Ten students advance to regional UIL meet
By Melinda L. Lucas
Ten Albany High students are advancing to the Region II Academic Meet on Friday and Saturday at Grayson College in Denison.
Students qualified in seven contests by placing in the top three places individually or as part of first place teams at the district UIL meet last month.
Albany UIL coordinator Rick Davis is optimistic about several of the participants moving forward from the regional level.
“I’m very proud of this group, and I expect to have some students advance to state,” Davis said.
The state meet is May 19-20.
Journalism students won the journalism team title at district and are advancing in three of the five journalism contests offered by UIL.
Freshman Charli Trail is moving on to regional in three journalism events, as well as in ready writing, while senior Avery Everitt will compete in two journalism contests and sophomore Kylee Bennett in one.
Sponsors Donnie Lucas and Jennifer Everitt will leave with those four students on Thursday afternoon, with the ready writing and journalism events, News Writing, Editorial Writing, and Copy Editing, set for Friday, starting at 8:00 a.m.
After they finish their contests, they will head back to Albany about mid-afternoon on Friday.
Computer science sponsor Matthew Howard will drive his team of senior Holden Sanchez, sophomore Adrian Wren, and junior Marcus Valfre to Denison on Friday morning for their competition that afternoon, after which they will return home.
A third group will be taken by Davis on Friday afternoon for contests on Saturday morning. The current issues and events team of John Birkla, Landon Kreitler, and Jayce Tinkle, all seniors, will compete at 8:00 a.m., followed by Jonathan Coody, also a senior, later that morning.
“It will be late Saturday afternoon before we can pick up any medals we may have earned and head home,” Davis said.
The top three placing individuals and the top teams at the regional meet will advance to the State UIL Academic Meet to be held on the UT campus in Austin.
