Happy new year! We hope that your holidays were well spent, and before competition kicks in, we wanted to publish a synopsis on the major tournaments that have occurred over the past few months.
Villiger
This tournament primarily attracted talent from the Northeast, bringing some new names to elimination rounds! Subsequently, we saw new names added to the points race in addition to others working up the ranks.
Villiger is a Tier 5 tournament, so only the 6 finalists earned points this time.
Madeline White of Gwynedd Mercy (PA) took home first place, gaining a substantial 400 points for her debut as 13th in the points race.
Coming in second was Taylor Burris from Potomac (VA), just one rank off from White. She earned 300 points, securing her a spot in the race’s top ten. While Burris came 5th in finals, her performances in prelims, quarters, and semis were filled with 1s, which upheld her final place.
Anthony Babu (Concord Carlisle, MA) placed 3rd, moving into the top 20 of the points race with 250 new points. His performance was particularly consistent throughout the tournament, proving advantageous as it secured him spots in the elimination rounds and a basis for coming out in the top 3.
Sebastian Cunto (Regis, NY) and John Germak (Regis, NY) not only represented the same school as finalists, but tied in their final rank totals! They placed 4th (200 points) and 5th (150 points) respectively. Both speakers had mixed results in prelims and elims, and Germak placed second in finals and semis.
Daniela Holden (Berkeley Carroll, NY) took sixth place and 100 points in her first appearance in the points race. With some strong prelims and 3rd place in the final round, she certainly earned her spot in the top 6. She is also the first extemper on the points race this year from Berkeley Carroll!
Glenbrooks
Out of the tournaments over these few months, Glenbrooks was the largest. Hosted at the Glenbrooks North and South schools, this is a tier 3 tournament, which means that quarterfinalists and above will be awarded points for their placement.
The final round was tough, with several MBA invitees and top scorers in the NPR, but ultimately, it was Lishore Kumar (Tomball Memorial, TX), who took the championship, earning 3 of the 5 available first place ranks. This gave him 900 points in the NPR.
Second was Sruti Peddi (BASIS Scottsdale, AZ). While Peddi did not get any of the 1’s, she received 3 2’s, pushing her cume in the round to 15. This resulted in a comfortable three rank difference between second and third place. Sruti will earn 750 points.
From there, the ranks got incredibly close with a one point difference between each spot. Robert Zhang (Elkins, TX), took third. This was Zhang’s second appearance in the points race, and his achievement will reward him 675 points.
Fourth was Tyler Crivella (Seven Lakes, TX). Although Crivella earned the remaining 2 first place ranks, it was combined with two 6’s, bringing his cume to 19. For this, Crivella will obtain 600 points.
Rohit Vakkalgadda (Bellermaine College Prep, CA) placed 5th. This was Vakkalagadda’s first NPR final round appearance for the 2023-2024 season, and he will be awarded 525 points for this placement.
Rounding out the final round is Claire Han (Munster, IN). This is Han’s first appearance in the NPR for this season, and she will be given 450 points for this accomplishment.
All semifinalists will earn 250 points. They are as follows: Noah Darby (St Thomas More, LA), Kashish Priyam (Harker, CA), Joy Hu (Harker, CA), Gordy Sun (Harker, CA), Connor Ennis (Durham, NC), and Neil Alappatt (Bellermaine College Prep, CA).
All quarterfinalists will earn 100 points. They are as follows: Zane Hensley (Bellermaine College Prep), Arya Goyal (Scarsdale, NY), Elizabeth Ovelil (Desert Vista, AZ), Aayushi Garg (Granada Hills Charter, CA), Esther Zhu (Tulsa Washington, OK), Francesca Lopez (Ransom Everglades, FL), Layden Kennedy (Scarsdale, NY), Sumedh Seetharam (Scottsdale Prep, AZ), Kai Forbach (Durham, NC), Abhijay Rana (Bellermaine College Prep, CA), Jia Doof (Trinity Prep, FL), Jonah Downs (Trinity Prep, FL), Lexie Toshav (Isidore Newman, LA), Skyler Burrus (American Heritage Palm Beach, FL), and Ellie Sohn (Flintridge Prep, CA).
Longhorn Classic (UT)
The Longhorn Classic, hosted at the University of Texas at Austin, drew significant competition from the Southern parts of the US. It is considered as a tier 4 tournament, so semifinalists and above will receive points. That said, however, in accordance with new TOC rules, the tournament will no longer be a bid tournament for the UKTOC. It will retain its position for ETOC and NIETOC.
This tournament also allows for cross entry between DX and FX, so this part of the synopsis will be split between the two. (Note: competitors who placed on both sides of the tournament will not be awarded double points. In order to prevent one tournament from significantly altering the rankings, the NPR will recognize a competitor’s best placement.)
FX
This was another competitive final round, but it was ultimately Katherine Lee (Plano West, TX), who took the crown. Lee had an impressive cume of 4; additionally, she placed in the final round of USX as well! For this feat, she will be given 600 points.
Brandon Cheng (Flintridge Prep, CA), placed second. This is Cheng’s third final round appearance at an NPR tournament, and this placement will earn him 500 points.
