazhyanur of Eastview won the school’s third championship in four years by achieving a six rank margin of victory over Hayley Pierce-Ramsdell of Blaine High School. Kevin Bi of East Ridge High School placed third.

In Class A, Sydney Erhardt of Cannon Falls High School made some history of her own by winning the category for the third consecutive year. In a very split round, Erhardt won by three ranks over Nicole Riegert of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School. Matt Ehren of Mounds Park Academy finished third.

Three underclassmen extempers earned an automatic qualification to next year’s Extemp TOC by reaching the final round of their respective extemp category. These were Quinn Kupec of Moorhead High School, Brent Hauck of Lakeville North High School, and Charlie Park of Roseville Area High School.

Class AA (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Varoon Pazhyanur (Eastview High School)
2nd: Hayley Pierce-Ramsdell (Blaine High School)
3rd: Kevin Bi (East Ridge High School)
4th: Apoorva Malarvannan (Eastview High School)
5th: Parker Breza (Benilde-St.Margaret’s School)
6th: Quinn Kupec (Moorhead High School)
7th: Brent Hauck (Lakeville North High School)
8th: Charlie Park (Roseville Area High School)

Class A (Click here for tab sheet)

Champion: Sydney Erhardt (Cannon Falls High School)
2nd: Nicole Riegert (Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School)
3rd: Matt Ehren (Mounds Park Academy)
4th: Bradley Foster (Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School)
5th: Miranda Felton (Cannon Falls High School)
6th: Shane Price (Mankato-Loyola High School)
7th: Charlie Stejskal (Maple Lake High School)
8th: Grant Schlichting (Cannon Falls High School)

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North Dakota High School Activities Association Class A State Tournament

There are two different classes for extemporaneous speaking in North Dakota and the tournaments are contested on different days. The Class A North Dakota High School Activities Association State Tournament took place on April 18 at Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota.

Neeraj Advani of West Fargo High School emerged as the state champion, stopping a run of six consecutive wins by Fargo Shanley High School. Casey Orvedal finished second and Nathaniel Thoreson finished third. Orvedal and Thoreson compete for Fargo Davies High School.

Three extempers, indicated in italics, earned an automatic entry into next year’s Extemp TOC due to making the state final round as underclassmen.

Champion: Neeraj Advani (West Fargo High School)
2nd: Casey Orvedal (Fargo Davies High School)
3rd: Nathaniel Thoreson (Fargo Davies High School)
4th: Prajwal Bharadwaj (Bismarck St. Mary’s High School)
5th: William Fleck (Mandan High School)
6th: Reece Burckhard (Bismarck St. Mary’s High School)
7th: Katherine Gladitsch (Fargo Shanley High School)
8th: Skylar Moody (Mandan High School)

The 2021-2022 postseason has begun, with state tournaments taking place in Montana, Maine, Alaska, Illinois, Arizona, and New Mexico.  Extemp Central congratulates all of those who made the finals of their respective state championships, and also congratulates those who won state titles.

From now until May, Extemp Central will be providing recaps of state tournaments.  Sometimes these columns will appear weekly.  Sometimes monthly.  But regardless, we will do our best to give recognition to extempers doing great things at the state level.

We will also be rolling out our NSDA national qualifying boards, with more information to come about those next week.

Here is a roundup of results for state championships in the states listed above:

Montana High School Association State Tournament (January 28-29, 2022)

Class A

State Champion: Henry Jagodzinski (Billings Central High School)
2nd: Shae Goeke (Laurel High School)
3rd: Aiden Judge (Columbia Falls High School)
4th: Emma Trieweiler (Whitefish High School)
5th: Sara Bocquin (Laurel High School)
6th: Caleb Donsbach (Columbia Falls High School)
7th: Victoria Gasparakis (Park High School)
8th: Hope Morrison (Polson High School)

Class AA

State Champion: Olivia Bulis (Bozeman High School)
2nd: Leah Spangler (Flathead High School)
3rd: Scout McMahon (Flathead High School)
4th: Brooke Bothner (Bozeman High School)
5th: Rylin Wilde (Flathead High School)
6th: Jonas Jontow (Sentinel High School)
7th: Bella Teggeman (Glacier High School)
8th: Caleb Lamb (Glacier High School)

