The Kansas Scholastic Press Association is recognizing the work of hundreds of 5A students who qualified for the KSPA State Journalism Contests by placing in the organization’s Regional Journalism Contests.
From 5A schools, more than 260 entries earned the opportunity for their creators to compete at the next level by placing first through sixth in their regional. Students competed in writing, design, videography, multimedia and photography.
The 5A school earning the most points at state will take home a trophy. Individual students who finish in first through third place at state receive medals.
KSPA is adding one new state-only contest this year: Voiceover.
Upcoming dates:
- Feb. 24: Regional Contest results released.
- Feb. 26: Final corrections requests due at noon for certificates that will be printed and sent to your school.
- March 2: State Visual prompts are released.
- March 5: KSPA shares advice from the regionals judges with winning examples.
- March 12: Deadline for State Contest registration. Register for the entries you need. Refunds aren’t given for entries that aren’t submitted.
- March 23: State Writing contest prompts posted. Must be proctored.
- March 27: State Writing contests entries due at 5 p.m.
- April 2: State Visual contest prompts due at 5 p.m.
- May 2: Join us for an in-person celebration at KU with announcements of winners, games and more! Details coming in early March.
Resources for schools:
- Promote your winners: Use this press release to promote the accomplishments of your students to your school, community newspapers and school districts.
- Different view: Review all placing entries on this spreadsheet and see a breakdown of the top point-earning schools here.
- Corrections: Final corrections requests due at noon on Feb. 26.
- 1A/2A Winners Announcement Link: Check out students advancing from the 1A/2A regionals.
- 3A/4A Winners Announcement Link: Check out students advancing from the 3A/4A regionals.
- 5A Winners Announcement Link: Check out students advancing from the 5A regionals.
- 6A Winners Announcement Link: Check out students advancing from the 6A regionals.
Students placing in the Sunflower Regional (5A)
ACADEMICS PHOTOGRAPHY Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Piper Marcom, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Jaidyn Hall, Shawnee Heights High School
3rd Place — Mallory Marmon, Spring Hill High School
4th Place — Payton Loudon, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Miley Unrein, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
6th Place — Landyn Rains, Newton High School
ADVERTISING DESIGN Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Aliyah Lawrence, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Natalee Runyan, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Lilly Ice, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Daniel Heinen, Spring Hill High School
5th Place — Aurora “Percy” Hulsey, Salina High School South
Copyediting Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Abigail Shoikhet, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Erica High, Andover High School
3rd Place — Norah McMains, Spring Hill High School
4th Place — Ciara Ceballos, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
5th Place — Hannah LaCroix, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Maya Moore, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
Cutline Writing (Captions) Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Addie Berg, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Gabrielle McDonald, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Mia Hansen, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Layla Brost, Shawnee Heights High School
5th Place — Ciara Ceballos, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
6th Place — Lenore Pinkerton, Spring Hill High School
DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Kate Christmann, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Izabella Perez, Salina High School South
3rd Place — Eleana Woirhaye, Blue Valley Southwest High School
EDITORIAL CARTOON Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Jordan Pham, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
Editorial Writing Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Dovie Bowers, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
2nd Place — Daniel Heinen, Spring Hill High School
3rd Place — Hannah LaCroix, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Svea Kemp, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Kristen Kinion, Salina High School South
6th Place — Natalee Runyan, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
Feature Writing Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Dylan Estes, Spring Hill High School
2nd Place — Gabrielle McDonald, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Kerry Espelien, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Addison Zerger, Newton High School
5th Place — Caleb Franke, Shawnee Heights High School
6th Place — Namira Karim, Blue Valley Southwest High School
HEADLINE WRITING & DESIGN Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Kayley Tran, Spring Hill High School
2nd Place — Macey Chaulk, Spring Hill High School
3rd Place — Maggie Wachel, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Layla Brost, Shawnee Heights High School
5th Place — Aurora (Percy) Hulsey, Salina High School South
6th Place — James Guyer, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Lilly Ice, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Theodore Vu, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Audreey Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Isabella Kwaw, Andover High School
MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Izabella Perez, Kristen Kinion, Salina High School South
NEWS PAGE DESIGN Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Kristen Kinion, Salina High School South
2nd Place — Aliyah Lawrence, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Namira Karim, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Emelia Mosqueda, Newton High School
5th Place — Daniel Heinen, Spring Hill High School
6th Place — Gabrielle McDonald, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
News Writing Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Oscar Cortez, Salina High School South
2nd Place — Josie Hicklin, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Emma Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Norah McMains, Spring Hill High School
5th Place — Maya Moore, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
