NSPA names top newspapers, magazines

Pacemaker competition recognizes 54 finalists
for excellence

Sept. 5, 2023

MINNEAPOLIS — Honoring the nation’s best, the National Scholastic Press Association has named 54 scholastic student newspapers, newsmagazines and specialty magazines published during the 2022-23 school year as finalists in its prestigious Pacemaker competition.

NSPA Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners announced for the first time on Nov. 4, at the NSPA Awards Ceremony during the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Boston.

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

The NSPA Pacemaker award has a rich tradition and the association started presenting the award to high school newspapers a few years after the organization was founded in 1921. Throughout the years, yearbooks, magazines, online sites and broadcast programs were added to the competition.

The 54 Pacemaker finalists represent 18 states as well as the United Kingdom. California set the pace with 16 finalists, followed by Texas with 10.

Of the 54 newspapers, newsmagazines and specialty magazines recognized as finalists, 24  will earn Pacemakers.

Two teams of three judges worked remotely judging and studying every entry discussing its strengths and weaknesses. 

The high school newspapers/newsmagazines competed in two categories based on school enrollment — less than 1,800 students and 1,800 or more students. 

Junior high/middle school newspapers/newsmagazines as well as specialty magazines competed in separate categories.

Specialty magazines provide in-depth, long-form stories focused on timely topics/issues relevant to a student audience. The content of a specialty magazine frequently focuses on a single topic/issue. A specialty magazine has its own identity and name and it is not a special edition of a newspaper/newsmagazine. Topical magazines such as sports, science, business or entertainment also compete in this category.

Literary arts magazines compete in a separate Pacemaker competition with an entry deadline of Nov. 10.

Gary Lundgren, associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition, observed that specialty magazines are growing in popularity in high schools across the country.

“With most news being delivered online, student journalists have been redefining their print newspaper,” Lundgren said. “More and more that means transitioning from a traditional newspaper format to a specialty magazine with in-depth reporting.”

Insights and observations from the judges about the Pacemaker winning publications will be posted after the Pacemaker winners are announced along with the names and professional bios of the judges. 

“In addition to demonstrating excellence in key areas including coverage, writing, editing, design and photography, the winning newspapers/newspapers took risks and served as a strong voice for its student audience,” Lundgren said. 

In this competition, only the print news product was judged. A separate NSPA 2023 Online Pacemaker competition recognized 24 online news sites in April. Several schools earned Pacemaker honors for both their print and online products.

The Town Crier
Paul Revere Charter Middle School
Los Angeles, California
Editor-in-chief: Isabella Aguilar
Adviser: Eric Wechsler

The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Editor-in-chief: Roshan Desai
Adviser: Christina Hammitt

The Sequoyah Scribe
John Sevier Middle School
Kingsport, Tennessee
Editor-in-chief: Gabriel Whitehead
Adviser: David Flanary

The Scroll
The American School in London (Middle School)
London, England
Editor-in-chief: Staff
Adviser: Colin Bridgewater

The Epitaph
Homestead High School
Cupertino, California
Editors-in-chief: Madhavi Karthik, Macy Li
Adviser: Natalie Owsley

El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Editors-in-chief: Krish Dev, Anna Jerolimov
Adviser: Julia Satterthwaite

The Accolade
Sunny Hills High School
Fullerton, California
Editor-in-chief: Kate Yang
Adviser: Tommy Li

The Campanile
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Margot Blanco, Rachel Feinstein,
Cayden Gu, Justin Gu, Jerry Xia
Adviser: Rod Satterthwaite

Verde
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Meena Narayanaswami, Jonas Pao, Yash Shetty, Melody Xu
Adviser: Paul Kandell

Crimson
Paso Robles High School
Paso Robles, California
Editors-in-chief: Kalani Gaviola, Miguel Muniz, Serenity Wulfing
Adviser: Jeffery Mount

Bear Witness
Branham High School
San Jose, California
Editors-in-chief: Jiyoon Choi, Nolan Zils
Adviser: Fitzgerald Vo

The Nueva Current
The Nueva School
San Mateo, California
Editors-in-chief: Serena Saxena, Emma Zhao
Adviser: LiAnn Yim

The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California
Editors-in-chief: Angelina Gevorgyan, Angelica Venturina
Adviser: Ron Goins

The Hoofprint
Walnut High School
Walnut, California
Editor-in-chief: Emily Cao
Adviser: So Hee Tan

The Mix
Monarch High School
Louisville, Colorado
Editor-in-chief: Maeby Aleo
Adviser: Ben Reed

Eagle Eye News
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Julia Landy
Adviser: Melissa Falkowski

Muse
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida
Editors-in-chief: Bridget Frawley, Olivia Metzler
Adviser: Carly Gates

Odyssey
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Editor-in-chief: Molly Harwell
Adviser: David Ragsdale

