SSHS Academic UIL Successful at Regional Competition and in Essay Contests
Sulphur Springs High School Academic UIL teams competed at the regional meet recently. Several will advance to the State UIL Championships, May 3-5 at the University of Texas in Austin. Three SSHS students were among 12 finalists chosen in the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition and two were selected finalists in the Latino History Essay Contest.
SSHS Academic qualifiers for state competition include: Annmarie Gunn, Rachel Bramlett, Breana Wooten, Natalie Cruz, Chase Charlton, Sarah Harper, Gisselle Garcia, Brandon Hodges, Carissa Carter, Celeste Leeds-Laliberte, and Lainey Whittle. Noah Hammons and Angela Brown qualified as alternates to state.
Annmarie Gunn, Rachel Bramlett, and Breana Wooten were chosen finalists in the 2017-2018 UIL Essay competitions. 12 finalists are chosen from across the state of Texas in each of two events, The Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition and The Latino History Essay Competition. Annmarie, Rachel and Breana had three of the 12 finalist essays in The Barbara Jordan Essay contest. Annmarie and Rachel each had their essays selected as a finalist in the Latino History Essay Contest. Winners will be announced at State UIL meet in May. The Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition was Founded in 1995 as an event sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin. The competition provides students an opportunity to explore the contributions of African Americans to Texas history, as well as honoring the legacy of its namesake, Barbara Jordan. The theme of the competition is “African Americans in Texas: Past and Present.” The Latino History Essay Competition was founded in 2011 by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT-Austin. The theme of the competition is “historical and cultural legacies of Latinos in Texas history.
Region 2 UIL Academic Championships
Wildcat UIL competed at Region 2 UIL Academic Championships on April 13th and 14th. Congratulations to the following students who won awards in their events and to all who competed.
| Ready Writing | Annmarie Gunn | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | ||
| LD Debate | Noah Hammons | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| (Kayla Weir – Coach) | ||
| Spelling and Vocabulary | Natalie Cruz | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Chase Charlton | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| Spelling and Vocabulary Team (Natalie Cruz, Chase Charlton, Sarah Harper, Gisselle Garcia) | 1st Place Team (State Qualifier) | |
| Prose Interpretation | Rachel Bramlett | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| (Lesha Woodard – Coach) | Sarah Harper | 6th Place |
| Poetry Interpretation | Jaci Reed | 6th Place |
| (Lesha Woodard – Coach) | ||
| Editorial Writing | Natalie Cruz | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Brandon Nelson – Coach) | Angela Brown | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| Social Studies | Brandon Hodges | 2nd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Madison Millsap – Coach) | ||
| Literary Criticism | Carissa Carter | 1st Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Natalie Cruz | 2nd Place (State Qualifier) |
| Lainey Whittle | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) | |
| Literary Criticism Team – (Carissa Carter, Natalie Cruz, Lainey Whittle, Celeste Leeds-Laliberte) | 1st Place Team (State Qualifier) |
