UIL Academics will compete at State on May 14th and 15th at the University of Texas at Austin. A total of 12 students qualified for state in 10 events.

“I think for me it’s about seeing growth,” UIL coordinator Rory McKenzie said. “We know that our students are some of the best students to ever walk through the halls of LHS and I love getting to know them and see them thrive in this academic arena.”

32 total students from Lindale competed at the regional level. The school placed third overall with 190.5 points

“Regionals has more students competing at the top level than anywhere else,” journalism coach Neda Morrow said. “Regionals is really where the best is separated from the good and that makes it extra tough.”

Odin Burks and Joshua Edwards qualified in CX Debate. Carter Bowdoin in the Latino History essay contest. Diya Patel, Aden Ramsey and Holden Evans in the Barbara Jordan essay contest. Fatima Smadi qualified in Science.

“Competing in regionals was challenging this year,” Smadi said. “Having everyone’s support made it a rewarding experience”

Julia Montgomery qualified in Copy Editing, Editorial and Headline. Jaida Jones qualified in Headline and News and Andrea Hernandez in News. In LD Debate both Audrey Ratliff and Madison Barnes qualified. Barnes also qualified in Informative Speaking.

“I love competing in journalism, even if the UIL contests are very stressful,” Montgomery said. “I can’t believe I qualified in all of my events, and I’m looking forward to competing at state.”

There were several third-place teams including Calculator, Number Sense and Literary Criticism.

“Being a part of the Lit Crit team for the past three years has really been a fun experience,” senior Jaxson Buttram said. “My love for literature has grown substantially, to the point I know plan on majoring in English in college. I felt as though regionals was a satisfying end to a three-year endeavor.”

Robotics and Film held their state conventions earlier this semester. Robotics placed 4th earning the school 10 points and Film had several medalists earning 74 points.

“UIL has been important to me since I was a competitor for Lindale ISD over 20 years ago,” McKenzie said. “I’m a competitive person and I love being a part of what makes our school successful.”