UIL Academics

HHS wins 16th straight UIL district championship

(4/15/24) -- Hallsville's streak of UIL Academic Team district championships is now at 16 straight years, as the Bobcats scored a meet-high 568 points to easily breeze past the second-place score of 364 at the UIL Academic District Meet. Hallsville placed seven district championship teams in the competition, with 11 individual district champions. Notable among those were freshmen district champions Jacob Platner (Accounting) and Christian Gitogo (L-D Debate).  Also noteworthy, of the approximately 4500 students that competed in Calculator Applications (1A - 6A), HHS sophomore Brennen Ashley had the highest score in the state!

Hallsville results included:

ACCOUNTING (Team Finish: 1st - RQ)

• Jacob Platner (1st - RQ)
• Caleb Strange (2nd - RQ)
• Nathan Courtney (3rd - RQ)
• Joel Hale (5th - RQ)

NUMBER SENSE (Team Finish: 1st - RQ)

• Brennen Ashley (1st - RQ)
• Luke Jenkins (2nd - RQ)
• Caleb Strange (6th - RQ)
• Hunter Hines (RQ)

CALCULATOR (Team Finish: 1st - RQ)

• Brennen Ashley (1st - RQ)
• Luke Jenkins (3rd - RQ)
• Morgan Roberts (RQ)
• Evan Dunin (RQ)

MATH (Team Finish: 1st - RQ)

• Brennen Ashley (1st - RQ)
• Luke Jenkins (2nd - RQ)
• Caleb Strange (RQ)
• Maverick Kelley (RQ)

JOURNALISM (Team Finish: 1st)

• Copy Editing
  • Evelyn Ward (1st - RQ)
  • Cortlyn Null (2nd - RQ)
  • Alicia Volm (4th - RQ)
• Editorial
  • Alicia Volm (1st - RQ)
  • Evelyn Ward (2nd - RQ)
• Feature
  • Cortlyn Null (1st - RQ)
  • Alicia Volm (5th)
• News
  • Victor Trejo (1st - RQ)
  • Alicia Volm (3rd - RQ)
  • Madi Bell (5th)

SPEECH/DEBATE (Team Finish: 1st)

• Informative Extemporary Speaking
  • Kaylyn Orlikowsky (4th - RQ)
  • Vivian Phan (5th)
• Lincoln-Douglas
  • Christian Gitogo (1st - RQ)
  • Robert Underwood (3rd - RQ)
• Poetry Interpretation
  • Charlie McIntosh (1st - RQ)
  • Evan Johnson (2nd - RQ)
  • Oscar Hernandez (6th)
• Prose Interpretation
  • Sariyah Greenwood (2nd - RQ)
  • Charlie Patten (5th)

SOCIAL STUDIES (Team Finish: 1st - RQ)

• Edgar Rangel (1st - RQ)
• Chloe Hendrix (4th - RQ)
• Hudson Daub (6th - RQ)
• August Workman (RQ)

LITERARY CRITICISM (Team Finish: 2nd - RQ)

• Margaret Schirmer (4th - RQ)
• Zoey Davis (6th - RQ)
• Reid Bryant (RQ)
• Louisa Schirmer (RQ)

SCIENCE (Team Finish: 2nd)

• Dane Brown (3rd - RQ)
• Blake Gauntt (5th)

COMPUTER SCIENCE

• Lex Cox (3rd - RQ)

SPELLING

• Margaret Schirmer (3rd - RQ)

CURRENT ISSUES & EVENTS (Team Finish: 2nd - RQ)

• Jose Juarez (4th - RA)

HHS Math/Science competes at state meet

(3/26/24) -- Hallsville High School's Math/Science team competed at the 2024 5A State Meet and came away with the following awards:

• 3rd Place Sweepstakes Team
• 2nd Place Number Sense Team
• 3rd Place Calculator Team
• 3rd Place Math Team
• 4th Place Science Team

Individual Awards included:

9th Grade

• Maverick Kelley - 4th Place Math, 5th Place Number Sense
• Evan Dunin - 3rd Place Calculator
• Hunter Hines - 9th Place Number Sense

10th Grade

• Brennen Ashley - 1st Place Number Sense, Calculator, and Math
  • Brennen was also the overall 5A champ all grades 9-12, in Number Sense, Calculator, and Math, and the meet champ, 1A - 6A, in Calculator

11th Grade

• Morgan Roberts - 5th Place Number Sense

12th Grade

• Dane Brown - 3rd Place Science
• Luke Jenkins - 4th Place Number Sense and Calculator and 7th Place Math.
  • Luke was also awarded a 5th Place Top Gun Scholarship.  Top Gun is the recognition of individuals who have the combined highest placements in Number Sense, Calculator, Math and Science.

HHS Math/Science Team sweeps first place at Sabine

(3/2/24) -- The Hallsville High School Math/Science team competed at Sabine High School's "East Texas Shootout" and took first-place awards in each of the four events: Number Sense, Calculator, Math, and Science. They also earned the first-place Sweepstakes award! Next up for the team is TMSCA Math/Science State Meet and UIL District Meet.

