A strong showing at the UIL Academic District Meet led to seven individual district champions and three team district champions on March 29. Fourteen regional qualifiers will advance to the next round.
“[Advancing to region]’s a big deal for school pride because it just is a way to represent the academic excellence that we have at Kingwood Park High School,” head coach Theresa Robison said.
One of the teams advancing includes the computer science team, which includes juniors Jacob Rother, Nate Webb and sophomore Jeremiah Head. They are the first in the school to advance as a team in computer science.
“I did not expect [advancing to Region] at all,” Webb said. “It’s definitely a big event.”
To advance to Region, the team placed first in the hands-on competition, where the teams are given computer coding problems and have to work through it to find ways to solve them. The more problems they can solve, the more points they earn.
Rother also placed first in the written test, earning a spot at region. Webb is an alternate, placing fourth at district.
“It means a lot, honestly,” Rother said. “I never really thought I’d be going to Region, much less in my junior year. I thought it might be in my senior year, so that’s really cool.”
The team plans to get extra practice in to prepare for Region by looking over test questions for the written and old questions to work through for the hands-on event.
Senior Kashikala Mundemba is the first from the school to advance to Region in the accounting event.
Region is on April 26 in College Station. It is there the kids will compete for the opportunity to go to State.
“I honestly believe that who we’re taking is quality,” Robison said. “I see them studying. I see them motivated, like everybody’s faces were lighting up as we were seeing and it’s a lot of seniors who should be winding down their year. But it rejuvenated their interest and desire. And so they’re making plans to study. They’re fired up.”
RESULTS
Accounting
Kash Mundemba 3rd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Computer Science Written
Jacob Rother 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Nate Webb – 4th place – Region Alternate
Jeremiah Head – 9th place
Computer Science Team –
Jacob Rother, Nate Webb, Jeremiah Head – 1st Place REGION QUALIFIER
Copy Editing –
Caitlin McLain 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Shelby Townsend 6th place – Region Alternate
Josh Corkern 10th place
Current Events –
Josh Corkern 5th place – Region Alternate
Cameron Minatrea 10th place
Emma Campbell 14th
Jeremiah Head 18th
Current Events TEAM
Josh Corkern, Cameron Minatrea, Emma Campbell, Jeremiah Head – 3rd place
Editorial –
Fallon Head 3rd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Cameron Minatrea 4th place – Region Alternate
Feature –
Shelby Townsend 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Fallon Head 2nd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Cameron Minatrea 4th place – Region Alternate
Headline –
Shelby Townsend 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Fallon Head 5th place – Region Alternate
News –
Shelby Townsend 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Cameron Minatrea 3rd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Fallon Head 6th place – Region Alternate
Journalism Team
Fallon Head, Shelby Townsend, Cameron Minatrea – 1st place
Lincoln Douglas Debate –
Caitlin McLain 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Literary Criticism –
Fallon Head 8th place
Jeremiah Head 15th place
Mathematics –
Bryce Chrisman 4th place – Region Alternate
Kash Mundemba 9th place
Annaleise Kimmell 15th place
Mathematics Team –
Bryce Chrisman, Kash Mundemba, Annaleise Kimmell, Emma Campbell – 2nd place Region Alternate
Persuasive Speaking –
Caitlin McLain 2nd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Ready Writing –
Fallon Head 1st place – REGION QUALIFIER
Valentina Garibay Arroyo 6th place – Region Alternate
Muhammad Adnan 9th place
Science –
Holden Spears 2nd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Cece Sullivan 5th place – Region Alternate
Nate Webb 8th place
Bryce Chrisman 11th place
Annaleise Kimmell 14th place
Alexandra Martinez 20th place
Science Team –
Holden Spears, Cece Sullivan, Nate Webb, Bryce Chrisman – 1st place – REGION BOUND
Social Studies –
Caitlin McLain 4th place – Region Alternate
Valentina Garibay Arroyo 6th place – Region Alternate
Alexandra Martinez 7th place
Cece Sullivan – 10th place
Jeremiah Head 14th place
Socials Studies Team 2nd place – Region Alternate
Spelling –
Caitlin McLain 2nd place – REGION QUALIFIER
Valentina Garibay Arroyo 10th place
