
Baldwin High School has once again demonstrated its excellence in the Georgia State Literary Competition. In a stunning display of talent and hard work, every single Baldwin student placed at least 3rd in their respective event, which is an unprecedented achievement for our Baldwin Literary Team.
"It was a very dramatic and exciting day for the students," said BHS Literary Coach Nick Thompson, "There were at least 25 schools at the event, and we knew that North Oconee High School had a very talented team and had won the past two years by a massive margin. They also had competitors in more events than us, so we really had little expectation of winning the whole thing. That’s why we were shocked when, with 11 of 12 events reporting, BHS was tied with North Oconee for the Championship. Well, I wasn’t TOO shocked; I knew I had some truly talented students."
Thompson said that the finish was "nail-biting", as Baldwin was tied with North Oconee for the Championship with just one event left. All eyes were on the scoreboard, as the students dared to dream of pulling off a major upset. But alas, North Oconee won the last event, one in which Baldwin had no participant, and secured their third consecutive title.
"But it wasn’t bittersweet for us at all, it was just sweet," said Thompson, "It felt a bit like being Rocky Balboa at the end of Rocky. This is only my fourth year coaching Literary and it was only the second year I had taken a team to State. Three of the four students had never competed before. At 9:00 am, in no one’s wildest dreams were we expected to take the prize, but by 3:00 pm we were one of only two left standing that could mathematically take it. Our students went the whole distance in that ring, and I couldn’t be more proud of them."
One remarkable aspect of Baldwin High School's performance is that every event they placed in to win was an academic one; a testament to the school's nurturing of some of the best writers and speakers in the state. Congratulations to Robinson York, Xuan Yang, Yan Yang, Elaine Abella, and Coach Nick Thompson on their amazing performance!
Robinson York (Junior) - 1st place Extemporaneous (Persuasive) Speaking
Xuan Yang (Senior) - 1st place Argumentative essay
Yan Yang (Junior) - 2nd place Personal/Narrative essay
Elaine Abella (Senior) - 3rd place Rhetorical Analysis essay

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