Class B/C

State Champion: Kylee Ann Botsford (Manhattan High School)
2nd: Caden Freeborn (Three Forks High School)
3rd: Tyler Broesel (Bigfork High School)
4th: Isabella Fink (Three Forks High School)
5th: Keena Lewis (Gardiner High School)
6th: Nick Howard (Three Forks High School)
7th: Molly Kurkowski (Bigfork High School)
8th: Claire Murnin (Shepherd High School)

Maine Forensic Association State Tournament (February 12) (Tab sheet)

State Champion: Peter Verrill (Falmouth High School)
2nd: Daniel Kim (Falmouth High School)
3rd: Michael Reynolds (Showhegan Area High School)
4th: Morah Jewell (Showhegan Area High School)
5th: Lillian Lambert (Lawrence High School)
6th: Carly McCabe (Showhegan Area High School)

Alaska School Activities Association State Tournament (February 17-19)

International Extemp

State Champion: Atigun Pensely (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
2nd: Lillian Yang (West Anchorage High School)
3rd: Bella Kershaw (Ketchikan High School)
4th: Braxton Zink (Ketchikan High School)
5th: Ethan Madsen (Thunder Mountain High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Reed Davidson (South Anchorage High School)
2nd: Eduardo Gomez Horta (Ketchikan High School)
3rd: Lauren Olson (Ketchikan High School)
4th: Ben Borsnahan (West Anchorage High School)
5th: Ben Moisan (West Anchorage High School)
6th: Leah Goodwin (Eagle River High School)

Illinois High School Activities Association State Tournament (February 18-19) (Tab sheet)

State Champion: Ajay Gupta (Hinsdale Central High School)
2nd: Luke Fosdick (Neuqua Valley High School)
3rd: Grace Morgan (Wheaton Warrenville South High School)
4th: Matthew Leonardson (Hinsdale South High School)
5th: Eman Qasmieh (Sandburg High School)
6th: Aaron McIntyre (Homewood-Flossmoor High School)

Arizona Interscholastic Association State Tournament (February 25-26)

Division 1 (Tab Sheet)

State Champion: McKinley Paltzik (Phoenix Country Day School)
2nd: Isaac Kan (Desert Vista High School)
3rd: Sofia Piraino (McClintock High School)
4th: Ava Claus (Sunnyslope High School)
5th: Akshay Venkatachalam (McClintock High School)
6th: Isabel Matos (McClintock High School)

Division 2 (Tab Sheet)

State Champion: Sophia Berg (Arizona College Preparatory)
2nd: Katelyn Cai (BASIS Scottsdale)
3rd: Brandon Lazna (Arizona College Preparatory)
4th: Esther Cho (Scottsdale Preparatory)
5th: Sruti Peddi (BASIS Scottsdale)
6th: Shria Ajay (BASIS Scottsdale)

New Mexico Activities Association State Tournament (February 25-26) (Tab Sheet)

International Extemp

State Champion: Dana Roelofs (Los Alamos High School)
2nd: Aubrey Amon (East Mountain High School)
3rd: Noah Burdick (Santa Fe Preparatory)
4th: Eliana Merhege (Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School)
5th: Brian Han (Los Alamos High School)
6th: Grace Wei (Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School)
7th: Liam Pereira (East Mountain High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Abigail Merhege (Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School)
2nd: Arabella Camunez (Arrowhead Park Early College High School)
3rd: Darian Kapelianis-Donado (Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School)
4th: Jocelyn Davis (Cottonwood Classical Prepartory School)
5th: Andrew Curtice (Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School)

The post 2022 State Tournament Results: February State Tournament Round Up (Montana, Maine, Alaska, Illinois, Arizona & New Mexico) appeared first on Extemp Central.

Over the last two weeks Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming crowned state extemp champions.  Extemp Central congratulates all of those who made the finals of their respective state championships, and also congratulates those who won state titles.

