The National Federation of Press Women, Inc.
140B Purcellville Gateway Dr., Suite 120, Purcellville, VA 20132 · (571) 295-5900) ·info@nfpw.org · www.nfpw.org

Media contact: Teri Ehresman, NFPW High School contest director, 208-521-5171, islandpark723@gmail.com

PURCELLVILLE, VA – Students from throughout the United States are being honored for their outstanding communications efforts. Thirteen winners in six categories of the national award winners first competed at the state level in the Illinois Woman’s Press Association High School Contest.

Nearly 2,000 students participated in this year’s contest sponsored by the National Federation of Press Women Education Fund. Students first competed in a state-wide communications contest and first place winners were selected to advance to the national round of competition. In states were a contest was not offered, NFPW hosted an at-large contest which the first place winners also advancing to the national competition.

Radio Prepared Report
Second place – Eliana D’Astici, The War After Service, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.

Television Interview or Talk Show
Second place – Ben Hilgen, Coach Buzea Battles Cancer, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.

Video News Story
Second place – Ben Turnquest and Langston Johnson, Walk of Hope 2019, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.

Best Newscast
Honorable Mention – Nick Decatoire, Jacob Habel, Lauren Courtney, Andrew Burkey, Tanner Crisp, Reina Morales, Paige DeSimone, Raider Nation News Season 4 Episode 2, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois.

Yearbook layout
Honorable Mention – Kayla Yakimisky, Bless Our Show, Huntley High School Harmony Yearbook, Huntley, Illinois.

Yearbook photo
First Place – Victoria Smolen, Picasso and Einstein Walk into a Bar, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois.

The complete list of national winners is featured below. The first place winners in each category will receive a $100 cash prize.

Editorial
First place – Maxton Preuninger, Clearing the Air, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.
Second place – Megan Cleveland, One Hit Wonder, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri.
Third place – Hannah Woodworth, No Place for Anti-Semitism, The Bolt, Sage Hill High School, Newport Coast, California.
Honorable mention – Ellie Albin, Hopeful high school, Fishers High School, Fishers, Indiana.

Opinion
First place – Maggie Mantini, Memory Care Facilities: for patients or for profit? Marian High School, Omaha, Nebraska.
Second place – Jillian Lederman, 9/11: Forever in Our Hearts But Lost From Our Memory, Marblehead High School Newspaper: Headlight, Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Third place – Kathleen Taranto, Hornets Nest fumbles with front row tweet: Social media post causes dispute over student section, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Honorable mention – John Yun, Safety drills prove inefficient, Fishers High School, Fishers, Indiana.

News story
First place – Ben Henschel, AL(ARMED): What students, policymakers, school administration and law enforcement are doing in wake of August shootings, The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas.
Second place – Emerson Brown, Stella Heo, Katrina Ortman, Local Fires and Power Outages Shake Community, Acalanes High School Blueprint, Lafayette, California.
Third place – Eden Stobaugh, Embracing Her Star, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Honorable mention – Kathleen Taranto and Makenzie Christman, Sex trafficking in the Lehigh Valley: How social media puts people at risk, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Feature story
First place – Ethan Peter, “Sectored off”: Meacham Park, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri.
Third place – Mason Cooney, Laura Mognnam, Sweeping it under the rug, The Broadview, Convent of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco, California.
Honorable mention –Mary Musa, Amanda Jose, Student News Top Stories Caught Between Two Worlds: The Struggles of First Generation Americans, Padua Academy, Wilmington, Delaware.
Honorable mention – Jaeliana Contreras, How’d They Learn That? Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Honorable mention – Kendall Reynolds, Hope Lynas, Jon Page and Jenna Schweikert, Goodbye, Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Indiana.

