Students using words winningly

The UIL Academic team hosted and competed in the District meet on Friday and Saturday, March 27-28. The team placed fourth overall in the district.

Lincoln Douglas Debaters, sophomore Robin Cooper and freshman Caleb Snow, and Ready Writing competed on Friday at Highland Park Baptist Church. In Ready Writing, junior Leah Crenshaw placed fourth, and senior Haley Rogers placed fifth.

“Friday was a pretty busy day,” Cooper said. “There were all kinds of competitions going on in the church, so that definitely made things a little bit chaotic. I have to admit it added to my stress level a little bit.”

The Social Studies team, consisting of senior Haley Rogers, junior Alex Markham, junior Madison Maynard, and freshman Jay Williamson, placed first and will be advancing to region. Individually, Rogers placed third, Markham placed fourth and Maynard placed sixth.

“We had a lot of tough competition,” Williamson said. “My team is composed of some great competitors, though, so I think we’ll do great at regionals.”

Students placed individually in different events. Junior Kaulyn Loe placed fifth in Accounting, and junior David Mitchell placed fourth in Current Events.

“I spent two weeks cramming for the test because I haven’t done any accounting since last spring,” Loe said, “so I was surprised – and a little pleased – that I placed at district.”

The journalism team won one award in each event. Sophomore Anna Cannon placed fifth in Editorial Writing and first in Feature Writing, and junior Brianna O’Shaughnessy placed fourth in Headline Writing.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to compete at region,” Cannon said. “It’s a huge honor for my team and me.”

The Speech Team, consisting of senior Robert Hoover, senior Caroline Parks, junior Sidney McGough, sophomore Robin Cooper, sophomore Jillian Cheney, and freshman Caleb Snow placed second overall, and won many individual awards.

“This was my first year to compete in a speaking event,” Snow said. “The topics were interesting and the competition was tough, but it was a great experience, and winning a medal was exciting, too.”

In Informative Speaking, Cooper placed fifth and Hoover placed third. In Persuasive Speaking, Snow placed fourth and Cheney placed second. Parks placed first in Poetry, and McGough placed fourth in Prose.

“I guess I’m somewhat disappointed that I didn’t advance to region this year,” McGough said, “but our team placed well and it was super fun, so that’s all that really matters.”