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The March monthly contest had 124 entries submitted. The school earning the most awards is Shawnee Mission East High School with a total of eight awards.  Mill Valley High School came in second with six awards.

Video News

• 1st Place: Vince Stallard, Noah Byer from Maize Career Academy
• 2nd Place: Maggie Wieland from Mill Valley High School 
• 3rd Place: No award given

Video Production

• 1st Place: Cole Brogden, Avery Liedl, Andrew Percival from Maize Career Academy
• 2nd Place: Abby Lee, Calen Domingues from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 3rd Place: Carson Schuman from DeSoto High School

News Page Design

• 1st Place: Greyson Imm from Shawnee Mission East High School

2nd Place: Lyla Weeks from Shawnee Mission East High School

• 3rd Place: Ayesha Khan from Blue Valley High School 

Academics Photography

• 1st Place: Angela Little from Trinity Catholic High School

Showing their appreciation for the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Aliyah Acosta (11), Grace Starks (11) and Maria Gandica (11) dress according to their decade and present their junior research projects as a group on Mar. 8. Each student presented on different aspects of society, competing for the “best” decade. “My topic was the economy, music, and fashion of the eighties, and Aliyah’s was seventies music, so we combined our projects. It was enjoyable to present because we got to dress as the time period, and got to be in this competition of which time period is better,” Gandica said.

• 2nd Place: Andy Duarte from Blue Valley West High School

Root of the problem. Examining her terrarium made from a soda bottle and a philodendron, junior Madison Starkey inspects the root system. Each student’s plant system had a unique environmental problem introduced by science teacher J.J. Quillen. The students monitored their projects to determine what he did. “I think he put extra sodium in my soil,” Starkey said. “But maybe it’s motor oil; either way, I’m determined to figure it out.

• 3rd Place: Sydney Skelton from Blue Valley Northwest

Doing a lab in his zoology class, junior Colin Matile dissects a worm Feb 24. Matile said he enjoys learning about animals and getting to dissect them. “I liked learning about the different body parts in the worm and getting to see what’s inside,” Matile said.

News Writing

• 1st Place: Natasha Torkzaban , Lilly Wall from Lawrence Free State High School
• 2nd Place: Veronica Meiss from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
• 3rd Place: Mya Roberts from Olathe South High School

Photo Illustration

• 1st Place: Caroline Daniels from Shawnee Mission East High School

• 2nd Place: No award given
• 3rd Place: No award given

Sports Writing

• 1st Place: Nick Sprecker from Lawrence Free State High School
• 2nd Place: Abby Riggs, Luci Guess from Mill Valley High School
• 3rd Place: Shaylee Jacobs-Wilson from Olathe West High School

Sports Photography

• 1st Place: Bennett Palmer from Blue Valley North High School

A BVN Varsity bowler hurls a strike under the blue luminescent fixtures.

• 2nd Place: Joely Hackmann from Basehor-Linwood High School

Brody Ballard (From Basehor-Linwood) vs Will Burchard (St. James Academy) are wrestling for 1st place in the Kansas 5A Regional Championship. Brody Ballard went 3-0 at regionals meaning he punched his ticket to state! At regionals he had 1 pin, while wrestling in his finals match he was down 0-4 coming in from behind to win in the championship finals over an opponent that had pinned him earlier in the season!

• Third Place: Alex Robertson from Blue Valley North High School

Rising above the pressures of 6A Boys Basketball Substate, senior Zach Sand delivers a key jump shot helping to lead the Blue Valley North Mustangs to victory and energize the crowd.

Infographics

• 1st Place: Emma Ronning, Ally Sul from Mill Valley High School

• 2nd Place: Ella Hedin from Blue Valley Northwest High School

• 3rd Place: No award given

Multimedia Storytelling

• 1st Place: Katie Murphy, Abby Lee from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 2nd Place: Mill Valley News Staff from Mill Valley High School
• 3rd Place: No award given

Yearbook Layout

• 1st Place: Annabelle Talley from Blue Valley West High School

• 2nd Place: EDanie Eaves from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
  

• 3rd Place: Casey Cunningham from Mill Valley High School 

Yearbook Copy

• 1st Place: Jordan Pindell from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 2nd Place: Carly Worden from Blue Valley Northwest High School
• 3rd Place: Marissa Buffon from Shawnee Mission Northwest H.S.

Portrait

• 1st Place: Kaylin Bergeron from Blue Valley West High School

Thinking Repeat. Taking the mound as the starting pitcher for the Jaguars home opener against Louisburg on March 16, senior Ari Ashton throws the first pitch. Ashton was a member of the 6A State Championship team in 2022 and had high hopes to retain the title in 2023. “It was such a beautiful day,” Ashton said. “All the boys were hyped to play together again. How ‘bout that 4-0 shut out?”

• 2nd Place: Evan Johnson from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

Hands on the ground, sophomore Tyler West kneels in a starting block position March 22 on the track. As a sprinter, West competes in the 100m, 200m and 400m and was ranked in the top 25 runners in the state of Kansas after competing in his first meet freshman year. “Ever since I was a kid I knew my gift was being fast,” West said. “I’ve never not done top three in a meet.”

• 3rd Place: Madison Glaser from DeSoto High School

Senior Dillon Stanley fouls off a pitch during an intense game against Lansing. The game took place during spring sports opening day on March 28 ending in a 4-2 win for the Wildcats.

Feature Writing

• 1st Place: JagWire Staff from Mill Valley High School 
• 2nd Place: Francesca Stamati from Shawnee Mission East High School
• 3rd Place: Lilly Wall from Lawrence Free State High School

Student Life Photography

• 1st Place: Devon Schmidt from Olathe South High School

Juniors Lorelei Balmer and Easton Eckles slow dance together while lights flash around them all over the room. March 2-4, the Awesome 80s Prom, an interactive improv play, invited guests from all over Olathe to dance the night away. Students and parents alike came dressed in bright colors and 80s attire to attend the “dance.” “It was so much more fun ‘cause every night is distinct in my mind as far as most shows are like,” Eckles said.

• 2nd Place: Samantha Atkins from Shawnee Mission East High School

As the tamborines came to a halt, senior Fritz Sullivan and the ensemble in Spongebob the Musical hit their final pose of the number. “When I was a kid I was in a band and some songs required that I played the tamborine,” Sullivan said. “There is actually a certain touch to it.”

• 3rd Place: Morgan Magee from Blue Valley West High School

It’s Spring – Sports! Celebrating the start of the spring sports season, the student section brought spirt and confetti to the first girls soccer game against Manhattan on March 25. The Jaguars defeated the Indians 3-0 with goals by sophomore Kyra Berman, junior Lydia Ungashick, senior Alexis Morrison; sophomore Zinesh Holt protected the net. “Sports at West are so great because of our culture and family,” sophomore Peyton Magness said. “Family is always being displayed, especially the athletes that are part of a team.”

Opinion Writing

• 1st Place: Addy Bell from Olathe South High School
• 2nd Place: Nargis Suluman from Blue Valley West High School
• 3rd Place: Liz Coenen from DeSoto High School