YEARBOOK CONTESTS

Yearbook Cover Design

Best of Show

Szymphoni Harris, Dennise Reyes & Pedro Abad,  Elk Grove High School, “A Lasting Impression”

Superior

Maddie Anderlik, Harborside Academy, “People”

Katie Carpenter, Harborside Academy, “Spirit”

Tessa Joyce, Harborside Academy, “Theme”

Alyssa Taylor, Harborside Academy, “Muise”

Excellent

Staff, Elk Grove High School, “A Lasting Effect”

Honorable Mention

Amairana Flores, Elk Grove High School, “Lasting Memories”

Yearbook Academics

Best of Show

Tessa Joyce, Harborside Academy, “Glass”

Superior

Staff, Riverside Brookfield High School, “Future Career”

Yearbook Class/ Clubs/ Orgs

Best of Show

Staff, Riverside Brookfield High School, “Think Outside the Square”

Excellent

Michella Vitel, Elk Grove High School, “A Lasting Note”

Honorable Mention

Staff, Elk Grove High School, “At Long Last”

Staff, Elk Grove High School, “Last Dance”

Yearbook Student Life

Honorable Mention

Tessa Joyce, Harborside Academy, Spirit Week

Katie Carpenter, Harborside Academy, Summer

Yearbook Sports

Best of Show

Hannah Peksa, Brookfield Central High School, “We’re All Set”

Superior

Sean Linnihan, Brookfield Central High School, “Kick Like A Girl”

Excellent

Staff, Riverside Brookfield High School, “Rising from the Depths”

Honorable Mention

Kamila Wiklanski, Elk Grove High School, “At The Last Minute”

Kenzie VanDyck, West Salem High School, “Hockey”

NEWSPAPER & NEWSMAGAZINE CONTEST

Newspaper/ News Mag Cartoons

Best of Show

Henry Holden, Indian Trail High School, “Scholarships”

Superior

Robert McGrady, Superior High School, “Mental Health”

Excellent

Henry Holden, Indian Trail High School, “Donald Trump”

Jeralynn Borge, Indian Trail High School, “Corsettes”

Brenda Reyn, Stevenson High School, “Choice of Bathroom”

Honorable Mention

Henry Holden, Indian Trail High School, “Nameplate”

Robert McGrady, Superior High School, “A New Jedi for a New Generation”

Eleanor Park, James B. Conant High School, “Swimming in PE”

Seren Pellett, Stoughton High School, “Finding Faith”

Newspaper/ News Mag News Reporting

Best of Show

Josh Farmer, Superior High School, “Expired Explosives”

Superior

Andrew Rosenthal, Grayslake Central High School, “Tornado Damage”

Anna Matson, Indian Trail High School, “Mental Health Care”

Excellent

Toya Shaye, Superior High School, “950th Birthday”

Amanda Tennant, Indian Trail High School, “Emotional Abuse”

Allison Pariso, James B. Conant High School, “Water Drive To Help Crisis in Flint”

Sarah Verschoor, Stevenson High School, “Student Brings Gun”

Honorable Mention

Allison Pariso, James B. Conant High School, “Students To Lead Recycling Program”

Kayla Guo, Stevenson High School, “District Discriminates”

Annie Wu, Stevenson High School, “Program S2C”

Isabelle Genter, Stoughton High School, “SAC Reviews State-Mandated Testing”

Newspaper/ News Mag Feature Stories

Best of Show

Alo Garcia Escobar, Libertyville High School, “Censorship Black White”

Superior

Sasha Milbeck, Homestead High School, “Breakthroughs and Difficulties in the Transgender Movement”

Madison Hart, Lake Zurich High School, “After Attack”

Megan Monoson, Lake Zurich High School, “Eating Disorder”

Excellent

Joel DuaaIsrar, Niles West High School, “Tutor”

Sami Sparber, Stevenson High School, “Stevenson Bubble

Karli Dellar, Indian Trail High School, “Counselors”

Lare Iriarte, Stevenson High School, “Survey Highlights”

Honorable Mention

Callie Spice, Reagan IB High School, “Behind the Blood: Gearing Up for Reagan’s April 11 Blood Drive”

Marissa Payne, Grayslake Central High School, “Plagiarism”

Ksenia Gorinshteyn, Grayslake Central High School, “Cultural Appropriation”

Erin McBriarty, Grayslake North High School, “Dogs Serve as Helpful Companions”

Madi Larsch, Reagan IB High School, “A New Twist on Spanish 1”

Kristen Leer, Reagan IB High School, “The Genesis of Reagan’s Football Team”

