161 points. Second to Legacy Ranch’s 198 points. It’s still not over yet, when there’s still a wildcard waiting to be pulled from the deck of hopes and prayers; when there’s still a second chance to give it their all. With nothing to do, they eagerly wait to find out if they got it.
And they pulled the wildcard.
For the first time in his 6 years of coaching, Literary Criticism coach Nathaniel Brayton’s team advances to compete at Nacogdoches for UIL Academic’s Regional meet April 25-26.
The regional team consists of seniors Kayden Biggars, Jaxon Pratus, Kelly Stovall and Joshua Truong
“I’ve been very close multiple years to sending a full team to Regionals,” he said. “I think in the last couple of years we have been only a couple of points away as a team to go to Regionals.”
At the District meet in Burnet March 24-25, Brayton had confidence in the team’s results, with a team score of 161 points
“Honestly, I knew our score was really good,” he said. “That’s the highest score we have had as a team ever, so I knew there was a good chance to get the wildcard.”
Pratus was extremely excited to have another chance to compete after figuring out the results.
“Studying former tests will be a focus of mine, as well as learning any vocabulary I can and re-reading our assigned books,” he said. “Thanks to my teammates for their contributions. I look forward to working with them more.”
Practices before District were on Thursdays during academic period. Now practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays to prepare for Regionals.
“The hardest part of UIL I find is getting students to study and read on their own time,” Brayton said. “My goal is to stay on top of them and check in daily, because I have them in class, to see what they are doing at home.”
Brayton has always been passionate about helping to bring home distinct titles.
“I think that UIL academics are one of the most important organizations at the school, and I’ve always wanted to be a part of it,” he said.
Brayton is always looking to recruit people for the contest.
“Honestly, the hardest part of Lit Crit is recruiting, so I am always looking for new people to join, particularly the junior class,” he said. “So if anyone is interested, come talk [and] see me.”
With the wildcard qualification, the Lit Crit team continues to prepare themselves for the competition at Regionals.
“I really hope we can make it to State,” Stovall said. “I am very happy that the team worked so hard to pull this off and hopefully we can do even better at Regionals and head to State!”
