CHRIS YODER
Gargoyle news co-editor
Posted Monday, May 4, 2009

HOLDING A BIG trophy is a pretty awesome feeling.

It’s not that we on Uni’s journalism team set out to win a trophy with three small statues of barely clothed people on it — it just happened to come along with our IHSA state championship.

Here’s how we brought that big trophy home to Uni.

Our journey began at sectionals April 25 at Gregory Hall, just a few blocks south of Uni. Thirteen of us were there to compete in the 15 onsite events, which ranged from news writing to yearbook layout to feature photography. We advanced to state as individuals, but we would need as many solid performances as possible to have a chance at state as a team.

Long story short, we won our sectional. No matter we were competing against only nine other schools from around the area: 10 of us advanced to state in 11 events.

Six days of papers, tests, quizzes, projects, and homework went by. Then on Friday it was time for state.

The finals were held on the Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston, about an hour's drive from Urbana. Even without a pep rally, by 8:15 the 10 of us — Isaac Chambers (feature photography), Maria Gao (yearbook copy writing), Jason He (headline writing), Adam Joseph (newspaper design), Diana Liu (copy editing), Linda Ly (yearbook two-page spread), Lauren Piester (review writing), Lor Sligar (advertising), Adam “Voice” Tiouririne (info graphics), and I (editorial writing and newspaper sports writing) — were pumped and ready to go.

Isaac, Linda, Lauren and Lor drove their own cars while Dave Porreca, our coach, drove the rest of us in a university vehicle.

The drive to Charleston was neither dull nor arousing. Some of us chose to study (APs did begin today, after all) and others listened to music. The listless gray sky made me somewhat drowsy, but I managed to carry on long conversations with Adam Joseph and Jason about swine flu, the effects it could have on Uni’s classes, and the craziness of Adam’s yearbook guide — which included instructions on how to resuscitate a lizard.

The drive ended sooner than expected and we navigated through the large crowd to register. The top three winners from all 15 events at each of the seven sectionals had advanced, which comes out to about 300 students from 78 schools when accounting for winners of two events.

We received our student codes. Mine was AP-1 for both events. Hopefully they would be omens for my placement in the events rather than my score on my upcoming Advanced Placement tests.

I ate four free donuts and drank a carton of chocolate milk. While we waited, we speculated as to the content of my first event: sports writing. In my past three competitions (sectionals the last two years and the 2008 state finals), I had written about soccer, field hockey, and wrestling. We wondered aloud what my prompt would be for the next event. Boxing? Rugby? Football? Baseballbaseballbaseball? Swimming, as Linda suggested?

It turns out Linda was right. My job was to write about how my made-up high school (always the Abraham Loggers) had defeated their long-time rival at swimming. Unlike at our sectional, where contestants were armed with a keyboard and a printer, all of our work here had to be done with paper and pencil. Nonetheless, I finished five minutes before time was called.

I had 15 minutes between my first event and the second. There was just enough time to chat up my teammates before they headed off to their events in Round 2. I wished Jason good luck and headed off for editorial writing in the same room as before. There were no computers this time, either, but when I finished writing my argument for optional study halls at Abraham, there was still plenty of time to spare.

Waiting for the results was nerve-wracking. We waited about an hour and a half between the end of the second session and the beginning of the awards ceremony. My lunch, which consisted of an unhealthy amount of sugar, helped me pass the time.

Some of us discussed how we had done in our events. Adam’s laptop helped pass the time, and thanks to my knowledge of Ryan Theriot’s grand slam that had given the Cubs a 6-5 lead, my confidence was boosted. Maybe today really would be a special day.

Only six of us were left as the awards ceremony finally began. Linda had to leave for a track meet, and Diana had to get back to take a class. Lor and Lauren also left early. Isaac, Maria, Jason, Adam, Voice, and I were the only ones left, and Isaac also had to leave for track as soon as his name was (hopefully) called. Maybe we would have some extra medals to collect.

The scoring at state is simple. The top six in each event win points for their school, with the first-place winner getting six, the second-place winner getting five, and so on. Winners are announced in reverse order of placement, just to make the winners’ heads explode. With 78 teams competing, we needed about 20 points to win a trophy — an attainable goal if we could place in a handful of events.

The categories were announced alphabetically. Diana became the first Uni name announced when she won second in copy editing.

Five points!

As the names were being called, Adam was carrying out Facebook chats with several Uni students on his laptop, updating them with the results. He was actually the one to notify Diana of her placement; I added several exclamation points for good measure.

My second-session category — editorial writing — was the team’s next. I had no idea how I would do, as this was my first shot with this category at the state level. I didn’t have to wait long for my name to be called, and I was called up for fifth place in the category.

Seven points!

Isaac’s category came right after mine. His name wasn’t called for sixth place, or fifth place, or fourth. Not third, either. Then we heard the school’s name, and Isaac went up for his medal.

Twelve points!

After Isaac left, Jason’s event was our next. His name was the third called for headline writing, and he went up to collect his fourth-place medal.

Fifteen points!

At this point we were in pretty good shape for a trophy, but we still needed to place in a few more events. Next up was Voice with info graphics. Fifth place! We let out a cheer as yet another Uni student was given a medal on stage.

Seventeen points!

Adam Joseph let out a sigh as his name wasn’t called for newspaper design.

Sports writing was next. That was me. I was hoping to defend the state title I had won for sports writing last year, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if I placed lower due to the overall amount of talent in the pool. My eyes were locked on the floor as the sixth-place winner was called. Fifth. Fourth. Third. The 2009 IHSA state runner-up in sports writing is — not me.

My heart was thumping in my chest.

The 2009 IHSA state champion, from Urbana University —

I barely remember hearing my name as I won, but at least I heard it in person this time. Last year, having had to leave immediately after my event for a plane ride, I found out via e-mail about a minute before I boarded my flight. This year after walking onto the stage and accepting my medal, I didn’t have to force a smile for the official picture.

Most importantly, we now had 23 points!

My heart relaxed somewhat.

No more Uni names were called, and there was nothing to do but wait for the results. The announcers counted down from 10th place. We listened for the scores of our closest competitors: Rolling Meadows and Mount Prospect. They were both tied for second. With 20 points.

My heartbeat quickened — did that mean we had won?

Yes, we had won!

The five of us left went up for our pictures and our first-place trophy. The pictures got somewhat tedious, and it was somewhat disheartening to have half of our team gone, but when we realized what the camera was for our smiles came a lot easier. The drive home wouldn’t be a depressing one, that was for sure.

Although there were only five people in the “official” picture, all 13 of us contributed to our win. Even those who didn’t make it to state put in their effort anyway. Those who didn’t win a state event certainly didn’t lose, and their work was definitely of high quality. This was much more of a team event than it would seem to be. Although we competed alone in our rooms, we still had the support of our teammates down the halls. Of the three medals I won on Saturday, I’m the most proud of one:

The IHSA Journalism Team Championship.

Uni High.

Note: An earlier version of this column appeared as an entry in the OG Staff Blog.