Congratulations to NSPA’s 2018 Pacemaker Finalists! We are proud of our Kansas schools and the time they have devoted to create some of the nation’s top publications.

Honoring the nation’s best, the National Scholastic Press Association has named 67 scholastic student newspapers and newsmagazines as finalists in its prestigious Pacemaker competition.

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award,” said Laura Widmer, executive director. “NSPA is honored to recognize the best of the best.”

Each year, the National Scholastic Press Association also presents Individual Awards, honoring the best individuals in scholastic journalism. Entries are judged by teams of professionals with experience and expertise in the area of each particular contest. Check out all the Kansas students who earned recognition!

Winners will be announced and finalists will be recognized at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Chicago, Nov. 1-4.

2018 Newspaper Pacemaker finalists

 

The Budget

Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas
Editors: Macy Landes, Connor Schmaus, Gary Schmidt
Adviser: Barbara Tholen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The North Star

Blue Valley North High School
Overland Park, Kansas
Editors: Connor Clary, Nicole Dolan, Laura Evans
Adviser: Diana Klote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Express

Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas
Editors: Lauren Fischer, Gabe Swartz
Adviser: Jim McCrossen

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Harbinger

Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Editors: Grace Chisholm, Robbie Veglahn
Adviser: Dow Tate

 

 

 

 

 

The Pylon

Salina Central High School
Salina, Kansas
Editors: Morgan Dolton, Chloe Guillot, Annie Hayes
Adviser: J.D. Garber

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Cartoon of the Year Finalists

Elijah Jackson
The Budget, Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elijah Jackson
The Budget, Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Design of the Year Finalists

Newspaper Front Page

 

Anna Parnell, Samantha Turner
The Budget, Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emily Fey
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Chisholm
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

Newsmagazine Cover

 

Kaitlyn Noon
The Express, Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaitlyn Noon, Gavin Mullin
The Express, Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newsmagazine Spread

 

Anna Parnell
The Budget, Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

Yearbook Spread

 

Emilia Battles
The Lair, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaitlyn Robins
The Syracusan, Syracuse Junior Senior High School
Syracuse, Kansas

 

 

 

 

Yearbook Theme Package

 

Lainie Duckworth, Libby Frye
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Digital Story of the Year Finalists

Multimedia News Story Package

Staff
A Year of Trump
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Multimedia Feature Story Package

Nicole Konopelko
Following in Dylan’s footsteps
The Booster Redux, Pittsburg High School
Pittsburg, Kansas

Photo Slideshow

Mahmood Khatib
Prom at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center
BVNWnews.com, Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

Blog

Kanishka Mehra
Local focal: Selfie swoon
BVNWnews.com, Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

2018 Picture of the Year Finalists

News/Feature Photo

 

Rylee Roberts
Talon, Lawrence Free State High School
Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olivia Howgill
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

Sports Action Photo

 

Elise Baker
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taylor Fort
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

Sports Reaction Photo

 

Rylee Roberts
Talon, Lawrence Free State High School
Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Becca Niederhauser
Reflections, Blue Valley High School
Overland Park, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

Maddy Emerson
The Purple and White, Pittsburg High School
Pittsburg, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morgan Noe
The Purple and White, Pittsburg High School
Pittsburg, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental Portrait

 

Maddy Emerson
The Booster Redux, Pittsburg High School
Pittsburg, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Portfolio of the Year Finalists

Artist of the Year

Lilah Powlas
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Designer of the Year

Kimball Gogel
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Photojournalist of the Year

Elise Baker (Portfolio)
Hauberk, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Writer of the Year

Nicole Konopelko
The Booster Redux, Pittsburg High School
Pittsburg, Kansas

2018 Social Justice Reporting Finalists

Macy Landes, Gary Schmidt, Connor Schmaus
Fight transphobia with education
The Budget, Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas
When transgender students were mocked in a senior group message, students at our progressively-minded school were incensed. Students filled the rotunda for a sit-in that lasted nearly an entire school day and drew national attention. Emotions were raw, and covering it was incredibly difficult for this staff. They wanted to shine a light on the hurt and the need for focused attention while also discussing the limits that schools face in disciplining off-campus speech. It’s hard sometimes to cut through the raw emotions but the staff believes their coverage gave voice to the challenges. We have included a few of the stories (although there were more) that we published in print and online to help lead the discussion at LHS.

2018 Story of the Year Finalists

News Story

Emily Fey, Lizzie Kahle
Behind Bars
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Feature Story

Nicole Konopelko
Freshman finds her passion for speaking without words
The Booster Redux, Pittsburg High School
Pittsburg, Kansas

Jackie Cameron, Natasha Thomas
Meet the Columbia Brew Crew
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Editorial

Lauren Fischer, Anna Levine
Our proposal for new learning spaces
The Express, Blue Valley Northwest High school
Overland Park, Kansas

Opinion

Jackson Hoy
A broken pipeline
The Budget, Lawrence High School
Lawrence, Kansas