UIL academic team wins sweepstakes at Red Raider Classic
The journalism team won 176 points out of a total of 258 for Canyon High School. The team included Claire Meyer (junior), Macy McClish (junior), Faith Douglass (senior), Luke Bruce (junior), Blake Loria (sophomore), Alayshea Stewart (sophomore), Brooklyn Pernell (freshman) and Kodi Hicks (sophomore).
The UIL academic team competed in the Red Raider Classic invitational meet at Texas Tech University Saturday, Jan. 15.
The group of 22 Canyon High students earned a cumulative 258 points which qualified them for sweepstakes, the top award in the 3A-4A division. The journalism team also placed first in their contest with 176 points. Junior Julian Sewell participated in the Science, Number Sense, Mathematics and Calculator events.
I always enjoy going to meets because you meet a lot of people with similar interests.
— Julian Sewell, 11
“I’ve gone my freshman, sophomore and junior year,” Sewell said. “I always enjoy going to meets because you meet a lot of people with similar interests. It’s always fun to be recognized for academic stuff opposed to sports.”
Sewell got involved in UIL Academics through Algebra I teacher Marlene Taylor.
“I originally started off in the math events because Mrs. Taylor talked about it with me,” Sewell said. “I gradually got into other ones because I learned about the other ones. I tried it my freshman year and continued since then.”
Sewell placed second in science overall and said he hopes to improve in the upcoming meets.
“Every year I’ve gotten better,” Sewell said. “I want to place in the top five. That’s what I’m shooting for. Hopefully get some good team scores as well, so we can win as a team.”
UIL Academics play a part in some students future career goals.
“When I grow up, I want to be a physicist, and that’s a lot of math,” Sewell said. “This encourages me to practice and think creatively about problems and how to solve them.”
First-year school newspaper staff member sophomore Blake Loria competed in News Writing, Copy Editing and Editorial Writing.
I thought this was really good practice because I had never been in that kind of setting before.
— Blake Loria, 10
“I won first in Editorial Writing, second in Copy Editing and fifth in News Writing,” Loria said. “I thought this was really good practice because I had never been in that kind of setting before. It wasn’t what I was expecting. It was more relaxed than what I thought.”
Loria said he wants to pursue a career in journalism in the future.
“I really want to become a better writer overall,” Loria said. “It’s not about winning for me even though that would be nice. Journalism is a big part of my life. I love journalism, and I want to be a journalist.”
Calculator
3rd Madison Hill
6th Samantha Fernandez
Mathematics
3rd Cally Lytal
Science
2nd Julian Sewell
10th Laura Gill
Literary Criticism
1st Brooklyn Cornelsen
Spelling and Vocabulary
2nd Bret Ramirez
Ready Writing
3rd Charlee Alexander
News Writing
1st Alayshea Stewart
2nd Luke Bruce
3rd Faith Douglass
5th Blake Loria
Editorial Writing
1st Blake Loria
2nd Faith Douglass
3rd Luke Bruce
4th Alayshea Stewart
Feature Writing
1st Macy McClish
2nd Claire Meyer
3rd Kodi Hicks
4th Brooklyn Pernell
Headline Writing
1st Claire Meyer
3rd Brooklyn Pernell
4th Kodi Hicks
5th Faith Douglass
Copy Editing
2nd Blake Loria
3rd Faith Douglass
4th Macy McClish
5th Luke Bruce
Hey! I'm a senior and this will be my third and sadly final year on staff. I am currently one of the three editors-in-chief and the senior drum major for the band. I'm a true coffee addict who loves all the pups. In the rare situation I'm not on the band...
I'm the adviser of the Canyon High newspaper and yearbook staffs, and I love starting my day with this talented staff. We hope you'll join us daily for new content. I'm a graduate of Texas A&M University where I studied Secondary Curriculum and Instruction...