Dylan Toth, James B. Conant High School, “Math Teacher Named WGN’s Teacher of The Month”

Nora Ptacek, Appleton North High School, “An Unseen Battle”

Meredith Melland, Stoughton High School, “The Sparks of Steel”

Robert Brown, Fond du Lac High School, “The Smoking Gun”

Newspaper/ News Mag Team Reporting

Best of Show

Staff, Stevenson High School, “Tech at Stevenson”

Superior

Staff, Stevenson High School, “Security Bubble”

Julia Olson and Raya Kate Castronovo, Stoughton High School, “Breaking the Binary”

Excellent

Nikol Safronova and Lara Iriarte, Stevenson High School, “Teen Drinking”

Kira Fields and Mya Lonnebotn, Stoughton High School, “No Cure for the Walkers”

Honorable Mention

Sridhar Namrata and Zaluska Izabela, Stevenson High School, “Pros & Cons”

Ben Tunell, Superior High School, “Mental Health Struggles – Part 2”

Garrett Kluever and Brandon Lamberty, Stoughton High School, “Behind the Beard”

Ethan Genter, Stoughton High School, “A Techno Baptism”

Raya Kate Castronovo, Stoughton High School, “The Nature of Wicca”

Newspaper/ News Mag Reviews

Best of Show

Marissa Payne, Grayslake Central High School, “Coldplay Fills Heads Full of Dreams with New Album”

Superior

Annika Lafyatis, James B. Conant High School, “Spectre Falls Short of Skyfall”

Excellent

Meredith Melland, Stoughton High School, “Loveable Lianne”

Mikayla Frick, Stoughton High School, “Yes, He is Serious”

Joshua Bausch, Stoughton High School, “A New Direction”

Honorable Mention

Amanda Tennant, Indian Trail High School, “Exo Excites Windy City K-Pop Fans at Rosemont”

Annika Lafyatis, James B. Conant High School, “Captain America: Civil War Actually Exceeds Hype”

Sabrina Szos, Stevenson High School, “Staffer Reviews Van Gogh Exhibit”

Bergen Gardner and Meredith Melland, Stoughton High School, “Atwood Is Where It’s At”

Garrett Kluever, Stoughton High School, “Tastebud Takeoff”

Newspaper/ News Mag Opinion Columns

Best of Show

Marissa Payne, Grayslake Central High School, “D127 Teacher Salaries Do Not Add Up”

Superior

Jaime L’Abbe, Grayslake Central High School, “Meninism: Men’s Rights or Satire Gone Wrong?”

Superior

Erika Meissner, Grayslake Central High School, “Students Should Be Free to Pee”

Sana Kadir, Miles West High School, “Why I Don’t Enjoy School”

Excellent

Carl Zeluger, Appleton North High School, “Students Should Not”

Regan Ledoux, Fond du Lac High School, “Me, Myself, and I”

Jim Weimer, Lake Zurich High School, “Money Matters”

Evan Hughes, Superior High School, “Schooled by Children”

Isabelle Genter, Stoughton High School “Hate, Not Heritage”

Isabelle Evavold, Superior High School, “US Handling of Syrian Refugees”

Rachel Brauer, Lake Zurich High School, “Society’s Expectations Divide Women over Makeup”

Isabelle Evavold, Superior High School, “Tailor New Bathrooms to Gender Identity”

Honorable Mention

Dakota Vernezze, Indian Trail High School, “E-Cigarettes May Have Unintended Consequences”

Dhvanii Raval, James B. Conant High School, “Why PARCC Matters”

Sabrina Szos, Stevenson High School, “Senior Reflects on Competitive Nature of Stevenson Culture”

Sarah Verschoor, Stevenson High School, “Social Commentary”

Namrata Sridhar, Stevenson High School, “Senior Reflects on Tough Expectations after High School”

Joshua Bausch, Stoughton High School, “You Won’t Like This”

Connor Roisum, Stoughton High School, “Through Thick and Thin, I Choose to Stay my Faith”

Garrett Kluever, Stoughton High School, “The Odyssey Online Sucks”

Lorena Lane, Superior High School, “A Swing & a Hit”

Newspaper/ News Mag Staff Editorials

Best of Show

Staff, Stevenson High School, “Choice of Bathrooms”

Superior

Annika Lafyatis, James B. Conant High School, “New Law Would Secure Needed Rights for Student Journalists”

Grace Geraghty, Niles West High School, “Stand Against Racism”

Staff, Stevenson High School, “SAT Switch”

