Yearbook Pacemaker finalists announced

NSPA honors 43 middle school, high school publications from 14 states

Dec. 11, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS — The nation’s top scholastic yearbooks were recognized today by the National Scholastic Press Association who announced the 43 finalists in its annual 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.”

The NSPA Pacemaker, one of the oldest awards for scholastic journalism, has a rich tradition. The association started presenting the prestigious award to high school newspapers soon after the organization was founded in 1921. Throughout the years, yearbooks, magazines, online sites and broadcast programs were added to the competition.

Two teams of three judges devoted three days to the judging and studied every entry, discussing its strengths. The status of each entry was agreed upon by at least two of the three judges.

When the process was completed, 43 finalists were named. From that group, 19 will earn the Pacemaker award. Seven junior high/middle schools are included on the finalist list.

“At the beginning of the process, the judges set the standards very high this year,” said Gary Lundgren, associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition. “The 2018 winners not only excelled in all the journalistic aspects, but the judges were looking for yearbooks that stood out from the rest for innovation and fresh verbal and visual approaches to reporting the story of the year.”

Written comments from the judges about each of the 19 Pacemaker-winning yearbooks will be posted after the winners are announced along with a video featuring overall comments and observations from all six judges. The professional bios of the judges will also be included.

Pacemaker finalists will be recognized with plaques at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 25 at the Opening Ceremony of the Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Anaheim.

Pacemaker winners will be announced and will receive plaques on Saturday, April 27 at 3:30 p.m. and the convention’s closing Awards Ceremony where both NSPA and JEA honors will be presented.



Ingenium

Greenfield Junior High School
Gilbert, Arizona
Adviser: Jennifer Ann Parsons
Editors: Sutton Dana, Kiley Davern, Hannah Pawlowski


Titanium

Antelope High School
Antelope, California
Adviser: Pete LeBlanc
Editors: Mikayla Godoy, Kameiko Hostler, Hannah Welty


Farrier

Mirman School
Los Angeles, California
Adviser: Wendy Samson
Editor: Ella Watkins


Wingspan

James Enochs High School
Modesto, California
Adviser: Tamra McCarthy
Editor: Isabelle Poblete


Wings

Arrowhead Christian Academy
Redlands, California
Adviser: Michael Klein
Editors:  Madyson Goss, Clara Prins, Austyn Wilson


The Pilot

Redondo Union High School
Redondo Beach, California
Adviser: Mitch Ziegler
Editors: Kaita Pannor, Taylor Rose, Eliana Stuart


Traditions

Del Norte High School
San Diego, California
Adviser: Robin Christopher
Editor: Ana Mladenovic


Templar

Temple City High School
Temple City, California
Adviser: Lynn Alvarez
Editors:  Ivy Chen, Amanda Erstad, Tiffany Guo, Evelyn Luu, Jennifer Nie, Michelle Vuong, Joey Yu


Chieftain

West High School
Torrance, California
Adviser: Melanie White
Editor: Audrey Kono


Cayuse

Walnut High School
Walnut, California
Adviser: Rebecca Chai
Editors: Florence Ao, Kevin Arifin, Kelly Chen, Justin Jiang, Amy Lo, Sean Wang, Brandon Win


Trail

Overland High School
Aurora, Colorado
Adviser: Danny Barocas
Editor: Reilly Canavan


Summit

Smoky Hill High School
Aurora, Colorado
Adviser: Carrie Faust
Editor: Emily Wise


Calumet

Arapahoe High School
Centennial, Colorado
Adviser: Greg Anderson
Editor: Caroline Riley


The Prowl

Powell Middle School
Littleton, Colorado
Adviser: Yvette Manculich
Editor: Aaron Zancosky


Priam

Longmont High School
Longmont, Colorado
Adviser: Annie Gorenstein Falkenberg
Editors: Amanda Kowalski, Elijah Weekley


Eagle Eye View

Sierra Middle School
Parker, Colorado
Adviser: Jed Palmer
Editors: Hailey Hertzler, Lorna Rogers