Sports story
First place – Samantha Thornfelt, Swimming against the current, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.
Second place – Eli Beck, What’s next? Southport High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Third place – Kade Rogerson, Mascot Name Changes, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Columns or blogs
First place – Sofia Olsson, Sofia’s Satires, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, California.
Second place – Rachel Bayler, Music ‘n Musings: Loss does not come without growth, Southport High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Third place – Kade Rogerson, Hogs’ Firing of Coach is a Good Move; Doping Claims End Russian Olympic Bid, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Honorable mention – Krissy Heilenman, Kindly, Krissy, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Review
First place – Matias Boeri, No Kidding: ‘Joker’ is a Triumph in Art, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Second place – Jackie Cameron, Tidying Up With Jackie: review of Marie Kondo’s cleaning method, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas.
Third place – Anna Lowe, Energy Spot provides little nutritional info, Greenwood High School, Greenwood, Indiana.
Honorable mention – Madison Harris-Weiner, American Graffiti, Newport Coast, California.

News or Feature photo
First place – Francesca D’Urzo, Sam Stampleman dances into the hearts of the San Francisco Ballet, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.
Second place – Clare Dierckman, Scaly Transformation, Carmel High School. HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.
Third place – Sebastian Emerson, Prairie Burn, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas.
Honorable mention – Emma Brashear, Emmaus Shave for the Brave raises over $100,000, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Sports photo
First place – Kate Nixon, Sliding into the Victory, The Harbinger, Prairie Village, Kansas,
Second place – Ray Mo, Game, Set, Match!, Carmel High School, HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.
Third place – Elizabeth Chan, Lions defeat Broncos again, 10-7, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.
Honorable mention – Mary Quinn, Delaware Valley wrestling, Delaware Valley High School, Milford, Pennsylvania.

Cartooning
First place – Nate Garcia, One year until 2020 primaries, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Second place – Megan Chan, Impeach, The Bolt, Sage Hill High School, Newport Coast, California.
Third place – Adia West, Pick Up Lines, Midway High School Panther Post, Waco, Texas.
Honorable mention – Sean Burton, Achooo, Millard South High School, Omaha, Nebraska.
Honorable mention – Ellen Zhang, Student Activism Cartoon, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Graphics/Photo Illustration
First place – Wolfgang Frick, Active Shooter, The Kirkwood Call, Kirkwood, Missouri.
Second place – Emily Seiler, Falling into fashion, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.
Third place – Amanda Marshall, Why We Print, The Bolt, Sage Hill High School, Newport Coast, California.
Honorable mention – Emma Brashear, Rylan Bassett, The Vaping Epidemic: The plague of our generation, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Honorable mention – Gray Martens, Marvin Fan, The Legacy of Star Wars, Carmel High School, HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.
Honorable mention – Julia Steiner, Pets of Westside, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska.

Single page layout
First place – Erin Lee, Media Under Fire, Sunny Hills High School, The Accolade, Irvine, California.
Second place – Ethan Schreiber, Wanna Go To Lunch?, The Northwest Passage, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas.
Third place – Ishani Shethia, Hero to the animals, Bellaire High School Three Penny Press, Bellaire, Texas.
Honorable mention – Brenna Cavallaro, Avengers specialty page, Delaware Valley High School, Milford, Pennsylvania.

Double-truck layout
First place – Angela Qian, Doodles of Fun, Carmel High School, HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.
Second place – Tara Connick, Children having children, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.
Third place – Molly Higgins, One Hit Wonder, The Kirkwood Call, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri.
Honorable mention – Mason Cooney, Laura Mognnam, Sweeping it under the rug, The Broadview, Convent of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco, California..

Environment
First place – Sowmya Chundi, Rhea Acharya, No Time to Waste, HiLite, Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana.
Second place – Malia Battafarano, Food for Thought, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska.
Third place – Sofia Olsson and Charlotte Glass, Global Climate Strike Hits the Streets of San Francisco, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, California.
Honorable mention – Emily Rutledge, The Earth’s Lungs Aflame, Prospective Newspaper, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.

