Four students in the ACES  (Academic Challenge in Engineering and Science) team are very proud of their achievements, as they worked hard for their win and subsequently qualified to compete at state on April 17.

 Ubaldo Rodriguez, senior, placed first in English at sectionals. Seniors Caleb McMillin and Mia Rojo, and junior Milan Modhera all had math scores that earned them a spot at state.

“It’s really cool that I get to compete with some of the best test-takers in the state,” Rodriguez said. 

ACES coach, Ben Nugent feels that all of the students put 110 percent into work.

“Students have 40 minutes to answer as many questions as they can; it’s them versus the test,” Nugent said.

The ACES team took third place overall as a team, but the individual effort is more emphasized.

“Making it here felt more stressful, but it made me more proud of making it to state. Especially because it was an individual effort, unlike my other activities, like band.”

These students have different views of what this achievement means to them.

“This achievement is the culmination of early Wednesday mornings of practice where Nugent made us take older tests, and the pride that comes from all of that time paying off,” McMillin said.

For some, making it to state stood out from the rest of their achievements.

“This means a lot to me,” Rojo said. “It’s my first time making it to state for ACES, while it is also my first time in ACES, and out of the rest of my prior achievements, this is the first academic-centric one.” Rojo said the rest of her achievements have been “creativity-centered” rather than academic.