By Samantha Sanburn

Competitive juices flow strong through the bodies of the contestants. Pencils are sharpened and minds are flowing with ideas and information retained over the last few months. UIL teams are hard core, with so little credit given. Several writing students are now bound for regional competition April 15-16  following their performance at the district academic meet last week.

In Ready Writing, senior Shivani Gaitonde placed third in Ready Writing and senior Stella Guevara placed second in Editorial Writing, both advancing to region. In News Writing, sophomore Alexandra Gutierrez got second place in district, also earning her a place at regionals.

“I was really suprised that I placed in news because I really thought my feature was better,” Gutierrez said. “I’m really excited I made it though and I can’t wait to see how I do.”

The high honors were a suprise for Gaitonde as well.

“It was actually really unexpected because I didn’t really know what I was talking about. But in the end, it was most important for me to just have fun and enjoy writing,” Gaitonde said.

The three will all have a chance to enjoy their writing again next Saturday at UTSA. Additionally, several students are alternates to the regional competition, after placing fourth through sixth in their respective events. Senior Summer Mills is an alternate  in Persuasive Speaking, junior Kaelen Haag in Computer Science, sophomore Shamira Shepherd for Lincoln-Douglass Debate, and sophomore Darby Fulcher in Feature Writing.