The UIL Academics team competed at their district competition April 4 in Burnet, and those who placed in the top three at district will advance to the regional competition at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches today.

“Our region is tough, but we can absolutely qualify at least one student per event in which we’re competing to the State meet in May,” UIL Director and speech and debate coach Judith Ann McGhee said. “That’s my goal, anyway!”

The academics team remains undefeated for the third year in a row, securing a back-to-back-to-back district championship.

“I am so proud of every single student who participated in our district meet,” McGhee said. “These past three successful years would not have been possible without them! Our coaches as well deserve so much thanks – these rewards are only because our coaches care about their teams and their events.”

There are 31 students advancing to regionals, including senior Kailey Morgan, who will compete in Computer Applications, Science and Literary Criticism at the regional competition. She placed first, first, and second respectively, after only competing in Computer Apps at regionals last year.

“I think that being so far out, I have to do really well so I’m hoping for the best,” Morgan said. “I think the competition will be tougher, considering that I’m competing in more events than last year, so I don’t really know what to expect for [Science and Lit Crit].”

As a senior, Morgan will not be able to compete next year.

“It’s exciting to be able to compete at regionals again this year,” Morgan said. “I’ll definitely miss my teammates when I graduate.”