The North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities held its first ever State Finals Saturday, February 26 in the General Classroom Building on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC.   Finishing in FIRST PLACE in The Quill on-demand writing competition with a final score of 82.7 was Myers Park High School of Charlotte.  Team members for Myers Park HS were Amanda StroudKate RandazzoHassan DuRant, and Zoe Pruitt.

Finishing in SECOND PLACE was Wayne Country Day School of Goldsboro with 76.3 points.  Team members were Lisa PeacockTess AllenElizabeth Schappell, and Luke Bryan.  Finishing in THIRD PLACE with 74.7 points was Randolph Early College High School.  Team members were Aaron PottsChristopher ChangMadison Shephard, and Emily Smith.

Also competing in The Quill State Competition were Simon G. Atkins HS of Winston-Salem (71.5 pts), Newton Conover High School (68.7 pts), and Lexington High School (61.5 pts).  Congratulations to everyone who participated in this historic event. The following winners were also recognized in the individual events:

  • Meredith Hemphill of Simon G. Atkins HS in the Argumentation category.
  • Tess Allen of Wayne Country Day School in the Creative Writing category.
  • Emily Smith of Randolph Early College HS in the Problem / Solution category.
  • Hassan DuRant of Myers Park HS in the Literary Analysis category.

Trophies were presented to the winner and runner-up schools.  Trophies were also presented to each individual event winner.  Medallions were awarded to each student from the first, second, and third place schools.  Pictures of all placing schools and individuals are available upon request.

The Quill is the first ever statewide on-demand writing competition.  Up to four students from each school are presented prompts from four different genres: Argumentation, Problem / Solution, Literary Analysis, and Creative Writing.   Each student has ninety minutes to create a written response based on the presented prompt.  The purpose of this competition is to allow future novelists, scientists, and journalists to benchmark themselves against the best students across North Carolina.  The Quill is the first of nine competitions that will determine the best high school in the state.  The NCASA Scholastic Cup will be awarded to the high school with the best overall performance among the nine major scholastic competitions in North Carolina.  Points are awarded for participation and excellence in the nine NCASA and partner competitions.  For more information on The Quill and the North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities, visit our website atwww.ncscholastic.org The six schools participating in The Quill State Competition were also awarded the first ever points towards the NCASA Scholastic Cup.