UIL Academics Wins 1st Place at La Joya Mega Meet
On Friday, March 2 and Saturday March 3, the Carrizo Springs H.S. Wildcat UIL Academic Team traveled to La Joya to compete in the La Joya Sr. High School UIL Pre-District Academic Tournament. The team set out on Friday afternoon and endured the five-hour trek in the hopes of honing their academic skills as they prepare for the district meet which will be held in Devine on March 26, 29 and 31. This mega meet was host to 30 schools from the South Texas area ranging from 1A - 5A which include J.B. Alexander, Sharyland, Pharr San Juan Alamo, Mission, Veterans Memorial, Taft, Hidalgo, and many others. At the end of the competition the Wildcat team had an outstanding performance as they captured the exquisite 1st place sweepstakes trophy in the sub 5-A division including eight 1st place individual awards and four 1st place team awards. The Wildcat team also had the distinction of acquiring the highest point total of the entire meet, including the 5A divisions. This is the fourth year that the team has traveled to this mega meet and has placed in the top three. “It’s really gratifying to know that these students are so determined to win,” said Ruben Escamilla, UIL Academic Director. “The students really put forth an awesome effort,” added Daniel Valerio, UIL Coordinator.
In the literary, academic, and writing events, the team really showed their knowledge of literature, current events, computers, and history. In Social Studies Markose Butler won 1st place, Omar Narvaez won 7th place, and Manny Abundez won 10th place. The team of Markose, Omar, and Manny won 1st place. In Current Events Valerie Salgado won 9th place. In Literary Criticism Candice Masar won 7th place while teammate Megan Blair won 9th place. In Computer Applications Demi Cruz won 4th place. In Spelling and Vocabulary Theresa Benavides continues her winning streak by again winning the 1st place trophy while teammates Bianca Ortiz and Neida Escamilla won 2nd and 5th place respectively. The team of Theresa, Bianca, Neida, and Omar Salazar won 1st place. In the Accounting contest Cristy Cardona won9th place.
In the writing events the young lady writers showed their awesome flair for writing. In News Writing Natasha Riojas won 3rd place while teammate Maryella Medina won 9th place. In Headline Writing Maryella Medina won 2nd place while teammate Neida Escamilla won 5th place. In Feature Writing Maryella won 2nd place, Neida Escamilla won 4th place and Natasha Riojas won 5th place. In Editorial Writing Natasha Riojas won 1st place, Lizette Rocha won 2nd place and Maryella Medina won 10th place. The team of Maryella, Natasha, Lizette, and Neida won 1st place. In Ready Writing Genny Bardon won 2nd place, Tiffany Deleon won 4th place, and Victoria Garcia won 5th place.
In the speaking events the Wildcat speakers used their eloquent speaking skills to do a great job. In Poetry Interpretation Rosie Mendiola won 1st place while teammate Hannah Romo won 6th place. In Prose Interpretation Arkie Tassew won 4th place. Persuasive Speaking William Martinez won 5th place. In Informative Speaking Valerie Jaime won 5th place.
The best was yet to come as the Math and Science teams took their turn at competition--and the results were awesome. The Calculator, Math, Number Sense, and Science teams had a spectacular showing and dominated the competition in their respective areas. In Number Sense (9th grade) R. J. Saldivar won the 8th place and Jose Mendez won 9th place. In the tenth grade division Ramon Medina won 2nd place while teammate Nicolas Costilla won 4th place. In the eleventh grade division Nicolas Sunderland won 1st place, Steven Martinez won 3rd place and David Ledesma won 6th place.
In Calculator Applications (9th grade) R. J. Saldivar won 2nd place, Jose Mendez won rd place and Merce Doria won 4th place. In the tenth grade division Nicolas Costilla won 1st place, Ramon Medina won 2nd place and Juan Jose Martinez won 6th place. In the eleventh grade division Carol Howard won 1st place, Stephanie Estrada won 2nd place, and Heather Bullard won 8th place. In the twelfth grade division Kristi Blake won 2nd place. The team of Kristi Blake, Carol Howard, and R.J. Saldivar won 1st place.
In UIL Mathematics (9th grade) R.J. Saldivar won 3rd place and Jose Mendez won 6th place. In the tenth grade division Ramon Medina won 1st place, Nicolas Costilla won 2nd place, Theo Ponce won 3rd place, Javier Ponce won 4th place, Lucas Rutledge won 5th place, and Rogelio Diaz won 8th place. In the eleventh grade division Nicolas Sunderland won 2nd place, Carol Howard, 4th place, Heather Bullard won 6th place, and David Ledesma won 7th place. In the twelfth grade division Kristi Blake won 3rd place.
In the Science competition (9th grade) Clarissa Molina won 8th place. In the tenth grade division Markose Butler won 7th place. In the eleventh grade division Christopher John won 7th place. In the twelfth grade division Omar Narvaez won 2nd place.
The coaches and sponsors wish to express their gratitude to the competitors for putting in the time and effort to make this trip a successful one. In addition, thanks to the parents of these fine competitors for allowing them the opportunity to represent Carrizo Springs with honor and pride. Last but not least thank you to Dr. Cecilia Moreno, Dr. Deborah Dobie, Mrs. Anna Diaz, Mr. Gabriel Garcia, Mr. Robelli Garcia, and Mrs. Christina Dancause for having so much faith in the academic team and allowing them to spread the word of their academic prowess to distant areas. Mr. D. Valerio and Mr. Escamilla continue to receive numerous compliments from La Joya staff as well as Drury Hotel staff on the outstanding comportment of our students. Once staff member commented “I must congratulate your students and coaches not only for coming such a long way, but for making your presence well-known in the field of academics. Your administration and community must really believe in the superb job that your students are doing.”
Congratulations to all competitors and their coaches on an outstanding job. Thank you to the coaches who accompanied the competitors on the long trip to La Joya including Mrs. Celia Villarreal, Ms. Marisa Tobias, Ms. Rachel Garza, Mr. Jonas Treviño, Mr. Jose Treviño Jr., Mr. Daniel Valerio, and Mr. Ruben Escamilla. In addition, thanks to Mr. Gene Gutierrez and Mr. Mario Perez for the safe bus ride to and from La Joya.
The next competition will be the district meet which will take place in Devine on March 26 and 29. In addition, the One-Act Play competition will be held on Saturday, March 31 at the Lytle High School Auditorium. We invite everyone to come out and support Wildcat UIL Academics. “Experience the Power of Knowledge!”