After a successful last practice meet at Caney Creek last week, the Willis UIL team is looking forward to going to district on March 29th back at “The Creek.”

In spite of critical judgment the students managed to place high across various contest including journalism, poetry, extemporaneous speaking and social studies.

“Some of the judging in the events were a little aggravating and counterintuitive of the goal of the event,” senior Danica Sundquist said. “However, I did place in both of my events which felt incredibly rewarding. I have spent hours and hours practicing and to know it paid off was amazing.”

Going to district the competitors set themselves high hopes and expectations to be successful both individually and as a team.

“As we approach district, I want to keep up all my hard work and feel 100 percent confident going into the meet,” Sundquist said. “I also hope to help my teammates achieve the same level of achievement and so we can all leave as winners.”

For many students of the Willis UIL program it’s not their first time going to district. Their experiences from the past years lay the foundation for their goals for this year.

“My goal for district this year is to be able to compete in more events, since last year I only competed in editorial writing,” junior Victoria Medina said. “I also hope to place in the top three, to be able to make it to regionals.”

UIL is a great opportunity for students to exercise their field or fields of interest beyond regular school classes.

“I really do enjoy social studies,” sophomore Natalie Mayronne said. “History has been my passion since I was young, so being able to compete for it is very exciting. I’ll be working with my team to get ready for district by reviewing primary sources and memorizing vocabulary. I’m hoping I can do well and make it to state one year.”