Staff, Stevenson High School, “Schools Should Be”

Staff, Stoughton High School, “Booby Trap”

Excellent

Staff, Stoughton High School, “Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken”

Staff, Stoughton High School, “It’s Your Own Fault”

Staff, Stoughton High School, “Take This with a Chaser”

Honorable Mention

Kate Bennett, Appleton North High School, “Creating a Public Bus Line”

Marissa Payne & Ksenia Gorinshteyn, Grayslake Central High School, “Creativity”

Ksenia Gorinshteyn, Grayslake Central High School, “LGBTQ Students”

Ksenia Gorinshteyn, Grayslake Central High School, “Sex Ed”

Newspaper/ News Mag Sports News

Best of Show

Zaluska Izabela Patriettes, Stevenson High School, “N/A”

Superior

Tia Petrizilka, Libertyville High School, “Jack Lipp Jersey Retirement”

Excellent

Cinny Lamberti, Grayslake Central High School, “Girls Bball”

Evan Garrett, Grayslake North High School, “Football Playoffs Make School History”

Kreymer Lawrence, Stevenson High School, “Bowling Sets Records”

Honorable Mention

Caley Huggins, Berlin High School, “Baseball Takes Competitive Swing”

Grace Marino, Grayslake North High School, “Girls’ Bowling Team Advances to Sectionals”

Julia Olson, Stoughton High School, “Girls’ Varsity Basketball Breaks Conference”

Newspaper/ News Mag Sports Features

Best of Show

Joshi Shubhangi, Stevenson High School, “Athletic Trainers”

Superior

Angie Evans, Berlin High School, “Juniors Pursue New Sport Challenges This Spring”

Excellent

Valencia Campbell and Gavin Lux, Indian Trail High School “Issue 5, Page 8”

Grover Aman, Stevenson High School, “ESPAAs”

Honorable Mention

Alex McClelland, Berlin High School, “Seniors Excel In Individual Sports”

Cinny Lamberti, Grayslake Central High School, “Varsity Life”

Bella Greenspan, Stevenson High School, “Swimmers Unite”

Newspaper/ News Mag Page One Design

Best of Show

James Minor, Superior High School, “Bernie Sanders Rouses Young and Old”

Superior

Connor Sinclair, Grayslake North High School, “The Anatomy of a Dream”

Sarah Verschoor, Stevenson High School, “Exploring Safety and the Stevenson Bubble”

Sami Sparber, Stevenson High School, “Tech at School”

Excellent

Sarah Verschoor, Stevenson High School, “Student Found with Gun”

Sarah Verschoor, Stevenson High School, “Proud to Vote”

Emily Schmidt, Berlin High School, “Lichtfuss Retires, Leaves Behind Great Memories”

Honorable Mention

Sarah Verschoor, Stevenson High School, “Transgender Rights Reevaluated”

Mikayla Frick, Stoughton High School, “March Table of Contents”

Staff, Indian Trail High School, “Student Musicians shine at Bandorama”

Newspaper/ News Mag Page Cover Design

Best of Show

Andrew Rosenthal, Grayslake Central High School, “Issue 6”

Superior

Angela Sim, Grayslake Central High School, “Issue 7”

Kayla Fiore, Hannah Boufford, & Hannah Hutchins, Libertyville High School, “ADHD”

Excellent

Ethan Genter and Jon Klingenberg, Stoughton High School, “A Techno Baptism”

Bergen Gardner, Isabelle Genter, and TJ Fedikovich, Stoughton High School, “Finding Faith”

Honorable Mention

Brandon Lamberty, Stoughton High School, “Fueling Our World”

Newspaper/ News Mag Doubletruck Design

Best of Show

Emily Schmidt, Berlin High School, “Health and Wellness”

Superior

Hannah Rosemurgy, Grayslake North High School, “March Issue”

Excellent

Hannah Rosemurgy, Grayslake North High School, “December Issue”

Honorable Mention

Hannah Boufford, Libertyville High School, “Welcome to the Jungle”

Ethan Genter, Stoughton High School, “Biofueling the Future”

Raya Kate Castronovo, Stoughton High School, “The Nature of Wicca”

Nikol Safronova and Sami Sparber, Stevenson High School, “Security”

Nikol Safronova & Lara Iriarte, Stevenson High School, “Teen Drinking”

VIDEO CONTESTS

Video News

Best of Show

Gabby Gladysz, Niles West High School, “Music to My Ears”

Superior

Unati Shah, Niles West High School, “Inspired through Creativity”

