On March 22, 21 VHHS students competed in various events at the District UIL Academic Meet in Mertzon. The students began their competitions at about 8:30 a.m., and continued to actively participate until after 6 p.m. All in all, it was a very successful day for our students.
Before listing the results, there are some interesting facts that should be mentioned, if not shouted from the rooftops! The Calculator Applications team won District for the 15th consecutive year, a feat that is unprecedented. When you see these students, please congratulate them.
Also worthy of mentioning is this fact: Twelve students were entered in four speaking events. Of the 12, eight students were ranked in the top two in their preliminary rounds, earning a place in the finals in each event. Those who did not advance were still ranked in the top half of the readers in their round, with two of them ranking third, barely missing the finals. In the past 12 years, not one speaker has broken out of the prelims into the finals, so all this is to say our kids have worked very hard, and it is paying off! And, also that we are exceedingly proud of our students—all who participated!
Listed below are the events and the results: Calculator Applications: Miguel Velez-1st place, Manav Patel, 6th place, Diego Subia, 9th place, Team: 1st Place. Informative Speaking: Kyle Seyfffert-1st place, Camille Uranga-5th. Persuasive Speaking: Diego Subia, 5th, German Rodarte, 6th. Poetry Interpretation: Camille Uranga-4th, Darden Morriss, 7th, and Luna Urias, 8th. Prose Interpretation: Karys McCreery 8th. Speech Team: 5th Place. Mathematics: Miguel Velez-1st. Science Team: 6th Place. Spelling & Vocabulary: Darden Morriss-7th; Natalee Ball-8th; Team: 4th. Social Studies: Carlos Guerrero-10th.
There were 13 schools participating in the District Academic Meet, including: Christoval High, Eldorado High, Fort Hancock High, Harmony Science Academy of El Paso, Iraan High, Irion County High, McCamey High, Miles High, Ozona High, TLC Academy of San Angelo, Van Horn High, Wink High, and Winters High.
These students and their sponsors have worked very hard, been amazingly successful, and are deserving of your praise and appreciation. On May 2 and 3, the Regional Competition will be held in Levelland. Advancing to this competition are the Calculator Team, made up of Miguel Velez, Manav Patel, Diego Subia, Leslie Jones, and Sahil Damnwalla, Kyle Seyffert, in Informative Speaking, and Camille Uranga, Poetry.
In other Academic contests, on Thursday, March 20, in Wink, the Zone One Act Play Contest was held. At that contest, the VHHS play, “Anne Frank and Me,†received third place, making them the alternate play to the District competition. Darden Morriss received the Best Actress Award, for the second year in a row, Camille Uranga and Carlos Guerrero received Honorable Mention All-Star Cast, and Diego Subia was awarded All-Star Crew.