Radio Prepared Report
First Place – Sage Duarte, INK, INC., WMPH-FM, Mount Pleasant High School, Wilmington, Delaware.
Second place – Eliana D’Astici, The War After Service, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.
Third place – Will Eikenbary, Retrospectre: Putting it in Hinde Gear, Westside Wired, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska.
Honorable mention – Lara Craciun, In Memory of Mo Ep1: In a Nutshell, Scot Scoop, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Television Interview or Talk Show
First place – Maddy Ting, Zachary Khouri, and Miki Nguyen, Queer Time S2E3: Who am I? Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.
Second place – Ben Hilgen, Coach Buzea Battles Cancer, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.
Third place – Meg Gross and Grace Taylor, The Thunderbeat, College Takes with Meg and Grace S1:E3, Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska.
Honorable mention –Zion Brown, Lentz Lowdown interview, Ben Davis, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Honorable mention – Isabelle Milford, Mission Marrow Interview, Coyote Nation TV, Frisco, Texas.

Best Newscast
First place — Ally Tauber, Sara Hummadi, Anika Newland, Noah Kim, “MHS1 11.8.19”. McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas,
Second Place – Gavin Trisler, Isabella Oseguera, Elizabeth Kalinowsky and Mikaka, Clendenin, Ram Review Episode 20, Lakeside TV, Hot Springs, Arkansas
Third Place — Caroline Moloney, Sienna DeMedio, Delaney Lawson, Olivia Stankewicz, Maggie Patterson, Heather Banas, Padua Academy, Wilmington, Delaware, PATV Cycle 7 Show 151.
Honorable Mention – Nick Decatoire, Jacob Habel, Lauren Courtney, Andrew Burkey, Tanner Crisp, Reina Morales, Paige DeSimone, Raider Nation News Season 4 Episode 2, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois.

Video News Story
First place – Brooks Bell, Day of Caring, Lakeside TV, Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Second place – Ben Turnquest and Langston Johnson, Walk of Hope 2019, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.
Third place – Elissa Treu, AFJROTC honors fallen heroes since 9/11, Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska.
Honorable mention – Payton Zolck, Technology transforms the school environment, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Video Feature Story
First place – Kendel Dawson, Justin Washington and Chis McCrae, Finding Hope for Women and Children, Caesar Rodney High School, Camden, Delaware.
Third place – Mandy Hitchcock, The Plight of the Honeybee, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.
Honorable mention – Breanna Mothershed, Evan Meyers and Carson Burnham, Carson the Science Guy, Lakeside TV, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Video Sports Story
First place – Khera Goss, Jerrian’s story, Ben Davis, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Second place – Sumit Nalavade, Basketball Tryouts, Coyote Nation TV, Frisco, Texas.
Third place – Meg Gross and Keely Prusia, Thunderbird defense breaks school record, Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska.
Honorable mention – Malachi Johnson, “Hand-to-hand combat”: Playing D-Line while Female, Caesar Rodney High School, Camden, Delaware.
Honorable mention – Sydney Willians, Skater Gus Smith’s Road to Recover, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas.

Yearbook layout
First place – Lexi Harris, Lionpalooza, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.
Second place – Rachael Hinshaw and Ann Ramsey, State Bound, Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Third place – Delilah Brockman, Homecoming, Shawnee Mission North High School, Overland Park, Kansas.
Honorable mention – Kayla Yakimisky, Bless Our Show, Huntley High School Harmony Yearbook, Huntley, Illinois.

Yearbook photo
First place – Victoria Smolen, Picasso and Einstein Walk into a Bar, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois.
Second place – Elizabeth Chan, Mini Marquettes, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.
Third place – Jordan Heath, Edge of Glory, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.
Honorable mention – Ian Abbott, Bubble Gum, Dorchester High School, Dorchester, Nebraska.

Yearbook Copywriting
First place – Annalissa Houser, Third Place Win, The Lair, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas.
Second place – Kayla Thompson, This One’s for Kate, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.
Third place – Raquel Thompson, Dancing King, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.
Honorable mention – Cole Sherman, State Bound, Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.

The NFPW High School Communications contest is sponsored by the NFPW Education Fund,501(c)3 nonprofit, community-oriented organization. The Education Fund invests in members by funding programs that fulfill evolving educational projects such as the High School communications contest. The fund operates solely on donations.