Out of 181 student entries, three Western Plains High School Bobcat journalists placed in the All-Kansas Write-Off Contest, co-sponsored by Kansas Professional Communicators and Kansas Scholastic Press Association. This contest consisted of submitting journalistic pieces published during the school year to be judged.
All WPHS entries were published in Cat Tracks this year.
Junior Katie Bretton submitted a sports photo. She took third-place honors.
Senior Kate Hagans entered the cartooning category. She placed third.
Senior Ashley Stull took part in the single-page layout competition. Her design received an honorable mention.
Journalism Adviser Todd Vogts said he was proud of this students.
“We had three students place last year too,” he said. “This year, though, they placed higher and in different categories compared to last year. They do great work, and every time they do well in a contest, it is further evidence of their excellence.”
Of the 181 entries, they filled 23 categories and came from 10 different schools. These schools included the following: Andover, Blue Valley, Paola, Pittsburg, Skyline (Pratt), Shawnee Mission East, Shawnee Mission North, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Waverly and Western Plains.
“Looking at that list of schools makes how the students did even more impressive,” Vogts said. “This contest doesn’t divide entries by school classifications. That means we were truly competing with the big dogs. All of these schools are larger than Western Plains. Once again, the students made their presence know. They are putting Western Plains on the map.”
WPHS has also entered other journalism contests. Those results won’t be available until KSPA State Contest on May 5.
