Students competed in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic district meet hosted at the Archer City High School and the Baptist Church on March 23 and March 30, respectively. Eight girls and five boys advanced to region and will go to Grayson College in Denison, where they will compete to advance to area.
Senior Maddox Mayo placed third in ready writing. He said that he hopes to do well in region against competitors.
“Since the first meet this year, I have improved my grammar and widened my arsenal of knowledge by reading primarily on philosophical figures such as Sisyphus and Nietzsche,” Mayo said.
“I hope to perform well at district, though I know it will be tough competing against two former state qualifiers.”
Freshman Lyla Nichols also made district, placing 3rd in spelling. Nichols said that she plans to work on making district in poetry in the next few years through constant practice.
“I practice in my room in front of my mirror, and I make sure my introductions are fully memorized,” Nichols said. “We read to Mrs. Nogle, and she critiques us and demonstrates how to read the poems to have the best chance at advancing. I imagine myself advancing to regional and hopefully state in multiple events in the future.”
Junior Murphy Shiner has competed in computer science for two years. This year, the team got second. Shiner enjoys computer science and said he looks forward to next year while staying positive about how well he will do.
“I like complex coding and making programs in computer science because it gives me something to do,” Shiner said. “In the worksheet, it asks us to create codes and programs. There’s a forty-five-minute written test and a two-hour programming session in which I hope to improve next year.”
Senior Juan Alba placed fifth in editorial writing, feature writing, and headline writing. Alba said that despite not getting the results he wished for, he will continue to write because that is what he likes.
“I didn’t change much this year; if anything, I got worse since I placed pretty well in practice meets but ended up not placing in district,” Alba said. “The best advice I tell myself is to continue doing what I like even if others don’t support me or I don’t see the outcomes I wish for.”
Freshman Paislee Getts placed fifth in informative speaking. She said that she was able to form a better speech by quickly memorizing the key ideas.
“I’ve practiced and improved on my speeches by using higher vocabulary and memorizing it quicker,” Getts said. “I’ve worked on using a more formal, speaker-like voice, so I can see myself advancing to district or area next year.”
Freshman Liam Shewmake, third placer in number sense, said that showing up to practice whenever available allowed him to do well in his event.
“Practices were difficult for people to get to for most people, so I was the only one to show up for most of the practices,” Shewmake said. “I believe that I’ll make area if I continue to get knowledge by showing up to practice.”
Senior Chloe Hibbs placed third in poetry. She explained that having fun with speaking made her feel more confident, and practicing familiarized her with her piece.
“Because I got to become familiar with my piece by practicing a lot, I’ve improved on my reading, and now it is more natural to read it than before,” Hibbs said. “I have learned to have fun with speaking because if I’m nervous, I’ll only mess myself up. I hope to have fun at region, but the competition is a lot more competitive, so I’m going to try my hardest and work on inflecting my voice to match the voice of a different character.”
