The Kansas Scholastic Press Association recognized more than 160 placing entries from 5A students in the KSPA State Journalism Contests during the State Journalism Celebration on May 2 at the University of Kansas.
Leading in the sweepstakes competition was Salina Central High School, followed by the runner-up Blue Valley Southwest High School. For the first time, KSPA also recognized top-performing schools by contest type. Receiving honors were:
- 5A Design Contests Sweepstakes: Bishop Carroll Catholic High School, winner; and Salina Central, runner-up.
- 5A Multimedia Contests Sweepstakes: De Soto High School, winner; and Blue Valley Southwest High School, runner-up.
- 5A Photography Contests Sweepstakes: Andover High School and Salina Central tied for the win; Hays High School, runner-up.
- 5A Writing Contests Sweepstakes: Salina Central, winner; Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School, runner-up.
More than 260 qualifying entries gave students who created them the opportunity to compete at state after students placed first through sixth during regional competitions earlier this semester. Students competed in writing, design, videography, multimedia and photography contests, responding to prompts.
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 May 13
- 1A/2A Winners Announcement Link
- 3A/4A Winners Announcement Link
- 5A Winners Announcement Link
- 6A Winners Announcement Link
Design Contest Winners
Advertising Design (5A)
1st Place — Aliyah Lawrence, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Gabriel Freeland, Salina Central
3rd Place — Christina Dinh, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Danny Heinen, Spring Hill High School
5th Place — Natalee Runyan, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
6th Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
Digital Illustration (5A)
1st Place — Izabella Perez, Salina High School South
2nd Place — Lauren Carlin, Hays High School
3rd Place — Holli Crawford, Salina Central
4th Place — Gabby Martin, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Ashlee Bell, Salina Central
6th Place — Val Page, Hays High School
Editorial Cartoon (5A)
1st Place — Khandi Guzman, Hays High School
2nd Place — Jordan Pham, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Da’Zariah Barnes-Franklin, Salina Central
4th Place — Olivia Berger, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
5th Place — Bristol Grant, Eisenhower Goddard High School
Headline Writing & Design (5A)
1st Place — Macey Chaulk, Spring Hill High School
2nd Place — Layla Brost, Shawnee Heights High School
3rd Place — Rachel Lipinski, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Maggie Wachel, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Bridget Gear, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
6th Place — Kayley Tran, Spring Hill High School
Infographic Design (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 — Audreey Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
6th Place — Lilly Ice, Blue Valley Southwest High School
News Page Design (5A)
1st Place — Aliyah Lawrence, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Tien Le, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
4th Place — Kristen Kinion, Salina High School South
5th Place — Claire Thompson, De Soto High School
6th Place — Danny Heinen, Spring Hill High School
Yearbook Design (5A)
1st Place — Rylie Nance, Andover High School
2nd Place — Ally Becton, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Audrey Hertrich, Pittsburg High School
4th Place — Ciara Ceballos, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
5th Place — Danny Heinen, Spring Hill High School
6th Place — Dylan Estes, Spring Hill High School
Yearbook Theme & Graphics (5A)
1st Place — Lilian Thiessen, Paige Stieben, Andover High School
2nd Place — Kendall Lai, Logan Holmes, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Maggie Forshee, Ella Halseth, Shawnee Heights High School
4th Place — Sophia Penaloza, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
5th Place — Alijah Arias, Raylee Brungardt, Hays High School
6th Place — Lily Butler, Khandi Guzman, Hays High School
Multimedia Contest Winners
Multimedia Storytelling (5A)
1st Place — Brooke Mermis, Andrea Burns, Laurel Zarda, De Soto High School
2nd Place — Izabella Perez, Kristen Kinion, Salina High School South
3rd Place — Jacob Ridgway, Brayden Staley, Allison Stecklein, Hays High School
4th Place — Alijah Arias, Joslyn Bates, Kennedi Fischer, Hays High School
5th Place — Lily Butler, Brooks Dixon, Delia Dixon, Hays High School
Social Media (5A)
1st Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central, Link 2 & Link 3
2nd Place — Grace Rindlisbacher, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Alex Kelley, Elizabeth Yoxall, Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central, Link 2 & Link 3
4th Place — Maddy Wallace, Lilian Thiessen, Andover High School, Link 2
5th Place — Kerry Espelien, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School, Link 2 & Link 3
Video Sports Promo (5A)
1st Place — Meyer Purmort, Blue Valley Southwest High School
2nd Place — Isaac Gorges, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Emmie Wible, Brielle Audiss, De Soto High School
4th Place — Camden Huffman, Chase Cochran, Pittsburg High School
5th Place — Laura Darwish, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Reagan Doyle, Jordyn Garvey, De Soto High School