6th Place — Callie Tess, Blue Valley Southwest High School
Newspaper Sports Writing Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Precious Cranor, Spring Hill High School
2nd Place — Chloe Hocker, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — James Guyer, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Callie Tess, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Abigail Shoikhet, Blue Valley Southwest High School
Review Writing Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Dovie Bowers, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
2nd Place — Natalee Runyan, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Josie Hicklin, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Svea Kemp, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Oscar Cortez, Salina High School South
6th Place — Aurora (Percy) Hulsey, Salina High School South
SOCIAL MEDIA Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Grace Rindlisbacher, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Audreey Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Kerry Espelien, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Bella Davis, Andover High School
5th Place — Leila Marusenko, Shawnee Heights High School
6th Place — Maddy Wallace, Lili Thiessen, Andover High School
SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Wyatt Lindecrantz, Shawnee Heights High School
2nd Place — Aiden Dible, Andover High School
3rd Place — Kaia Bach, Newton High School
4th Place — Alec Easterday, Salina High School South
5th Place — Tia Koster, Salina High School South
6th Place — Emile Rivero, Andover High School
SPORTS FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Natalie Bullinger, Maize South High School
2nd Place — Cesar Esparza, Shawnee Heights High School
3rd Place — Madison Brown, Spring Hill High School
4th Place — Madelyn Shillcutt, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Alec Easterday, Salina High School South
6th Place — Aiden Dible, Andover High School
SPORTS MEDIA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Sophia Johnson, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Cristopher Padilla, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Emerson Fuller, Andover High School
4th Place — Alec Easterday, Salina High School South
STUDENT LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Nicholas Prater, Shawnee Heights High School
2nd Place — Grace Rindlisbacher, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Phoenix Reno, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Jade Ressel, Andover High School
4th Place — Gustav Huber, Newton High School
6th Place — Bryson Britting, Maize South High School
VIDEO SPORTS PROMO Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Meyer Purmort, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Emerson Fuller, Maddy Wallace, Aiden Dible, Andover High School
3rd Place — Emily Couvillion, Andover High School
4th Place — Laura Darwish, Jad Darwish, Katie Schallon, Blue Valley Southwest High School
VIDEO STORY PACKAGE Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Olivia Schultze, Damarrius Hinton, Spring Hill High School
Yearbook Copywriting Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Justin Goodman, Shawnee Heights High School
2nd Place — Emma Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Mari Chambers, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Genevieve Timler, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
5th Place — Kendall Lai, Blue Valley Southwest High School
YEARBOOK DESIGN Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Alyssa Barajas, Shawnee Heights High School
2nd Place — Dylan Estes, Spring Hill High School
3rd Place — Rylie Nance, Andover High School
4th Place — Ciara Ceballos, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
5th Place — Daniel Heinen, Spring Hill High School
6th Place — Ally Becton, Blue Valley Southwest High School
Yearbook Sports Writing Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Lizzie Salin, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Melanie Wheeler, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Sophia Penaloza, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — James Guyer, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
YEARBOOK THEME & GRAPHICS Sunflower Regional (5A)
1st Place — Maggie Forshee, Ella Halseth, Shawnee Heights High School
2nd Place — Kate Christmann, Maggie Wachel, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Kendall Lai, Logan Holmes, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Lili Thiessen, Paige Stieben, Andover High School
5th Place — Sophia Penaloza, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
Students placing in the Wakarusa Regional (5A)
ACADEMICS PHOTOGRAPHY Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
2nd Place — Luke McCosh, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Dexter Sullivan, Hays High School
4th Place — Gabby Merry, Salina Central
5th Place — Josie Merando, De Soto High School
6th Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
ADVERTISING DESIGN Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Rica Bluml, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
2nd Place — Gabriel Freeland, Salina Central
3rd Place — Kennedi Fischer, Hays High School
4th Place — Allison Stecklein, Hays High School
5th Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
6th Place — Christina Dinh, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
Copyediting Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
2nd Place — Gabby Martin, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Allison Stecklein, Hays High School
4th Place — Paige Strutt, Hays High School
5th Place — Olivia Berger, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
Cutline Writing (Captions) Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Anna Zerr, Hays High School
2nd Place — Elizabeth Yoxall, Salina Central
3rd Place — Bridget Gear, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Gabby Martin, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
6th Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Val Page, Hays High School
2nd Place — Lauren Carlin, Hays High School
3rd Place — Gabby Martin, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Ashlee Bell, Salina Central
5th Place — Holli Crawford, Salina Central
EDITORIAL CARTOON Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Bristol Grant, Eisenhower Goddard High School
2nd Place — DaZariah Barnes-Franklin, Salina Central