Congratulations to these students:

• NUMBER SENSE (1st Place)
  • 9th Grade
    • Yemo Liu (5th)
    • Hunter Hines (6th)
  • 10th Grade
    • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • 11th Grade
    • Morgan Roberts (1st)
    • Kaden Smith (2nd)
  • 12th Grade
    • Luke Jenkins (1st)
    • CJ Strange (4th)

• CALCULATOR (1st Place)
  • 9th Grade
    • Evan Dunin (1st)
    • Hunter Hines (5th)
  • 10th Grade
    • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • 12th Grade
    • Luke Jenkins (3rd)

• MATH (1st Place)
  • 9th Grade
    • Maverick Kelley (2nd)
    • Yemo Liu (4th)
    • Hunter Hines (5th)
  • 11th Grade
    • Morgan Roberts (4th)
  • 12th Grade
    • Luke Jenkins (1st)
    • CJ Strange (3rd)

• SCIENCE (1st Place)
  • 9th Grade
    • Ethan Cashion (2nd)
    • Christian Rangel (3rd)
    • Emma Bishop (4th)
  • 10th Grade
    • Simon Cooper (4th)
    • Grant Hood (6th)
  • 12th Grade
    • Dane Brown (1st)
    • Ryan Reid (2nd)
    • Jacob Smith (4th)

HHS Wins Annual Tournament of Hearts

(2/10/24) -- Hallsville High School's UIL Academic team hosted the 2024 Tournament of Hearts competition on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Bobcats dominated the competition, finishing with almost double the points as the tournament's second-place finishers (500.5 points to 257 points, for Pine Tree). Hallsville won team championships in Journalism, Social Studies, Accounting, Calculator, Number Sense, and Mathematics, with second-place finishes in Science, Current Events, and Literary Criticism.

Individual finishes for Hallsville students included:

• JOURNALISM (1st Place)
  • Copy Editing
    • Cortlyn Null (1st)
    • Evelyn Ward (2nd)
    • Alicia Volm (3rd)
  • Editorial Writing
    • Madi Bell (1st)
    • Victor Trejo (2nd)
    • Alicia Volm (4th)
    • Cortlyn Null (5th)
  • Feature Writing
    • Victor Trejo (1st)
    • Cortlyn Null (2nd)
    • Alicia Volm (3rd)
    • Madi Bell (4th)
  • Headline Writing
    • Evelyn Ward (1st)
    • Victor Trejo (2nd)
    • Cortlyn Null (4th)
    • Alicia Volm (6th)
  • News Writing
    • Madi Bell (1st)
    • Victor Trejo (2nd)
    • Alicia Volm (3rd)
    • Evelyn Ward (4th)
• SOCIAL STUDIES (1st Place)
  • Edgar Rangel (1st)
  • Hudson Daub (2nd)
  • August Workman (4th)
  • Macie Whittle (5th)
• ACCOUNTING (1st Place)
  • Jacob Platner (1st)
  • Caleb Strange (2nd)
  • Nathan Courtney (3rd)
• CALCULATOR (1st Place)
  • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • Morgan Roberts (3rd)
• NUMBER SENSE (1st Place)
  • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • Caleb Strange (4th)
• MATHEMATICS (1st Place)
  • Brennen Ashley (1st)
• SCIENCE (2nd Place)
  • Blake Gauntt (3rd)
  • Dane Brown (5th)
  • Ryan Reid (6th)
  • Top Biology - Dane Brown
  • Top Physics - Grant Hood
• CURRENT EVENTS (2nd Place)
  • Jose Juarez (1st)
• LITERARY CRITICISM (2nd Place)
  • Reid Bryant (4th)
  • Margaret Schirmer (5th)
• SPELLING & VOCABULARY
  • Margaret Schirmer (2nd)
• COMPUTER SCIENCE
  • Lex Cox (5th)
• READY WRITING
  • Audrey Gillaspie (5th)

HHS Brings Home 1st Place Finish At Round Rock Invitational

(1/27/24) -- Hallsville High School's UIL Academics team faced its toughest competition of the season at the Round Rock UIL Invitational and finished at the head of the class, with a meet-best 252 points that included first-place finishes in three team competitions and an additional seven individual championships.

Facing some of the best Austin-area schools, the Bobcats finished 63 points ahead of second-place Cedar Park. Complete Hallsville results are below:

• ACCOUNTING (1st Place)
  • Jacob Platner (1st)
  • Caleb Strange (2nd)
  • Joel Hale (4th)
• NUMBER SENSE (1st Place)
  • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • Luke Jenkins (3rd)
• MATH (1st Place)
  • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • Luke Jenkins (4th)
• SCIENCE (2nd Place)
  • Dane Brown (1st)
  • Grant Hood (1st - Biology)
• SPELLING/VOCABULARY (2nd Place)
  • Margaret Schimer (3rd)
• JOURNALISM (2nd Place)
• Copy Editing
  • Cortylyn Null (4th)
  • Evelyn Ward (5th)
• Editorial Writing
  • Evelyn Ward (1st)
  • Victor Trejo (4th)
  • Madi Bell (6th)
• Feature Writing
  • Alicia Volm (4th)
• Headline Writing
  • Cortlyn Null (5th)
• SOCIAL STUDIES
  • Edgar Rangel (5th)
• POETRY
  • Oscar Hernandez (1st)
• PROSE
  • Sariyah Greenwood (3rd)
• CALCULATOR (2nd Place)
  • Brennen Ashley (1st)
  • Luke Jenkins (5th)
• CURRENT ISSUES & EVENTS
  • Jose Juarez (3rd)
• LITERARY CRITICISM
  • Zoey Davis (4th)
• COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
  • Ty Gala (5th)

The University Interscholastic League offers the most comprehensive literary and academic competitive program in the nation.  The Hallsville UIL Academic teams are consistently regional champions with several state winners. HISD UIL Leaders offer more than any other UIL team in terms of activities, with high school, junior high, and elementary contests. All HISD students are encouraged to participate in UIL Academic contests.

These activities, which complement the academic curriculum, are designed to motivate students as they acquire higher levels of knowledge, challenge students to confront issues of importance, and provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of specific skills.