The Mount Pleasant High School UIL Academic team opened its season on Saturday, October 22 at the Fall Tiger Invitational held on the MPHS campus. Overall, Mount Pleasant High School took second place with many team members competing at their first ever tournament.

The Math team took first place as a team. Individually, in 10th grade, Samuel Chappell placed 3rd and Steffanie Espiritu was 4th. In 11th grade, Nathaniel Martinez placed 2nd. And in 12th grade, Isaac Hernandez was 1st, Devin Castaneda 2nd, Perla Guzman 3rd, Param Poudel 4th, and Natalie Crockett placed 6th. Overall medalists in Math were Isaac Hernandez 3rd, Devin Castaneda 4th, Perla Guzman 5th, and Param Poudel 6th.

The Calculator Applications team also took first place as a team. Individually, in 9th grade, Alessandro Greco placed 2nd. In 10th grade, Tanner Marshall was 1st, Amir Martinez 3rd, Samuel Chappell 4th, and Kate Ball 5th. In 11th grade, Nathaniel Martinez placed 1st, with Clinton Debord 4th and Kiara Rundles in 5th. In 12th grade, Devin Castaneda was 1st, Param Poudel 2nd, Isaac Hernandez 3rd, and Ethan Harbour placed 5th. Overall Calculator medalists were Nathaniel Martinez 1st, Devin Castaneda 3rd, Param Poudel 4th, and Isaac Hernandez 5th.

The Social Studies team placed first as a team, taking 4 of the 6 medals awarded. Individual placings were Estven Perez 1st, Vanessajane Bayna 2nd, Stephanie Hernandez 5th, and Jeisy Munoz 6th.

The Journalism team placed second as a team with only one returning team member. Individual results were:

Copy Editing: Idania Castanon 4th, Brissia Alvaraz 5th and Celeste Landin 6th

News Writing: Idania Castanon 2nd, Ana Ceballos 5th and Noemy Dorantes 6th

Feature Writing: Idania Castanon 2nd, Noemy Dorantes 5th and Ana Ceballos 6th

Editorial Writing: Eli Rider 2nd, Natalia Aspeitia 3rd and Noemy Dorantes 6th

Headlines: Idania Castanon 3rd, Celeste Landin 5th and Brissia Alvarez 6th

The Spelling team took second place as a team. Individually, Isabel Gonzales placed 3rd, Sophie Greco 4th, Angelina Hernandez 5th, and Natalia Aspeita 6th.

The Number Sense team placed 2nd overall as a team. In 9th grade, Alessandro Greco placed 3rd with Angel Farias 4th. In 10th grade, Luke Thurman was 3rd, Jose Gonzalez 4th, Evan Cota 5th, and Jesus Moreno 6th. In 11th grade, Nathaniel Martinez placed 3rd. And in 12th grade, Ethan Harbour placed 3rd, with Perla Guzman 4th and Jose Trejo 5th.

The Current Events team placed 2nd as a team with Natalie Crockett 1st, Elijah Rider 4th, Anthony Orellana 5th, and Sophie Greco 6th.

In Ready Writing, MPHS took 4 of the 6 medals awarded with Makayla Spigner placing 1st, Brissia Alvarez 3rd, Natalia Aspeita 4th, and Cinthya Ramirez 6th.

In Accounting, half of the medals awarded went to MPHS with Perla Guzman placing 4th, Wendy Alarcon 5th, and Merlin Cardona 6th.

And in Science, MPHS won 4 of the 6 medals awarded with Ethan Harbour placing 2nd, Devin Castaneda 3rd, Param Poudel 4th, and Natalie Crockett 5th.

The MPHS UIL Academic team will compete again at the Whitehouse Wildcat Thanksgiving Classic on November 12th. The MPHS UIL Academic teams are coached by Gina Crouch (UIL Coordinator, Spelling and Current Events), Osias Hernandez (Math and Calculator), Gabrielle Robbins (Literary criticism and Ready Writing), Tammy Thomas (Computer Science), David Clark (Computer Apps, Accounting, and Extemporaneous Speaking), Leanne Blalock (Social Studies), Cindy Reed (Debate), John Whitten (Journalism), Kim Cox (Journalism), Larry Russell (Science), Randy Ballard (Number Sense), and Angela Priefert (Prose and Poetry).

Pictured: Members of the MPHS UIL Academic team