Third was Kate Liu (Plano East, TX), who earned a first place rank, along with a 3 and a 5. This is Liu’s second NPR final round appearance, and she will earn 450 points for her placement.
Liu’s teammate, Ishika Kothari (Plano East, TX), was also in the final round, placing 4th. Kothari earned consistent 4’s, and will be awarded 400 points for her achievement.
Daniel Rupawalla (Tompkins, TX), placed 5th. This is Rupawalla’s first final round appearance in the NPR, and he will receive 350 points for his placement.
At the bottom of the final round was another competitor from Plano West, Pranav Kalakuntla. This is Kalakuntla’s first placement in the NPR, and he will receive 300 points for it.
All semifinalists will earn 125 points. They are as follows: Rehan Buvvaji (Shepton, TX), Andrew Nager (Melissa, TX), Manhua Kim (Plano Senior), and Lexie Toshav (Isidore Newman, LA). While both Robert Zhang (Elkins, TX), and Waleed Haider (Hendrickson, TX), were in the FX semifinal, they advanced to the final round in DX. They will receive points for those placements instead.
DX
Championing the DX side of this tournament was Waleed Haider (Hendrickson, TX). Haider and Robert Zhnag (Elkins, TX) tied, but a tiebreaker of Judge’s preference gave the lead to Haider. For their accomplishments, Haider and Zhang will earn 600 and 500 points respectively.
Tyler Crivella (Seven Lakes, TX) came in third. While he had two of the second place ranks, a 5 dragged his overall cume down. For this placement, Crivella will earn 450 points.
Lishore Kumar (Tomball Memorial, TX), came in 4th. He earned the remaining first place rank, and this finishing catapulted Kumar to lead the NPR as a whole. For this achievement, he will earn 400 points.
Rounding out the final round are two competitors from Plano West, Katherine Lee and Sophia Wei. Since Lee championed the FX side of the tournament, she will not be awarded points for her placement here. Wei on the other hand will be given 300 points.
All semifinalists will receive 125 points. They are as follows: Sasha Morel (Plano Senior, TX), Abraham Zhang (Plano West, TX), Sebastian Perez-Navarro (Eastwood, TX), Sanjana Arulkumaran (Plano East, TX), and Ronak Patel (American Heritage Broward, FL). While Kate Liu (Plano East, TX), was in the semifinal round, only her final round placement will receive points.
Princeton
Hosted at Princeton University, the Princeton Classic drew competition mostly from the tri-state area. Since it is considered to be a tier 5 tournament, only finalists will receive points.
Eshaal Ubaid (Stuyvesant, NY), took the crown. Not only is this Ubaid’s second final round appearance in the points race, it is also Ubaid’s second championship! This placement will give her 400 points.
Sebastian Cunto (Regis, NY), was second. While Cunto was able to capture 2 of the 5 available first place ranks, a 6 weighed down his overall performance. He will earn 300 points for his achievement.
In 3rd place was Lucas Mejia-Fanjul (Regis, NY). While he earned 3 fives, and had a lower final round rank than Sam Kang (Hawken, OH), Fanjul had a lower cume, and will earn 250 points. Kang, for a fourth place finish, will be awarded 200 points.
Ubaid’s teammate, Kai Li (Stuvesant, NY), came in 5th. This is Li’s second appearance in the NPR, and he will receive 150 points for this accomplishment.
Madeline White (Gwynedd Mercy, PA) was 6th. This is White’s second final round appearance, and she will earn 100 points for this achievement.
GMU Patriot Games
Hosted at George Mason University, the GMU Patriot Games is a tier 4 tournament which means that points will be awarded to semifinalists and up.
This year’s champion was Siri Ural (Shrewsbury, MA). Ural captured 3 of the 5 available first place ranks, and for this placement, she will receive 600 points.
Taylor Burris (Potomac, VA), came in second. Burris had mostly second and third place ranks, along with one. This is Burris’ third appearance at an NPR final round, and for her achievement, she will earn 500 points.
In third place was Navya Raju (Ridge, NJ). Raju scored most of the 2’s in the round, but without a one, she fell behind Burris. Raju will earn 450 points for this placement.
Burris’ teammate, Meredith Vorndran (Potomac, VA), placed 4th. Though she mostly had 4’s, a one and a two pushed her ahead. Vorndran will earn 400 points for this.
The total rank from fourth to fifth jumps 12 points, and the race for fifth and sixth was a mere rank. Jack Anderson (Lincoln Southwest, NE) earned 3 fives and 2 sixes, while Logan Mitchell (Martin County High School, Fl), earned 3 sixes and 2 fives. This minute difference gave Anderson 5th and Mitchell 6th. They will earn 350 and 300 points respectively
All semifinalists will receive 125 points. They are as follows: Lily Waehner (James River-Midlothian, VA), Kretyu Ramanathan (Riverside High School, SC), Vishnu Angiras (Shrewsbury, MA), Rowan Milton Benoit (James River-Midlothian, VA), Armaan Sethi (Potomac, VA), and Samvrit Rao (Thomas Jefferson HS for Science & Tech, SC).
Finishing Thoughts
The next few months will see a large traffic in the NPR: in January alone, there are 5 tournaments, along with a few more in February, which is the next time another update will be posted.
For now, happy extemping!