WICHITA — On Feb. 28, student journalist from Sterling High School traveled to the campus of Wichita State University to take part in the Kansas Scholastic Press Association Regional Journalism Contest.
Of the 29 entries into the contest, 13 placed, which means they qualified for the KSPA State Journalism Contest. It will take place May 3 in Lawrence on the campus of the University of Kansas.
This means that of the nine students that took part in the journalism contest, seven have qualified for the state competition.
Students placing in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention all qualified for the state contest.
They competed in 19 different categories that fit into one of two types of contests: Carry-In, in which the students, using prompts, create the entry at school and deliver it the day of the contest for judging; and, On-Site, in which the students, using prompts, complete their entries at the contest site on the day of the competition.
For SHS, those students include the following in the following categories:
Advertising (Carry-In)
- 3rd Place — Jessica Roberts, junior
Yearbook Theme Development (Carry-In)
- Honorable Mention — Veronica Norez and Dallas Lackey, sophomore and freshman
Student Life Photography (Carry-In)
- Honorable Mention — Kasady Smith, junior
- Honorable Mention — Janyssa Phillips, junior
Academics Photography (Carry-In)
- 1st Place — Taryn Gillespie, junior
Yearbook Layout (Carry-In)
- 1st Place — Kasady Smith, junior
Newspaper Design (Carry-In)
- 1st Place — Kasady Smith, junior
Photo Illustration (Carry-In)
- Honorable Mention — Jessica Roberts, junior
Cutline Writing (On-Site)
- 2nd Place — Dallas Lackey, freshman
News Writing (On-Site)
- Honorable Mention — Janyssa Phillips, junior
Editing (On-Site)
- Honorable Mention — Veronica Norez, sophomore
Newspaper Sports Writing (On-Site)
- 1st Place — Caleb Hendricks, junior
Editorial Cartoon (On-Site)
- 3rd Place — Veronica Norez, sophomore
Journalism adviser Todd Vogts said he was thrilled with how the contest turned out.
“I was hoping to have at least a couple of the students qualify for state again this year, but I am blown away with seven students qualifying for 13 events,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Vogts said the victories are made more impressive because the students competed against both 1A schools and 2A schools in each event.
“The students really showed that they are for real,” he said. “They are dedicated to journalism, which is obvious by how well they placed.”
Two other students also competed in the KSPA Regional Contest. They were juniors Destiny Nickerson and Sarah Wheeler.
“It would have been fantastic if they had qualified too,” Vogts said. “They both work very hard, and they produced great entries. We faced stiff competition from the likes of Canton-Galva High School and Chase County High School. I’m still proud of the work those two did. You just never know what a judge is looking for at any given contest.”
In the coming months, Vogts said, the students will be receiving information about the State Contest.
“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “I can’t wait to roll into Lawrence and see the students compete against other top student journalists in the state. It’s going to tough, but I know the students of Sterling High School can hang with anyone. Go Black Bears!”