Inana Zomaya, Niles West High School, “Fashion Show”

Excellent 

Jasmine Herlo, Niles West High School, “A Family Affair”

Inana Zomaya, Niles West High School, “Nail Essence”

Honorable Mention

Sarah Yun, Niles West High School, “Sipera”

Erin Kaihara, Niles West High School, “State Budget Crisis”

Video Features

Best of Show

Trevor Legg, Isaac Powell, Kyle Nelson, and Jon Miranda, La Follette High School, “Orchestra”

Superior

Trevor Legg, Isaac Powell, Kyle Nelson and Jon Miranda, La Follette High School,

“LHS Band”

Trevor Legg, Isaac Powell, Kyle Nelson and Jon Miranda, La Follette High School, “LHS Voices”

Excellent

Eduardo Rosas-Ruiz, La Follette High School, “CLC”

Alex Schroeder and Forrest Welling, La Follette High School, “HOSA”

Unati Shah, Niles West High School, “Inspired through Creativity”

Honorable Mentions

Annika Van Rossum, Rebecca Watring, James Mellender, Tony Powell and Thomas Purnell, La Follette High School, “Is La Follette Haunted?”

Isaac Jacobson and Daniel Volden, West Salem High School, “Water”

Ange Uwihoreye and Alex Wolfe, La Follette High School, “AVID”

Video Sports

Best of Show

Amy Irermciuc, Niles West High School, “Value of Sports”

Superior

Inana Zomaya, Niles West High School, “Boys Soccer The End”

Honorable Mention

Jessika Draheim, Cheyenne Crowell-Moat and Lashonda Garrett, La Follette High School, “Girls Lacrosse”

Video PSA’s

Best of Show

Kyle Nelson, Trevor Legg and Jon Miranda, La Follette High School, “CTE Month”

Superior

Isaac Jacobson, West Salem High School, “Yearbook Dedication”

Honorable Mention

Jacob Fry, Teon Schwanke & Adam Parizo, La Follette High School, “Stop Sagging”

ONLINE CONTESTS

Breaking News

Best of Show

Katrina Nickell, Emily Butera, Jenna George, & Grace Geraghty, Niles West High School, “Community Reacts to Merrick Garland’s Nomination”

Superior

Katrina Nickell, Niles West High School, “School Board, Gatta and Heintz Reach Separation Agreements”

Multimedia Packages

Best of Show

Hannah Boufford, Jarrett Malec, Josh Bragg, Alyssa Stokovich, Maria Thames and Sam Nelson, Libertyville High School, “Libertyville Football: The Road to State”

Superior

Emily Butera, Katrina Nickel, Sana Kadir & Grace Geraghty, Niles West High School, “West Holds Second Annual Stand Against Racism Event”

Honorable Mention

Meggie Furlong, Lake Zurich High School, “A Mom on a Mission”

Danna Tabachnik & Jemma Kim, Lake Zurich High School, “Dr. Kaine Osburn to Replace Dr. Egan”

PHOTOJOURNALISM CONTESTS

Action Photo

Best of Show

Maria Thames, Libertyville High School

Superior

Sydney Gabrsyiak, Brookfield Central HS, “Blood, Sweat and Steam”

Riley Swart, Brookfield Central HS

Megan Schauf, West Salem HS, “2”

Honorable Mention

Dylan Pashke, Brookfield Central HS

Megan Schauf, West Salem High School, “3”

Megan Schauf, West Salem HS, “4”

Feature Photo

Best of Show

Jenna George, Niles West High School

Superior

Maria Farrokhnia, Brookfield Central High School

Sean Linnihan, Brookfield Central High School, “Sisters in Arms”

Sean Linnihan, Brookfield Central High School, “Telling a Story”

Excellent

Dylan Pashke, Brookfield Central High School – two different images each earned “Excellent”

Kathrine Boffer, Harborside Academy

Honorable Mention 

Olivia Molter, Appleton North High School, “Humans of North”

Maria Farrokhnia, Brookfield Central HS – two different images each earned “Honorable Mention”

Jon Dobias, Brookfield Central High School

Leah Jansen, Harborside Academy

Lola Akinlade, Libertyville High School

Photo Illustration

Best of Show

Megan Monoson, Lake Zurich High School

Superior

Mary Ahern & Kayla Fiore, Libertyville High School, Honorable Mention

Evan Hughes, Superior High School, “Severing Cell Phone Ties”

Photo Story

Best of Show

Alyssa Stokovich and Tanner Dorow, Libertyville High School, “Turnabout Assembly: A Photo Story”