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9 advance to regional contest

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Nine Albany High School students will compete in a total of nine different contests, many of them in multiple events, at the Region 1-2A University Interscholastic League academic meet in Odessa on Saturday, April 13. 

“We have several students competing in more than one event,” said UIL coordinator Rick Davis. “Addison Asher is in four of the five journalism events, Alayna Koemel is in three journalism events, and there are two other students, Tana Thompson and Hannah Trail, who will compete in two separate journalism events.”

He added that the diversity of local students is demonstrated in particular by senior Caroline Masters, who qualified in a creative event – prose interpretation – and is also advancing as part of the first place science team.

The regional contest starts on Friday evening, but all of the events that local students qualified to enter take place on Saturday, starting at 8:00 a.m. and finishing by 3:30 p.m.    

Top regional winners and teams will go on to the state contest, which will be held on the University of Texas campus in Austin on May 3-4.

Davis is optimistic that several of the Albany students will move on to the state level, noting that Albany took first place in all five of the journalism events at the district level. 

“And the fact that six of these nine qualifiers should be back next year gives us some foundation for the future,” he added.

Albany placed third overall at the district UIL meet held in Anson on March 26, and students who placed in the top three in their events or were members of a first place team advanced to this weekend’s regional competition.

Representing Albany at the regional meet are seniors Caroline Masters, Christopher Rivera, and Braden Davis,  juniors Addison Asher and Alayna Koemel, and sophomores Sidney Bartee, Morgan Garcia, Tana Thompson, and Hannah Trail.

Traveling to Odessa with the team are journalism teacher Donnie Lucas, science instructor André Raymond, prose coach Jennifer Everitt, and Davis, who sponsors number sense.

“The bus will leave with two sponsors and eight students around 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon,” said Davis. “One other sponsor and myself will wait for one athlete to finish up her softball game. We hope to get away by 8:00 p.m.”

The main group will travel by bus, and the second group will travel in a smaller school vehicle, added Davis.