VHS Takes 9th Straight Region Literary Title

The Vidalia High School Literary Team took their 9th straight Region Championship Thursday at Vidalia High School, taking first place in 9 out of 12 events. Vidalia scored 72 points, which was 20 points higher than second-place Jeff Davis (52). Toombs County (38) finished third, and East Laurens (7) placed fourth. In addition to the nine first-place finishes, the VHS Team added three 3rd place finishes. Vidalia Literary Coordinator Margaret Pournelle, who is in her 1st year, said that, although she has been a part of the competition for several years, winning the first title as Coordinator is special. “It’s Amazing! The kids really have worked hard and they showed out today. Plus, we had a little extra incentive, because this is Mr. Sharpe’s last year, and being the competitor that he is, we wanted to go out with a bang for him.” Vidalia Principal John Sharpe, who will be moving to become the Director of SECCA after the end of the year, said that he had kidded with the students and Pournelle telling them that they had extra pressure because this was his last year. “I joked with them that they had some pressure on them because I didn’t want to go out without another title. But these students always rise to the occasion, and now they have a great chance to do something special at State.”

Sharpe said it is a source of pride for the school to always compete well in Literary. “We take pride in our arts, because these are students who may never get their name called on a field or a court, but they can compete in events that mean something to them. This is their Super Bowl for what they do. And when they know that we care about what they do, no matter what is, they feel like they have value, and that is huge.”

Pournelle also had words of thanks for those who helped to get the students ready to compete. “I’d like to say a special thank you to our music coach, Sydney Williams, along with Ms. Campbell and our History Department. We had a lot of teamwork on our hallway and they each share in this win. We also appreciate all the support from Mr. Sharpe and the VHS administration, faculty, and staff who helped make Region Literary a success!”

VHS Region 2AA

Literary Results Boys Quartet (1st)

– Timothy Corbin, Micah Davis Brown, Andrew Davis, Jay Johnson Girls Trio (1st) – Shannon Collins, Ashlyn Goodwin, Autumn Harris Girls Solo (1st) –

Shannon Collins

Boys Solo (3rd) – Canyon Beck

Duo Oral Interpretation (1st)- Alan Johnson and Roman Edwards

Dramatic Oral Interpretation (1st) – Mikkelle Peters

Humorous Oral Interpretation (1st) – Dottie McDaniel

Rhetorical Essay (1st)

– Mikkelle Peters

Argumentative Essay

(1st) – Roman Edwards Personal Essay (3rd) –

Paradyse Jacobs

Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking (1st) –

Hudson Sumner

International Extemporaneous Speaking ( 3rd) – MaryLaura Tippett.