By Natalie Allen | Staff Writer

Academic UIL contestants have placed in several areas of the regional competition and will be advancing to state. The students are excited about their successes and ready to compete in the final round.

“It feels pretty good. One of the guys that was a judge told me that there hasn’t been a girl that has placed first in Computer Science since he has started working, which was like 1997,” 1st place winner in Computer Science Tiffany Wong said.

Beyond breaking records in the competition, students also appreciate the opportunity to work as a team.

“It feels really awesome. It was really hard but I had a lot of people there with me to make it less stressful,” 2nd place winner in Literary Criticism Chelsea Fernando said.

The pressure is still on for students as they work their way to the state level.

“It’s always a challenge. So, I’m looking forward to the new experiences and a little taste of how well you can compete at the state level,” 2nd place winner in Feature Writing Brooke Nowakowski said.

Participating in the state meet offers more than just competition.

“I am excited because I will get to see the UT campus and also it will make me eligible for scholarships,” 2nd place winner in Headline Writing Lauren Tsai said.

Other students and teams that placed include:

3rd place in Literary Criticism – Rachel Cheong

3rd place in Persuasive Speaking – Sydney Scott

4th place in Poetry Interpretation – Nicolas Thorpe

2nd place team in  Computer Science

2nd place team in Current Events

1st place team in Literary Criticism

“Your students and sponsors had a most successful weekend!” Academic Director Kandi King said.