Here is a listing of the results of those respective tournaments as Extemp Central continues to chronicle the 2022 postseason:

Florida Forensic League Varsity State Tournament (March 5-6) (Tab Sheet):

International Extemp

State Champion: Sinan Kassim (NSU University School)
2nd: Jack Ververis (Trinity Preparatory School)
3rd: Cesar Guadamuz (West Broward High School)
4th: Siddharth Sudhakar (Nova High School)
5th: Ben Zajc (American Heritage School – Palm Beach)
6th: Camille Esin (Cypress Bay High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Marc Zavarro (Western High School)
2nd: Sol Cuello-Robert (Ransom Everglades High School)
3rd: Nicholas Blauz (Nova High School)
4th: Charlotte Reitman (NSU University School)
5th: Taylor Pierson (West Broward High School)
6th: Aadish Kachhal (Cypress Bay High School)

Georgia Forensic Coaches Association Varsity State Championships (March 4-6) (Tab Sheet):

State Champion: Oliver Gray (Midtown High School)
2nd: Valor Lekas (East Forsyth High School)
3rd: Sayan Sonnad-Joshi (Midtown High School)
4th: Christie Peng (Northview High School)
5th: Paul Philip (Northview High School)
6th: Bryant Hodgson (Midtown High School)

Iowa Forensic League State Tournament (March 3-5) (Tab Sheet):

International Extemp

State Champion: Eric Super (Winterset High School)
2nd: Talia Cary (Bettendorf High School)
3rd: Ingrid Alg-Liening (Des Moines Roosevelt High School)
4th: Zach Adams (Bettendorf High School)
5th: Isabelle Colon Alba (Dowling Catholic High School)
6th: Sree Baruri (Des Moines Roosevelt High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Matthew Pierson (Dowling Catholic High School)
2nd: Conrad Krantz (Dowling Catholic High School)
3rd: Jonathan Vega (Clarke High School)
4th: Max Rantilla (Bettendorf High School)
5th: Weston Wise (Des Moines Roosevelt High School)
6th: GiGi Hanselman (Winterset High School)

Kentucky High School Speech League State Championship (March 11-12) (Tab Sheet):

State Champion: Kole Ingram (Knott County Central High School)
2nd: Harrison Gover (Bowling Green High School)
3rd: Caroline Koenig (Murray High School)
4th: Yusuf Kahloon (Paul Laurence Dunbar High School)
5th: Sara Nath (Larry A. Ryle High School)
6th: Ben McBride (Trinity High School)

Nevada Forensic Association State Tournament (March 11-12) (Tab Sheet):

International Extemp

State Champion: Vivek Variar (Palo Verde High School)
2nd: Jordan Ranck (Green Valley High School)
3rd: Matthew Lin (Palo Verde High School)
4th: Brandon Anderson (Green Valley High School)
5th: Alana Nahabedian (Amplus Academy)
6th: Sean Leung (Foothill High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Amy Liu (Green Valley High School)
2nd: Brayson Holmes (Clark High School)
3rd: Parker Henry (Arbor View High School)
4th: Jason Nuridjanian (Amplus Academy)
5th: Carson Hill (Foothill High School)
6th: Kristopher Drapacz (Coral Academy of Science – Las Vegas)

Ohio High School Speech & Debate Association State Finals (March 3-5) (Tab Sheet):

International Extemp

State Champion: Michelle Park (Solon High School)
2nd: Pinak Chitnis (Solon High School)
3rd: Mady Beckel (Hoover High School)
4th: Ishan Tripathy (Jackson High School)
5th: Snehal Choudhury (Jackson High School)
6th: Sanjay Swamy (Mason High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Dev Ahuja (Solon High School)
2nd: Vikram Sundaram (Solon High School)
3rd: Praveen Kumar (The Hawken School)
4th: Jade Hooper (Jackson High School)
5th: Piyush Chitnis (Solon High School)
6th: Andrew Li (Solon High School)
7th: Niya Patel (The Hawken School)

South Carolina Forensic Association State Tournament (March 5) (Tab Sheet):

