RHS teams finish at State
By Melissa McCaghren
Slatonite Editor
The Roosevelt High School One Act Play and Social Studies teams competed in State competition last week in Austin.
The One Act Play competed May 14 and placed sixth overall for its presentation of “The Drowning Girls.”
Sydney Simmons was named All Star Cast and Kyndal Grimes was named Honorable Mention All Star Cast. Both received State Medals for their honors, silver for Simmons and bronze for Grimes.
Lexington was named the State Champion for “The Haystack,” Shallowater first runner-up for “The Collective,” and Grandview’s version of “The Drowning Girls” was second runner up.
The 2025 RHS Company was cast members Simmons, Grimes, Karagyn Scott, Addilee Lopez, Keith Lugo, Sy Weller, Cameron Wood, Araceli Cabrera, Jolie Hildebrandt, Olivia Bond, Joleigh Hillstrom, Brinley Rich, Josh Diaz, Rope Miller and Justice Jackson, crew Miracle Harris, Kynli Grizell, Kadence Goley and Brec Wheeler.
Directors were Katie Miller, Hannah Keith and Melissa Grimes.
For K. Grimes and Simmons, they had a second chance for a medal as they joined fellow Social Studies teammates Araceli Cabrera, Makayla Chavira and Irene Martin for State Social Studies Monday (May 19).
The team placed fifth overall in the contest.
Superintendent Dallas Grimes, who also is the head of the Social Studies team at RHS, said this was an annual contest. “Students read a selected book on a subject in history. They also are required to learn an in-depth list of individuals and related terms from the time period the book covers,” he said. “The level that is covered at this competition is really in-depth. It is comparable to graduate level history courses in college. The test at each event consists of a 45 question multiple choice test and an essay.
“The topics rotate each year between domestic and foreign events,” he added. “This year’s topic was the Elections of 1800-1824-1828. Next year’s topic is the Cuban Missile Crisis/Cold War.”
Grimes said the team won both invitationals at Texas Tech this spring as well as the District 2-3A title and Regional 1-3A championship. “Region I spans all 3A schools from El Paso to just west of Fort Worth and from the top of the Panhandle to the Hill Country,” he added to explain how big the Region is.
After the event, Grimes said they went to eat at the Hula Hut to celebrate their successes. It is a restaurant located on the Colorado River near Austin.
Although the year has ended for the Social Studies team, Grimes said there were no Seniors this year. “The team is composed of Sophomores and a Junior, so we are hopeful to see what this group accomplishes over the next couple of years,” said Grimes. “The students gain a different perspective on the individuals from the time period and it helps explain why they made some of the decisions they did that is usually only briefly covered in regular history courses.”
He said he was really proud of the team’s hard work this year. “We are really proud of this group’s hard work and many hours spent investing into this extra-curricular activity,” he said. “They now qualify for numerous scholarships offered only to students who compete at the UIL State Academic Meet.”
