Academic State Meet Deemed a Success
By Julianne Coyne | Friday, May 14, 2010 9:57 AM
Current Issues and Events State Director Tom Ray congratulates the 5A Champion, Michael Zhu from Dulles HS in Sugarland.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Students from across the state descended on the University of Texas at Austin campus May 6-8 to compete at the Centennial Academic State Meet. More than 2,500 students vied to be state champions and take home a centennial medal.
The state meet "went extremely well," Academic Director Treva Dayton said. "It was one of the smoothest meets we’ve ever had, and certainly easier than last year’s unusual schedule," she said. Last year, the meet was postponed until Memorial Day weekend due to the swine flu.
Director of Speech and Debate Jana Riggins agreed that this year’s schedule was an improvement over last year.
“It was great to not have to reschedule the meet like we had to last year with the swine flu,” Riggins said. “Weather was terrific, competitors were prepared and our staff tried to give them the best opportunity for success with a well-prepared meet.”
The highlight of the meet for Journalism Director Jeanne Acton was listening to the Feature Writing speaker - Tim Crowley from Friday Night Lights.
“Coach Crowley was one of the best interviews we’ve ever had,” Acton said. “His story was poignant and compelling. I heard students say that his talk changed how they looked at life. That is a pretty amazing result from a 30-minute interview.”
Each student that placed received a medal commemorating the UIL’s 100th anniversary.
“The centennial medals were the finishing touch for an outstanding meet,” Dayton said.
The 2010 State Academic Championship winners are Lindsay High School -1A, Holliday High School - 2A, Argyle High School - 3A, Friendswood High School - 4A and Fort Bend Clements - 5A.
This year marked the 14th championship for Lindsay High School and its fourth consecutive year, and Friendswood won its third consecutive championship this year.
For a complete list of the state spring meet results, visit http://www.uil.utexas.edu/academics/spring_meet/spring_meet_results.html.