State Champion: William Goff (Bob Jones Academy)
2nd: Krteyu Ramanathan (Riverside High School)
3rd: Evan Lawton (Mauldin High School)
4th: Zane Holley (Riverside High School)
5th: Caden Allen (Mauldin High School)
6th: Morgan Epinger (West Ashley High School)
7th: Miles Means (Mauldin High School)

South Dakota High School Activities Association State Championship (March 4-5) (Tab Sheet):

Class A International Extemp

State Champion: Christopher Shuman (Sturgis Brown High School)
2nd: Sam King (Spearfish High School)
3rd: Ava Gooch (Spearfish High School)
4th: Gunnar Geiken (Lennox High School)
5th: Adam Wood (Sturgis Brown High School)
6th: Laney Andrews (Beresford High School)

Class AA International Extemp

State Champion: Joseph Gebel (Mitchell High School)
2nd: Abiah George (Aberdeen Central High School)
3rd: Drake Van Steenwyk (Aberdeen Central High School)
4th: Aditya Tummala (Brookings High School)
5th: Xander Hof (Brookings High School)
6th: Ian Steiner (Stevens High School)

Class A United States Extemp

State Champion: Martin Jones (Sturgis Brown High School)
2nd: Max Schuelke (Milbank High School)
3rd: Will Becker (Spearfish High School)
4th: Wyatt Trohkimoinen (Sturgis Brown High School)
5th: Cadence Jones (Spearfish High School)
6th: Jameson Quimet (Beresford High School)

Class AA United States Extemp

State Champion: Jordan Phillips (Aberdeen Central High School)
2nd: Madyson Fleckenstein (Aberdeen Central High School)
3rd: Alexis Korzan (Mitchell High School)
4th: Shawn Boehmer (Mitchell High School)
5th: Noah Johnson (O’Gorman High School)
6th: Trisha Sharan (Brookings High School)

Texas Forensic Association State Tournament (March 9-12) (Tab Sheet):

International Extemp

State Champion: Phoena Lin (Plano West Senior High School)
2nd: Cameron Roberts (Jack C. Hays High School)
3rd: Gabriel Bo (Plano West Senior High School)
4th: Natasha Banga (Coppell High School)
5th: Daniel Rupawalla (Tompkins High School)
6th: Raghav Ramki (Plano East High School)

United States Extemp

State Champion: Kyle Letterer (Plano West Senior High School)
2nd: Grace Fyfe (Spring Woods High School)
3rd: Charles Hou (Plano West Senior High School)
4th: James O’Brien (Plano Senior High School)
5th: Jonathan Tubb (St. Mary’s Hall)
6th: Sachit Devaraj (Tompkins High School)

Utah High School Activities Association State Tournament (March 11) (4A Tab Sheet) (5A Tab Sheet) (6A Tab Sheet):

Class 4A International Extemp

State Champion: Elishka Johnson (Logan High School)
2nd: Jash Velasco (Cedar High School)
3rd: Jorge Pineda (Crimson Cliffs High School)
4th: Chloe Hurd (Crimson Cliffs High School)
5th: Eli Ashcroft (Ridgeline High School)
6th: Emma Martins (Sky View High School)
7th: Mykenzie Anderson (Sky View High School)

Class 5A International Extemp

State Champion: Ryan Dillon (Cottonwood High School)
2nd: Jaxon Baker (Alta High School)
3rd: Christina Dong (Skyline High School)
4th: Nathan Jordan (Salem Hills High School)
5th: Arivan Verma (Skyline High School)
6th: Hannah Zoulek (Cottonwood High School)

Class 6A International Extemp

State Champion: Cash Mendenhall (West High School – Salt Lake City)
2nd: Kinsley Sorensen (Layton High School)
3rd: Savanna Hipwell (Clearfield High School)
4th: Nathan Lassen (Copper Hills High School)
5th: Jacob Gaparasi (Copper Hills High School)

