Local Students Medal at State UIL Academic Meet

Eichler Caps Senior Year With State Success in News Writing

After four years of study and competition, La Grange High School senior, Anna Eichler, won a medal at the UILAcademics News Writing event at the University of Austin last Wednesday, May 17th. “My main goal was just to place at regionals, as I was just an alternate last year and placed 6th my sophomore year. It was surprising that I made it to state,” Eichler said.

Eichler placed 5th in the News Writing competition and received her medal at the ceremony at the end of the day.

“I really hoped Anna would medal, and I really did believe she could, but you just never know how things are going to go on the day,” her UIL Journalism coach Lucy Carr said. “When I went to verification to check her scores and saw she placed 5th, I was just ecstatic!”

From the first time Eichler wrote a news story, Mrs. Carr saw her potential to reach state. “She was a natural writer, and very coachable. I told her right away that I thought she could make it,” Carr said.

The path to state was not always smooth. After placing 6th at regionals in her freshman year, Eichler missed out on competing the following year due to COVID-19, and then only placed as an alternate for district as a junior.

“It speaks to her determination that she tried again in her senior year,” Carr said.

The effort finally paid off with her fifth-place medal, which Eichler said she was not expecting.

Here’s how the other La Grange academic UIL competitors did at state last week: Literary Criticism: 4th place team 10th place: Kylee Kelly 14th place: Kylie Zbranek 21st place: Jade Ackerman 24th place: Anna Follin La Grange’s Phoebe Tucker was also a state qualifier in copy editing and Dominick Smith was a state competitor in Informative speaking.