UIL teams competed in East Chambers-hosted District UIL on Thursday, March 26. EC won 1st place overall against eight other school districts.
Cecelia Gibson was the highest point earner receiving 1st place in Prose, Literary Criticism, and Copy Editing as well as 1st place team in Literary Criticism.
“Out of all four of my events, I was most proud of getting 1st in Prose since I’ve been doing speaking events since the fifth grade. It was a major achievement for me,” Gibson said. “I didn’t expect to get first place in Copy, but I was excited. I’m thankful to my coaches because their guidance is what allowed me to earn these accomplishments.”
Dakota Matthews received 4th in Current Issues and Events and 5th in Persuasive Speaking. Kenley Jordan received 5th in Prose. Lennon Trove received 2nd in Prose. Abbie Bourque placed 3rd in LD Debate. Ace Henley placed 2nd in LD Debate and 4th in Persuasive Speaking. Benjamin Carter placed 4th in Informative Speaking. Christian Carter placed 2nd in Informative Speaking. Kalyssa Fontenot placed 5th in Computer Science. Kullen Spencer placed 2nd in Persuasive Speaking. Meyly Heng placed 4th in Social Studies. Mikeala Quave placed 2nd in Informative Speaking, and Rylan Fontenot placed 4th in LD Debate.
Tyler Stevens placed 4th in Number Sense. Isabelle Espinal placed 3rd in Editorial. Gabriel Cardenas placed 4th in Literary Criticism. Gaby Chavez was the second highest point earner, of the day, with 1st in Feature Writing, 3rd in News Writing, and 3rd in Literary Criticism.
“I’m so excited for advancing in three different events this year, since I have only advanced for Feature in the past,” Chavez said. “This will be my third year going to Regionals, and I’m really grateful for all the hard work my coaches and I put in.”
Aiden Franzen received 2nd in Copy Editing, 2nd in Poetry, and 6th in News Writing. Alexa Francisco received 4th in Headline Writing. Alexis Nelson received 4th in Feature Writing and 3rd in Calculator Applications. Augustin Granados placed 4th in Editorial. Kaydence Pinson placed 3rd place in Poetry. Liam Samuel placed 5th in Ready Writing. Elliot Finch placed 3rd in Science. Valentina Cantu placed 6th in Poetry. Addie Parker placed 4th in Calculator Applications while Jackson Monroe placed 6th.
In addition to Lit Crit earning 1st place Team, Science, Number Sense, Calculator Applications, and Journalism all won 2nd place Team in their events.
“I was so thrilled to see my team do so well this season,” Journalism coach Jessica Otte said. “They have worked super hard and I know their writing has only gotten better, this year, after joining the newspaper staff’s Buccaneer Beacon. I look forward to seeing how well they do at Regionals because we hope to advance to State again.”
Regional qualifiers include a total of 15 students who will be traveling to Brenham on Friday, April 24. They will compete at Blinn College, on Saturday, April 25th for the UIL Regional Academics Meet.
