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