NSPA names top newspapers, specialty magazines

Pacemaker competition recognizes 41 finalists for excellence

Sept. 11, 2025

MINNEAPOLIS — Honoring the nation’s best, the National Scholastic Press Association has named 41 scholastic student newspapers, newsmagazines and specialty magazines published during the 2024-25 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. 15, at the NSPA Awards Ceremony during the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville.

“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 41 Pacemaker finalists represent 12 states as well as the United Kingdom. California set the pace with 12 finalists, followed by Texas with eight.

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. There are 29 high school newspaper/newsmagazine Pacemaker finalists and 17 of those will earn Pacemakers.

Junior high/middle school newspapers/newsmagazines as well as specialty magazines competed in separate categories. There are four junior high/middle school Pacemaker finalists and three of those will earn Pacemakers.

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.

There are eight specialty magazine Pacemaker finalists and three of those will earn Pacemakers.

Literary arts magazines compete in a separate Pacemaker competition with a Nov. 24 entry deadline.

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 2025 Online Pacemaker competition recognized 34 finalists and awarded 13 Pacemakers in April. Several schools earned Pacemaker honors for both their print and online products.

Please join us at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention Nov. 13-16, 2025, in Nashville.

The convention offers hundreds of instructional sessions, keynote speakers from national newsmakers, dozens of media critiques, JEA’s popular on-site media contests and the announcement of NSPA Pacemaker winners. NSPA also offers a convention Best of Show competition that celebrates current student media work.

Highlander
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California
Editor-in-chief: Daniella Smit
Adviser: Justin Raisner

El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Editors-in-chief: Samika Bhatkar, Ananya Chaudhary, Kathryn Foo, Jami Lim, Alan Tai, Alyssa Yang
Advisers: Vennessa Nava, Julia Satterthwaite

Accolade
Sunny Hills High School
Fullerton, California
Editor-in-chief: Alexxa Berumen
Adviser: Tommy Li

The Town Crier
Paul Revere Middle School
Los Angeles, California
Editor-in-chief: Noah Beroukhim
Adviser: Eric Wechsler

The Campanile
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Alec Bonnard, Julian Hong, Holden Lee, Kate Xia, Lucas Yuan
Adviser: Rod Satterthwaite

Verde
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Lizzy Williams, Alma Bendavid, Lia Cardwell
Adviser: Paul B. Kandell

C Magazine
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Kayley Ko, Katelyn Pegg, Anika Raffle, Gin Williams
Adviser: Brian Wilson

Viking
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors-in-chief: Emil Bothe, Claire Cho, Roan Haney, Ethan Wang
Adviser: Brian Wilson

Bear Witness
Branham High School
San Jose, California
Editor-in-chief: Ava Stark
Adviser: Yale Wyatt

The Epic
Lynbrook High School
San Jose, California
Editors-in-chief: Ashley Huang, Alyssa Wang
Adviser: Josh Miller

Winged Post
The Harker School
San Jose, California
Editors-in-chief: Katerina Matta, Victor Gong
Adviser: Whitney Huang

The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California
Editors-in-chief: Olamide Olumide, Madison Thacker
Adviser: Ron Goins

The Mix
Monarch High School
Louisville, Colorado
Editors-in-chief: Zoey Perrine, Brenna Severson
Adviser: Ben Reed

Courage
Oviedo High School
Oviedo, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Madeline Baczek
Adviser: Ben Langevin

Eagle Eye News
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Editors-in-chief: Grace Brill, Andie Korenge, Brynn Schwartz
Adviser: Melissa Falkowski

Muse
A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida
Editors-in-chief: Ellie Symons, Aiden Velez
Adviser: Carly Gates

Odyssey
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Editor-in-chief: Wyatt J. Meyer
Adviser: David A. Ragsdale

U-High Midway
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Chicago, Illinois
Editors-in-chief: Jaya Alenghat, Chloë Alexander, Clare McRoberts
Adviser: Logan Aimone

The Spartan Shield
Pleasant Valley High School
Bettendorf, Iowa
Editor-in-chief: Ayah Alsheikha
Adviser: Maureen Dyer

West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Editors-in-chief: Gianna Liu, Marie Stier
Adviser: Sara Whittaker

The Patriot
Shawnee Mission South High School
Overland Park, Kansas
Editor-in-chief: Ren Park
Adviser: Tucker Love

The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Editors-in-chief: Avery Anderson, Addie Moore, Conor Vogel, Larkin Brundige
Adviser: Dow Tate

Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Editor-in-chief: Grace Rau
Adviser: Chris Heady

On The Record
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
Editor-in-chief: Sammie Haden
Adviser: Matthew Rhinehart

The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Editors-in-chief: Annabella Mi, Jay Tavane
Advisers: Sara-Beth Badalamente, Satvika Ramanathan

The Communicator Magazine
Community High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Editors-in-chief: Piper Cooke, Clara Freeth, Gabe Deedler, Janaki Nallamothu, Lucia Page Sander
Adviser: Tracy Anderson

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

Central Focus
Francis Howell Central High School
Cottleville, Missouri
Editor-in-chief: Birdie Brereton
Adviser: Matthew Schott

North Star
Francis Howell North High School
Saint Charles, Missouri
Editors-in-chief: Violet Newton, Michaela Manfull
Adviser: Aaron Manfull

Panorama
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri
Editors-in-chief: Arti Jain, Will Kodner, Lathan Levy, Emily Liu, Katie Myckatyn
Advisers: Abigail Eisenberg, Sarah Kirksey

Tribal Tribune
Wando High School
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Editors-in-chief: Noah Iverson, Hayden Pinto
Adviser: Phillip Caston

The Dispatch
James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Isabella Verette, Liberty Pittman and Elizabeth Yowell
Adviser: Michael Reeves

The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Chloe Lewcock, Nate Williams
Adviser: Dave Winter

Geneva Quarterly
Geneva School of Boerne
Boerne, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Ella Dillinger, Emma Malkowski
Adviser: Emily Rawls

Eagle Edition
Episcopal School of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Sophia Sardiña, Lauren Shushi
Adviser: Ana Rosenthal

Focus
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editor-in-chief: Arjun Poi, Joseph Sun
Adviser: Jenny Dial Creech

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

The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Amanda Brantley, Lily Feather, Aleena Gilani, Elizabeth Hu, Lucy Walker, Serina Yan
Adviser: David Nathan

The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Rawya Hazin, Brooklyn Tirone
Adviser: Charla Harris

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

The Standard
The American School in London
London, England
Editor-in-chief: Oskar Doepke
Adviser: Louisa Avery