U-High Midway
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Chicago, Illinois
Editors-in-chief: Clare O’Connor, Téa Tamburo, William Tan
Adviser: Logan Aimone

The Evanstonian
Evanston Township High School
Evanston, Illinois
Editors-in-chief: Meg Houseworth, Jessica Sehgal, Ahania Soni
Adviser: John Phillips

Statesman
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Lincolnshire, Illinois
Editor-in-chief: Collin Fan
Adviser: Dean Bradshaw

West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Editors-in-chief: Krisha Kapoor, Katherine Shoppa
Adviser: Sara Whittaker

The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Editors-in-chief: Peyton Moore, Francesca Stamati
Adviser: Dow Tate

JagWire
Mill Valley High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Editor-in-chief: Avery Gathright
Adviser: Kathy Hill Habiger

Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Editors-in-chief: Grace Logan, Veronica Meiss
Adviser: Susan Massy

Silver Chips
Montgomery Blair High School
Silver Spring, Maryland
Editors-in-chief: Christy Li, Sean Li
Advisers: Jeremy Stelzner, Maria Tanos

The Communicator Magazine
Community High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Editors-in-chief: Elliot Bramson, Izzie Jacob, Ria Lowenschuss,
Serena O’Brien, Ella Rosewarne
Adviser: Tracy Anderson

The Rubicon
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota
Editor-in-chief: Maddy Fisher
Adviser: Kathryn Campbell

The Messenger
Marquette High School
Chesterfield, Missouri
Editor-in-chief: Aarushi Bute
Adviser: Emily Jorgensen

Le Journal
Notre Dame de Sion High School
Kansas City, Missouri
Editors-in-chief: Sophie Gromowsky, Zahra Parsons
Adviser: Valerie Crook

The Kirkwood Call
Kirkwood High School
Kirkwood, Missouri
Editors-in-chief: Kinley Bokermann, Sim Khanuja, Caroline Steidley
Adviser: Mitch Eden

Spark
Lakota East High School
Liberty Township, Ohio
Editors-in-chief: Audrey Allen, Abbey Bahan, Zachary Schultz
Adviser: Dean Hume

The Dispatch
James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Isabella del Nido, Lucille Price, Carey Wooley
Adviser: Michael Reeves

The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Evie Barnard, Alice Scott
Adviser: Dave Winter

Eagle Edition
Episcopal School of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Maddy Hammett, Grace Worsham
Adviser: Ana Rosenthal

ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editor-in-chief: Shreyan Daulat
Adviser: Jenny Dial Creech

The Fourcast
The Hockaday School
Dallas, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Jane Clark, Melody Hu
Adviser: Julia Copeland

The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Wilson Bailey, Cameron Ederle, Diane Guo, Annie Jones, Alice Xu
Advisers: Sam Abramson, David Nathan, Shelley Stein

The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Emma Boehmke, Anna Guan
Adviser: Charla Harris

tjTODAY
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Alexandria, Virginia
Editors-in-chief: Christina Lu, Robert Stotz
Adviser: Erinn Harris

The Newsstreak
Harrisonburg High School
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Editor-in-chief: Riley Thompson
Adviser: Val Kibler

The Highlander
McLean High School
McLean, Virginia
Editors-in-chief: Makda Bekele, Farah Eljazzar,
Nyla Marcott, Saehee Perez
Adviser: Lindsay Benedict

The Standard
The American School in London (High School)
London, England
Editor-in-chief: Grace Hamilton
Adviser: Louisa Avery

Anthro!
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Asha Mehta, Maya Mukherjee
Adviser: Paul Kandell

C Magazine
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Evie Coulson, McKenna Rausch, Milena Rodriguez, Jasmine Tabrizi
Adviser: Brian Wilson

Viking
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Owen Bittinger, Elizabeth Fetter,
Jackson Martin, Cameron Toland
Adviser: Brian Wilson

Proof
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Annelise Balentine, Arati Periyannan
Adviser: Paul Kandell

Flare
Sage Hill School
Newport Coast, California
Editors-in-chief: Isabella De Leon, Alexandra Gomez, Huanyu Yang
Advisers: Kelly Abbate, Tanya Lerch

On the Record
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
Editor-in-chief: Bella Tilford
Adviser: Liz Palmer

Science Greeley
Horace Greeley High School
Chappaqua, New York
Editor-in-chief: Andrew Pang
Adviser: Alex Lichorat

Backcountry Review
Springfield High School
Springfield, Oregon
Editors-in-chief: Carly Bramhall, Jay Bramhall, Yuriana Espino Sosa
Adviser: Ivan Miller

Geneva Quarterly
Geneva School of Boerne
Boerne, Texas
Editor-in-chief: Sophia Baldwin
Adviser: Christina Hammock

Focus
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editor-in-chief: Myles Lowenberg
Adviser: Jenny Dial Creech

The Scientific Marksman
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Michael Gao, Aaron Liu
Adviser: Fletcher Carron