Class 4A United States Extemp

State Champion: Gideon Martin (Logan High School)
2nd: Natalia Lopez (Green Canyon High School)
3rd: Dallin Roberts (Ridgeline High School)
4th: Jared Sutton (Ridgeline High School)
5th: Emma Taggart (Ridgeline High School)
6th: Aidan Gates (Hurricane High School)
7th: Andrew Bunker (Mountain Crest High School)

Class 5A United States Extemp

State Champion: Trevor McMillan (Skyline High School)
2nd: Rylan Earnhart (Northridge High School)
3rd: Adelyn Kobe (Olympus High School)
4th: Jackson Kirkwood (Cottonwood High School)
5th: Aditya Nallur (Skyline High School)
6th: Jeffrey Zou (Skyline High School)

Class 6A United States Extemp

State Champion: Adelaide Parker (West High School – Salt Lake City)
2nd: Katie Crabtree (Farmington High School)
3rd: John Norton (Corner Canyon High School)
4th: Brian Odette (Lone Peak High School)
5th: Allyson Tuttle (Clearfield High School)
6th: Faith Bryce (Copper Hills High School)
7th: Braiden Anderson (Farmington High School)

Wyoming High School Forensic Association State Tournament (March 10-12) (Tab Sheet):

State Champion: Sarah Schweitzer (Jackson Hole High School)
2nd: Shiva Yashlur (Rock Springs High School)
3rd: Zoey Pickett (Natrona County High School)
4th: William Aepli (Jackson Hole High School)
5th: Gwennan Pritchard (Rock Springs High School)
6th: Camila Rivera (Cheyenne East High School)

The post 2022 State Tournament Results: Early March State Tournament Round Up (Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah & Wyoming) appeared first on Extemp Central.

Last week the Maine Forensic Association hosted its annual State Championship Tournament at Bangor High School. The tournament drew a field of six extempers, who competed across four rounds.

Grant Lapierre of Cape Elizabeth High School won the championship by ten ranks over Carly McCabe of Showhegan Area High School. The win is the first for Cape Elizabeth in the category in five years.

Lawrence High School had two finalists as Stella-moon Devie and Ryder Bernie took third and fourth place.

As per Extemp TOC guidelines, all of the top six finishers earn an automatic qualification to this year’s tournament.

Here are the results from the Maine Forensic Association State Championship (Click here for tab sheet):

Champion: Grant Lapierre (Cape Elizabeth High School)
2nd: Carly McCabe (Showhegan Area High School)
3rd: Stella-moon Devie (Lawrence High School)
4th: Ryder Bernie (Lawrence High School)
5th: Sami Rizkhallah (Yarmouth High School)
6th: James Frueh (Famlouth High School)

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

The post 2023 Maine Forensic Association State Championship: Lapierre Runs Away with the Title, First Winner for Cape Elizabeth in Five Years appeared first on Extemp Central.

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) held its State Speech Final last weekend in Peoria, Illinois. In a close final round, Luke Fosdick of Neuqua Valley High School scored an upset victory over #8 Pierce McDade of Normal University School and defending state champion Ajay Gupta of Hinsdale Central High School.

After a competitor’s high and low rank in finals was dropped, Fosdick’s scores of 2-2-2 were enough to defeat McDade’s 1-2-4 tally and Gupta’s 1-3-4 showing.

David Izzo of York Community High School and Hugo Pletcher of Downers Grove South High School tied for fourth with a composite score of 13. However, Izzo won the judges’ preference tiebreaker 3-2.

Avani Rai of Normal Community High School finished sixth.

Fosdick is the first Neuqua Valley winner since Saumya Jain won the title as part of a unique three-way tie at the Illinois State Speech Final in 2014.

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

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

State Champion: Luke Fosdick (Neuqua Valley High School)
2nd: Pierce McDade (Normal University School)
3rd: Ajay Gupta (Hinsdale Central High School)
4th: David Izzo (York Community High School)
5th: Hugo Pletcher (Downers Grove South High School)
6th: Avani Rai (Normal Community High School)

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

The post 2023 Illinois High School Association State Speech Finals: Fosdick Upsets McDade and Gupta to Claim State Championship appeared first on Extemp Central.