Dr. Trobaugh, the primary sponsor of the Literary team, describes the annual Literary competition as “an academic competition with events in music, speaking, acting, and writing.” This year the Literary team traveled down to Carrollton on March 5th to compete in the Region competition, where they placed third as a team. In the weeks leading up to Region competition, the students practiced with their respective “coaches,” which included Dr. Trobaugh, Mrs. Hamilton, Ms. Parker, and Mr. Peace. Mr. Peace, who worked with the Essay students, noted that his students read and analyzed several past examples of the type of essays they were writing (which were Rhetorical Analysis, Personal, and Argumentative), as well as wrote several practice essays in response to past Literary prompts. After competing at Regions, there were several students who placed very well. These students were Beth Webb, who placed fourth in Rhetorical Analysis Essay, Gunter Hullander (third in Boys Solo), Daniel Burkhart (third in Humorous Interpretation), Emily Taylor (second in Girls Solo), and Justin Haynes, Liam Peterson, Dylan Campbell, and Jacob Trotter, who took second in Boys Quartet. In addition to these strong placements, there were three Region Champions. These were Parker Taylor (first in Argumentative Essay), Emma Delaney (first in Personal Essay), and Kaylan Davis, Avery Frost, and Jenna Yim, who placed first in Girls Trio. These five students that placed first advanced to the State competition, which took place three weeks later on March 26th at the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. At the State level, the students competed in the same categories: Emma Delaney placed third, and the Girls Trio placed first again, which made them GHSA State Champions! Mr. Peace said, “I’m incredibly proud of Beth, Parker, and Emma, who all worked hard to place well at Regions and to get to the State competition. I asked them to do a considerable amount of work in addition to the classwork they have to do every day,” he said, “and they did so without complaining, turning in great work again and again. I’m not surprised by—but am proud of—their achievements.” The other sponsors of the Literary team echoed this sentiment. It’s clear that the Heritage community includes several talented and hard-working students, and we’re proud of how well they did this year.