Video Story Package (5A)
1st Place — Elodie Monroe, De Soto High School
2nd Place — Olivia Schultze, Damarrius Hinton, Spring Hill High School
3rd Place — Sarah Carman, Max Fisher, Eisenhower Goddard High School
4th Place — Maddie Hellerich, Bo Wiegmann, De Soto High School
Voiceover (5A)
1st Place — Kai Wilson, Pittsburg High School
Photography Contest Winners
Academics Photography (5A)
1st Place — Mallory Marmon, Spring Hill High School
2nd Place — Dexter Sullivan, Hays High School
3rd Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
4th Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
5th Place — Gabby Merry, Salina Central
6th Place — Miley Unrein, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
Sports Action Photography (5A)
1st Place — Wyatt Lindecrantz, Shawnee Heights High School
2nd Place — Aiden Dible, Andover High School
3rd Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
4th Place — Alec Easterday, Salina High School South
5th Place — Emile Rivero, Andover High School
6th Place — Emma Stapp, De Soto High School
Sports Feature Photography (5A)
1st Place — Isabella Silva, Pittsburg High School
2nd Place — Kate Rowden, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Tenille Toelle, Salina Central
4th Place — Aiden Dible, Andover High School
5th Place — Natalie Bullinger, Maize South High School
6th Place — Madison Brown, Spring Hill High School
Sports Media Portrait Photography (5A)
1st Place — Isaac Gorges, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
2nd Place — Sophia Johnson, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — Emerson Fuller, Andover High School
4th Place — Alec Easterday, Salina High School South
5th Place — Camden Huffman, Pittsburg High School
6th Place — Gabby Merry, Salina Central
Student Life Photography (5A)
1st Place — Loren Lisbona, Basehor-Linwood High School
2nd Place — Bryson Britting, Maize South High School
3rd Place — Lizzy Vajnar, Hays High School
4th Place — Hannah Shinault, De Soto High School
5th Place — Nicholas Prater, Shawnee Heights High School
6th Place — Grace Rindlisbacher, Blue Valley Southwest High School
Writing Contest Winners
Copyediting (5A)
1st Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
2nd Place — Norah McMains, Spring Hill High School
3rd Place — Maya Moore, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Hannah LaCroix, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Abigail Shoikhet, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Gabrielle Martin, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School1st Place — Brecklyn Smith, Salina Central
2nd Place — Layla Brost, Shawnee Heights High School
3rd Place — Bridget Gear, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
4th Place — Anna Zerr, Hays High School
5th Place — Addie Berg, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Ciara Ceballos, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
Editorial Writing (5A)
1st Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
2nd Place — Da’Zariah Barnes-Franklin, Salina Central
3rd Place — Svea Kemp, Blue Valley Southwest High School
4th Place — Kristen Kinion, Salina High School South
5th Place — Rica Bluml, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
6th Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
Feature Writing (5A)
1st Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
2nd Place — Ashlee Bell, Salina Central
3rd Place — Gabrielle McDonald, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
5th Place — Namira Karim, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Caleb Franke, Shawnee Heights High School
News Writing (5A)
1st Place — Delia Dixon, Hays High School
2nd Place — Emma Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Maya Moore, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Callie Tess, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
6th Place — Ava Weaverling, Salina Central
Newspaper Sports Writing (5A)
1st Place — Precious Cranor, Spring Hill High School
2nd Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
3rd Place — Joslyn Bates, Hays High School
4th Place — James Guyer, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
5th Place — Abigail Shoikhet, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Olivia Berger, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
Review Writing (5A)
1st Place — Dovie Bowers, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
2nd Place — Tien Le, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School
3rd Place — Kenadee Kohler, Salina Central
4th Place — Oscar Cortez, Salina High School South
5th Place — Svea Kemp, Blue Valley Southwest High School
6th Place — Aurora (Percy) Hulsey, Salina High School South
Yearbook Copywriting (5A)
1st Place — Katherine Chelvan, Salina Central
2nd Place — Genevieve Timler, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
3rd Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
4th Place — Kendall Lai, Blue Valley Southwest High School
5th Place — Emma Nguyen, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
6th Place — Justin Goodman, Shawnee Heights High School
Yearbook Sports Writing (5A)
1st Place — Danielle Peckham, Salina Central
2nd Place — Melanie Wheeler, Blue Valley Southwest High School
3rd Place — James Guyer, Kapaun Mt Carmel Catholic High School
4th Place — Mason Deringer, Pittsburg High School
5th Place — Zachary Fritz, Salina Central
6th Place — Lizzie Salin, Blue Valley Southwest High School