Sophomore Kayla Holcomb placed 5th in headline writing at the State UIL academic meet.
This was Holcomb’s first year on the journalism team and she had never planed to even compete in headline writing.
“Before district, I had originally planned to do only feature writing, but someone dropped out of headline writing and Mrs. Lee needed an alternate so she wrote my name down,” Holcomb said. “Then I got told a week before that I was going to be competing and I am not the kind of person to show up unprepared so I put a lot of time into studying the rules and practicing.”
All the time and effort Holcomb put in before her first competition at District worked. She ended up placing third.
She continued the streak at Regional%u2019s where she placed second to move her to the state level.
“I was shocked,” Holcomb said. “We had been waiting for the results and we were the last group to receive our scores and Mr. Pearson walked up to us and said ‘I have a headline for the headline competition, headlines lost.’ At first I thought he meant that neither Jordan Campagna, who placed sixth and is going to state as third alternate, or myself had placed, then I realized he was talking about the headlines being lost.”
While a little joking was a great way to get her mind off the scores for a minute, that was the only minute she had until her scores were posted.
“About a minute later, Mrs. Lee walked up and placed a hand on my shoulder and she said ‘ well you tried really hard and it was your first year” and then she paused and said “and you got a silver,”‘Holcomb said. “My brain did not click on that, I did not realize that, and then I noticed Mrs. Lee’s smile, the biggest I had ever seen, and then I heard her say I was going to State and I was in complete shock.”
Holcomb had a little luck on her side along the way though.
“At district the headline that was the one point decider against third and fourth place was the headline I wrote that was “Case of Strum Luck” which got me third,”Holcomb said. “And at Regions, the headline that I wrote was “Luck of the Draw”and that got me second. Mrs. Lee and I have decided that my word is” luck” and when I am at state, I am hoping I will be able to include it somewhere and maybe I’ll do well.”
This is the seventh year in a row for Rider to take someone to State on the journalism team. Rider has placed at state, but not in the last two years. Rider has been eight total times in sixteen years, the first in 2000.
“I feel really special to get to carry on this tradition and it has not kicked in that it is actually me,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb is not going alone, Junior Jordan Campagna is also headed to Austin as third alternate. It is her first trip to state too.
Holcomb wanted to thank Emma White for supporting and helping her prepare and learn, and Mrs. Lee for everything she has done to help her.