The speech and debate season has begun, and two major tournaments have already taken place: the University of Kentucky’s National Speech and Debate Season Opener, commonly referred to as the UK Opener, and the Yale Invitational.
The UK tournament is classified as a tier 5 event, meaning that only finalists receive points. This year’s tournament was held online, attracting over 50 entries. After three preliminary rounds followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final round, the Extemper’s Bible is ready to award the first points of the season.
Robert Zhang from Elkins High School (TX) emerged as the champion, earning all twos from the judges. His impressive rankings in the preliminary rounds and consistent performance in the final round secured him the title and 400 points.
Sahana Srikanth from Mason High School (OH) took second place, receiving two ones from the judges but facing a setback with a six. Despite this, her strong showing in the final round earned her 300 points.
Waleed Haider from Hendrickson High School (TX) rounded out the top three. Haider’s outstanding performance in the preliminaries, tying with champion Zhang, along with his final round effort, earned him 250 points.
Fourth place went to Kajal Parmar of Cary Academy (NC), who continued her school’s tradition of excellence in speech and debate with a commendable performance.
Andrew Zheng of Acalanes High School (CA) finished fifth. He secured a one from one judge but received a five and six from the others. Nonetheless, his solid prelims and consistent performance in the final round earned him 150 points.
Eashan Kosaraju from Solon High School (OH) placed sixth, earning 100 points for his efforts.
The Yale Invitational has also concluded and is classified as a tier 3 tournament, meaning points were awarded to quarterfinalists and above. Hosted at the end of September and beginning of October, the Yale Invitational featured four preliminary rounds and four elimination rounds. Here are the finalists:
Once again, Robert Zhang from Elkins High School (TX) claimed the title. The competition was fierce, but Zhang’s consistency in performance has been remarkable, securing him his second win of the season. For this achievement, he earned 900 points, bringing his total to an impressive 1,300 points across the two tournaments.
Waleed Haider followed closely in second place, enhancing his strong showing from the season opener. He received two ones and a two in the final round, earning 750 points and bringing his total to 1,000 points.
Aparna Iyer from Ridge High School (NJ) took third place. Her impressive performances in the preliminaries, combined with her consistency in the finals, earned her 675 points, marking her first points of the season.
Charlotte Reitman from NSU University School (FL) finished fourth. Tying for first in the preliminary rounds and delivering an excellent final round, she earned 650 points, also her first points of the season.
Fifth place went to Anish Mehta of Scarsdale High School (NY). His strong performances throughout the tournament earned him 525 points, marking his initial points of the season.
Sahana Srikanth of Mason High School (OH) came in sixth, tying for first in preliminaries and showing consistency in the finals. She earned 450 points, bringing her total to 750 points.
All semifinalists will earn 250 points. The semifinalists are as follows:
- Téa Shouldice (Half Hollow Hills HS East, NY)
- Al Zaidi (Holy Trinity Episcopal, FL)
- Ellie Sohn (Flintridge Prep, CA)
- Daphne Kalir-Starr (College Prep, CA)
- Haotian He (Newton South, MA)
- Shresta Antil (Ridge, NJ)
Additionally, all quarterfinalists will earn 125 points. The quarterfinalists are as follows:
- Arya Goyal (Scarsdale, NY)
- Vahin Kakarla (Olentanghy, OH)
- Ayan Nallamshetty (Robinson, FL)
- Nathan Thomas (La Salle, PA)
- Kai Forbach (Durham, NC)
- Max Goldstein (Syosset, NY)
- Daniela Holden (Berkeley Carroll, NY)
- Harry Reitman (NSU, FL)
- Venya Tiwari (Millburn, NJ)
- Shriya Dharmapurikar (Durham, NC)
- Lorenzo Brigode (Regis, NY)
- Robert Liu Meng (Syosset, NY)