Fairfield HS Students Advance to State Competition in UIL

by sophomore and Eagle Beat reporter Paisley Robinson

Twenty-eight students competed at Regional UIL Academics in Brenham on Saturday, April 25. Seven of those students will compete at the State UIL contest at the University of Texas at Austin on May 18 and 19.

“I am very proud of the students advancing to state,” UIL Science Coach Cheryl Stone says, “I am amazed at our consistency in doing so. Fairfield always competes at the highest level.”

The school placed sixth out of 60 teams at region with a total of 93 points. Four of the seven students who will compete, freshman Fernanda Ramirez, sophomores Aaron Evans and Hudson Little, and junior Antonio Jauregui, comprise the Current Issues and Events as the regional wildcard team. The three other state qualifiers include junior Noah Hoskins in Number Sense, junior Anderson Cruce in Computer Science, and senior Callie Morgan in Headline Writing.

“I’m very excited that all of us are competing at state.” Jauregui says, “This year has been one of our best years, and I’m confident that we will do very well.”

The Number Sense team placed third with sophomores Jay Patel and Isaiah Chavez, juniors Jack Bean and Noah Hoskins. Additionally, the Computer Science team, juniors Bryanna Willis, Anderson Cruce, Daniel Bonner, and senior Haysten Kent, placed second, becoming a state alternate; the Science team placed third with juniors Noah Hoskins, Kaden McCrory, Jack Bean, senior Mason Edwards; the Spelling team placed second with sophomore Paisley Robinson, juniors Antonio Jauregui, Anderson Cruce, and Yahir Yepez. Junior Antonio Jauregui placed fifth in Headline Writing, qualifying as a state alternate, and junior Yahir Yepez placed fifth in Spelling becoming a state alternate.

“I’m so excited about current issues qualifying for the state meet! This is a special team, and I enjoy working with them.” UIL Current Issues and Events Coach Katie Wade says, “Antonio Jauregui led the way with his dedication and work-ethic, Fernanda Ramirez has been a star as a Freshman, and Aaron Evans and Hudson Little experience tremendous growth potential and improve every week. The sky is truly the limit with this team. We have been doubling our efforts after qualifying for state and I’m proud of these students and excited to see how we compete at the State Meet.”

The faculty dedicated to coaching these teams include: Stacy Bachtel (Prose and Poetry), Katie Wade (Current Issues and Events), Nicole Crawford (Informative and Persuasive Speaking), Elizabeth Collier (Cross-Examination Debate and Lincoln-Douglas Debate), Sally Whitaker (Ready Writing), Kathie Maciel (News Writing, Headline Writing, Feature Writing, Editorial Writing, Literary Criticism, Copy Editing, and Assistant One-Act Play Director), Rebecca Sanchez (One-Act Play Director), Mayra Soto (Assistant One-Act Play Director), Cheryl Stone  (Science and Computer Science), James Nutt (Social Studies), Gay Lynn Swan (Spelling), Renea Worley (Accounting), Chris Owen (Mathematics, Calculator, and Number Sense). This year’s UIL coordinator is Kathie Maciel.

“We have two students who are returning to State and five who are advancing and competing at the State level for the first time,” Maciel says. “Our Region is very competitive, and I’m so proud of those who either competed, placed, or advanced out of Region to State.”