Tigrium

Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy
Melbourne, Florida
Adviser:  Sarah Tricano
Editors: Nadia Kumar Agarwal, Sydney Levy, Ashvi Luthra


Odyssey

University High School
Orange City, Florida
Adviser: Courtney Hanks
Editor: Camille McNairy


Etruscan

Glenbrook South High School
Glenview, Illinois
Adviser: Brenda Field
Editors: Sabrina Moheydeen, Raya Shoilekova


Hauberk

Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Adviser: Dow Tate
Editors: Lainie Duckworth, Libby Frye


The Lair

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Adviser: Susan Massy
Editors: Kaylee Oakerson, Halli Said


Le Flambeau

Notre Dame de Sion High School
Kansas City, Missouri
Adviser: Alison Long
Editors: Mariah Lynn, Lexi Smith


Tesserae

Corning-Painted Post High School
Corning, New York
Advisers: Katie Paulison-Harris, Mike Simons
Editors: Karleigh Corliss, Megan Pesansky, Elia Warner


Westwind

West Henderson High School
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Adviser: Jason Livingston
Editors: Jocelyn Berry, Emma Cavanaugh, Kennedy Combs, Paiton McDonald, Cami Wolff


The Miller

Yukon High School
Yukon, Oklahoma
Adviser: Erik Jackson
Editors: Isabel Beck, Gabi Merchen


Lion’s Roar

Christ Presbyterian Academy
Nashville, Tennessee
Adviser: Heather Nagel
Editors: Olivia Brittle, Carli Cone


The Bard

Hill Country Christian School
Austin, Texas
Adviser: John Horvath
Editors: Bethany Huang, Hannah Huang


The Vespa

Kealing Middle School
Austin, Texas
Adviser: Kristen Scott
Editor: Lucy Gentile


The Lonestar

Vista Ridge High School
Cedar Park, Texas
Adviser: Jamie Ray
Editors: Jaimie Kim, Analise Narine, Mason Slover


The Highlander

Highland Park High School
Dallas, Texas
Adviser: Margie Raper
Editors: Emily Greaves, Calli Maroulis, Maddie Stevenson


Cornerstones

The Hockaday School
Dallas, Texas
Adviser: Ana Rosenthal
Editors: Claire Jurgensmeyer, Michelle Mankoff


The View

Timberview Middle School
Fort Worth, Texas
Adviser: Jennifer Bass
Editor: Alexia Galvan


The Belltower

Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School
Houston Texas
Adviser: David Graves
Editors: Miranda Graves, Jian Liang


Legacy

Klein Collins High School
Klein, Texas
Adviser: Ashley Hildebrandt
Editor: Madison Avila


The Arena

Legacy High School
Mansfield, Texas
Advisers: Rachel Dearinger, Leland Mallett
Editors: Ashley Owen, Anna Roberts


The Lion

McKinney High School
McKinney, Texas
Adviser: Alyssa Boehringer
Editors: Michael Gutierrez, Lexi Harris, Grayson Henry


Tiger

Texas High School
Texarkana, Texas
Advisers: Rebecca Potter, Clint Smith
Editors: Parker Ellyn Madlock, Gage McDonald, Frances Schroeder, Sarah Stark


Crag

Turner Ashby High School
Bridgewater, Virginia
Adviser: Leslie Stevens
Editors: Jordan Bennett, Jaedyn Minor, Hope Showalter


Sentry

Robinson Middle School
Fairfax, Virginia
Adviser: Adrienne Forte
Editor: Hannah Price


The Buzzer

Brookville High School
Lynchburg, Virginia
Adviser: Brett Hastie
Editor: Madison Sims


Saga

Loudoun Valley High School
Purcellville, Virginia
Adviser: Martha Akers
Editors: Abby Haraburda, Diana Maher, Samantha Wever, Kelly Wood


Apollo

Colonial Forge High School
Stafford, Virginia
Adviser: Tiffany Kopcak
Editor: Sara Boyd


Pantera

Mead High School
Spokane, Washington
Adviser: Makena Busch
Editor: Amanda Stephens