For the second year in a row the Nolan Mustangs hoisted the Killeen ISD Middle School UIL first-place trophy in the air Saturday in the exciting conclusion to the district’s 15th annual academic meet.
When their team was announced, the large contingent of students and coaches rushed from their seats at the rear of the Nolan Middle School gym to claim their prize.
Patterson Middle School finished in second place for the second year in a row and Smith Middle School finished in third place. JDA Middle School earned most improved based on their point totals the past two years.
Palo Alto Middle School won the event’s T-shirt design contest.
The day-long meet of academic challenge culminated with the award ceremony where parents and educators joined the 700-plus student participants to loudly celebrate the students.
Superintendent King Davis praised the students for “showing up” to meet the challenge and said it was to the district’s credit to celebrate academic prowess so enthusiastically.
Middle school teams earned points for finishing in first through sixth place in sixth, seventh and eighth grades in 14 academic events.
Nolan UIL team coordinator Joanna Barraza credited her teams’ diligent work ethic in bringing home loads of medals and ribbons that added up to the Mustangs’ second-straight championship.
“It feels really rewarding because the students and teachers have worked very hard to come in first again this year,” she said. “There’s a lot of work behind the scenes. It’s everybody doing their part.”
She said coaches and students communicated well with one another and worked closely, everyone knowing the goal was to win.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do. I’m going to miss it,” said Barraza, who is now an administrator at an elementary school.
“It’s really cool,” said Kailani Harris-Barrot, a Nolan seventh-grader, who won a ribbon in calculation.
“It’s really rewarding. We’ve worked hard. We study at home. When I got something wrong in practice, I looked it up and corrected it. It’s a lot of work,” she said.
“It was fun today and also stressful on the tests. We said, ‘Come on, we got this.’ It was worth it. I love and support all my teammates.”
Eleanor Anderson, also a Nolan seventh-grader, agreed the team worked hard and enjoyed the pay off.
“It’s really exciting. There are 12 schools in total that compete and they are all big schools, and we got first out of it, and I got first in my event,” she said, praising her peers’ teamwork and determination.
It was 15 years ago that Burns, a longtime Eastern Hills Middle School administrator initiated the middle school academic contest. It began with five schools and has grown to more than 700 students.
He first conceived the event as part of a leadership course contained in his master’s degree work.
On Saturday, he shared the workbook from that course that included written in his handwriting his goal – to start a districtwide middle school UIL competition.
He presided over it Saturday for the 15th year in a row.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720332260145