3rd Place — Olivia Berger, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Khandi Guzman, Hays High School
Editorial Writing Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
2nd Place — Rica Bluml, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
4th Place — Christina Dinh, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
6th Place — Da’Zariah Barnes-Franklin, Salina Central
Feature Writing Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
2nd Place — Rica Bluml, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
4th Place — Ashlee Bell, Salina Central
5th Place — Kimara Webb, Pittsburg High School
6th Place — Alex Kelley, Salina Central
HEADLINE WRITING & DESIGN Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Carissa Winebrenner, Salina Central
2nd Place — Bridget Gear, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Rachel Lipinski, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Alex Kelley, Salina Central
5th Place — Paige Strutt, Hays High School
6th Place — Anna Zerr, Hays High School
INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Carissa Winebrenner, Salina Central
2nd Place — Jazlyn Parham, Salina Central
3rd Place — Gabby Martin, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Jose Manrriquez, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Khandi Guzman, Hays High School
MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Brooke Mermis, Andrea Burns, Laurel Zarda, De Soto High School
2nd Place — Jacob Ridgway, Brayden Staley, Allison Stecklein, Hays High School
3rd Place — Lily Butler, Brooks Dixon, Delia Dixon, Hays High School
4th Place — Alijah Arias, Joslyn Bates, Kennedi Fischer, Hays High School
NEWS PAGE DESIGN Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Tien Le, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
2nd Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
3rd Place — Claire Thompson, De Soto High School
4th Place — Carissa Winebrenner, Salina Central
5th Place — Addison Erbert, Andover Central High School
6th Place — Rica Bluml, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
News Writing Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Ava Weaverling, Salina Central
2nd Place — Christina Dinh, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
4th Place — Allison Stecklein, Hays High School
5th Place — Kennedi Fischer, Hays High School
6th Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
Newspaper Sports Writing Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
2nd Place — Hannah Peckham, Salina Central
3rd Place — Brayden Staley, Hays High School
4th Place — Parker Bluml, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Olivia Berger, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
6th Place — Joslyn Bates, Hays High School
Review Writing Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Tien Le, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
2nd Place — Rachel Lipinski, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Jacob Ridgway, Hays High School
4th Place — Alijah Arias, Hays High School
SOCIAL MEDIA Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
2nd Place — Savannah Hendry, De Soto High School
3rd Place — Isaac Gorges, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
5th Place — Elizabeth Yoxall, Alex Kelley, Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
6th Place — Alijah Arias, Hays High School
SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Kate Rowden, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
2nd Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
3rd Place — Luke McCosh, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Emma Stapp, De Soto High School
5th Place — Isabella Silva, Pittsburg High School
6th Place — Caleb Andrews, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
SPORTS FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
2nd Place — Kate Rowden, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
4th Place — Jamie Lubbe, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Isabella Silva, Pittsburg High School
6th Place — Lydia Funk, Hays High School
SPORTS MEDIA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Camden Huffman, Pittsburg High School
2nd Place — Gabby Merry, Salina Central
3rd Place — Isaac Gorges, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
STUDENT LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
2nd Place — Lily Butler, Hays High School
3rd Place — Hannah Shinault, De Soto High School
4th Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
5th Place — Loren Lisbona, Basehor-Linwood High School
6th Place — Jamie Lubbe, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
VIDEO PSA Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Axsel Guge, Bryan Bonilla, De Soto High School
VIDEO SPORTS PROMO Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Emmie Wible, Brielle Audiss, De Soto High School
2nd Place — Laura Stenberg, Melanie Morrison, De Soto High School
3rd Place — Camden Huffman, Chase Cochran, Pittsburg High School
4th Place — Isaac Gorges, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Reagan Doyle, Jordyn Garvey, De Soto High School
VIDEO STORY PACKAGE Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Maddie Hellerich, Bo Wiegmann, De Soto High School
2nd Place — Sarah Carman, Max Fisher, Eisenhower Goddard High School
3rd Place — Elodie Monroe, De Soto High School
Yearbook Copywriting Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Loren Lisbona, Basehor-Linwood High School
2nd Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
3rd Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
4th Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
5th Place — Lily Butler, Hays High School
6th Place — Clare Cook, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
YEARBOOK DESIGN Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Audrey Hertrich, Pittsburg High School
2nd Place — Lily Butler, Hays High School
3rd Place — Khandi Guzman, Hays High School
4th Place — Gianna Waterman, Pittsburg High School
Yearbook Sports Writing Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Zachary Fritz, Salina Central
2nd Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
3rd Place — Cara Cunningham, Hays High School
4th Place — Mason Deringer, Pittsburg High School
5th Place — Judd Blasi, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
6th Place — Nathan Goertz, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
YEARBOOK THEME & GRAPHICS Wakarusa Regional (5A)
1st Place — Alijah Arias, Raylee Brungardt, Hays High School
2nd Place — Lily Butler, Khandi Guzman, Hays High School