Argyle has continued its legacy in academic excellence, taking home another district UIL win this year. Hoping to make it all the way to state once more, the team will first have to make it through regionals on April 7th in Commerce, Texas.

Argyle blew the other schools out of the water, winning district with 839 points, which is almost triple the second place team’s score. Over 40 students are advancing to region individually, and 15 students placed first in their event. Argyle also managed to sweep the top three spots in nine events: Accounting, Calculator Applications, Computer Applications, Computer Science, Informative Speaking, Literary Criticism, Mathematics, Number Sense and Science.

Students and staff knew they needed to practice extra hard to maintain their legacy and face the new competition within the district. 

“When I found out our district had changed, I was a little more nervous about our competition because they have ranked really well at practice meets,” senior Brayden Ratcliff said. “But while they are really talented, this motivates me to not be complacent and to push myself to be the best writer I can be.”                                                                              

Argyle was well-prepared for this meet, having used online study tools such as Quizlit to help them get ahead.

“I studied on Quizlet and read summaries of the books I’d be tested on online,” literary criticism competitor Chloe Livingston said.

Every student differs on how they study for the meets, especially depending on their event, so while some students quiz themselves on online, others read over old prompts from other meets.

“With Journalism UIL, I go over old prompts and practice writing as much as I can to prepare me for the competitions, “ Ratcliff said.

Although students may prepare in a multitude of different ways, many students prefer practicing with a group.

“I enjoy studying in a group setting,” Livingston said.” Talking about the subject helps it stay fresh in my mind.” 

Not only did Argyle have major plans for practice and study for district, they have even bigger plans for region.

“I’m going to keep going over terms that I’m still unfamiliar with,” Livingston said. “While studying, it helps me to make connections within the word to its definition so I can remember it for a longer time. This is especially helpful while connecting authors to the books that they wrote.”

Argyle is ready for region and is determined to bring home more trophies, along with tickets to Austin for the state meet on April 20-22. However, students know that their toughest obstacle will be to perfect their individual skills.

“As long as I focus on improving my writing voice, I know my biggest competitor will be myself,” Ratcliff said.