Whitesboro elementary UIL students (grades 2-5) aced their 2025-2026 competition, claiming the title of overall district champions. These students were recognized at the March 9 school board meeting held at the Hayes Primary School Cafeteria.
For Whitesboro, the events held on Dec. 12 (and, in some cases, the days leading up to that) resulted in a total of 14 first-place teams and five second-place teams. Eighteen second-graders earned individual medals; 15 third-graders earned individual medals; 24 fourth-graders earned individual medals; and 35 fifth-graders earned individual medals. Total points earned were 892.5 (up 17.3 points from last year).
Grades first, second, fourth and fifth were named District Champs and third grade was District Runner-Up.
Congratulations to the following Bearcats:
2nd Grade – overall champion for the district
Chess (coach Cyndi Martin) – 1st place team
Scarlett Blakely (1st place individual), Waylyn McGaughy (2nd place individual), Emerson Scoggins (3rd place individual), Antonio White (Best Alternate)
Creative Writing (coach Cyndi Martin)
Collins Gamble (1st place individual), Savvy Park (2nd place individual), Ember Hampton (4th place individual), Harlow Fletcher (Best Alternate)
Music Memory (coach Ashley Calderon) – 1st place team
Collins Gamble (1st place individual – perfect score), Scarlett Blakeley (1st place individual – perfect score), Matteo Covarrubias (1st place individual – perfect score), Savvy Park (4th place individual – perfect score), Jenny Holle (5th place individual – perfect score), Max Hernandez (Best Alternate), Tatum Orozco
Storytelling (coach Cyndi Martin)
Harlow Fletcher (2nd place individual), Savvy Park ( 3rd place individual), Baylor Bennett (5th place individual), Collins Gamble (Best Alternate)
3rd Grade – runner-up champion for the district
Chess (coach Kristin Ruiz) – 2nd place team
Kayde Sullivan (4th place individual), Harley Brawdy (6th place individual), Jack Hutchinson, Madeline White
Music Memory (coach Ashley Calderon) – 1st place team
Evelyn Lewis (1st place individual – perfect score), King Reedy (3rd place individual – perfect score), Charlotte Springs (4th place individual), Alexandra Chrastka (5th place individual), SherLynn Labrada (6th place individual), Sebastian Labrada (Best Alternate), Bella Johnson
Spelling (coach Kassie Lynch) – 1st place team
Skcarlytt Durrett (2nd place individual), Braelyn Pursley (3rd place individual), Ellie Maxwell (5th place individual), Lulu Medina (Best Alternate)
Storytelling (coach Mocha Wohlgemuth)
Ellie Maxwell (1st place individual), Braelyn Pursley (2nd place individual), Evelyn Murphy (6th place individual)
4th Grade – overall champion for the district
Art (coach Michelle Lee) – 2nd place team
Ariana Aguirre (1st place individual), Coraline Edwards (5th place individual), Isabel Sanchez (Best Alternate), Alan Rene Nobles, Lila Meziere, CC Collett, Addilynn Covington
Chess (coach Kara Farmer) – 1st place team
Ryker Handlin (1st place individual), Elam Knight (2nd place individual), Kayden Snyder (4th place individual), Leon Baker (Best Alternate)
Music Memory (coach Ashley Calderon) – 1st place team
Abigail Meals (1st place individual – perfect score), John Holle (2nd place individual - perfect score), Ariana Aguirre (3rd place individual - perfect score), Jack Wisener (4th place individual – perfect score), Ryker Handlin (5th place individual - perfect score), Penelope Harwell (Best Alternate), Elam Knight
Number Sense (coach Heather Wright) – 1st place team
Ryker Handlin (1st place individual), Leon Baker (2nd place individual), Bentley Calvillo (5th place individual), Manuel Sandoval Portillo
Oral Reading (coach Mocha Wohlgemuth)
Mia Willis (2nd place individual), Florentina Schmeidl (5th place individual)
Ready Writing (coach Michaella Eldredge)
Eliza Servin (2nd place individual), Harlie Russell (6th place individual)
Spelling (coach Kassie Lynch) – 1st place team
Ryker Handlin (1st place individual), Coraline Edwards (2nd place individual), Kylee Caldwell (4th place individual), Luis Montes (Best Alternate)
5th Grade – overall champion for the district
Art (coach Michelle Lee) – 2nd place team
Lily Grace Wright (2nd place individual), McKinleigh Stanford (4th place individual), Freyah Lewis (Best Alternate), Owen Hobbs, Parker Eberhart, Kylie Acosta-Shwarts, Vanessa Hernandez, Adylynn Toutounchian
Chess (coach Kara Farmer) – 2nd place team
Caty McClendon (3rd place individual), Kenneth Hapiuk (4th place individual), Parker Debord (Best Alternate), Aiden Thomason
Dictionary (coach Tammie Kupper) – 1st place team
Mason Welch (1st place individual), Ben Fellegy (2nd place individual), Zoey Brogelman (Best Alternate), Owen Hobbs
Listening (coach Joni Durham) – 1st place team
Emma Miles (1st place individual), Josephine Cardinal McGee (3rd place individual), Hudson Whitworth (5th place individual), Nora Valentine (Best Alternate)
Maps, Graphs, and Charts (coach April Ollila) – 1st place team
Drake Harris (1st place individual), Jesse Cook (1st place individual), Ryder Greco (3rd place individual), Maxwell Schultz (Best Alternate)
Music Memory (coach Ashley Calderon) – 1st place team
Owen Hobbs (1st place individual – perfect score), Talon Cohorn (2nd place individual), Maxwell Schultz (3rd place individual), Kylie Acosta-Shwarts
Number Sense (coach Heather Wright) – 1st place team
Luke Beckett (1st place individual), Caty McClendon (2nd place individual), Kaiden Russell, Jesse Cook
Oral Reading (coach Mocha Wohlgemuth)
Ava Cowden (2nd place individual), Ava Oakley (5th place individual), Adalyn Wolf (Best Alternate)
Ready Writing (coach Michaela Eldredge)
Madison Glenn (1st place individual), Charlotte Reed (5th place individual), Alexa Glenn (Best Alternate)
Social Studies (coach April Ollila) – 2nd place team
Vanessa Hernandez-Cortez (2nd place individual), Joseph Axe (6th place individual), Mason Schultz (Best Alternate), Adylynn Toutounchian
Spelling (coach Tammie Kupper) – 1st place team
Mason Welch (1st place individual), Emma Miles (2nd place individual), Lily Grace Wright (4th place individual), Maddie Glenn (Best Alternate), Freyah Lewis