NSPA announces junior high/middle school finalists

Approximately 57 finalists from nine contests in three categories are named; winners announced at the Nashville convention

Nov. 5, 2025

MINNEAPOLIS — The National Scholastic Press Association has named 57 finalists in its Individual Awards for middle school and junior high journalists.

The winners will be announced at the NSPA Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville.

The NSPA Individual Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of individual students and small teams of journalists. 

“Junior high and middle school journalists are doing some amazing work,” said NSPA associate director Gary Lundgren. “Many of the entries submitted would be competitive in the high school competition.”

The number of finalists named in each competition is based on the number and overall quality of the entries submitted. 

The competition features three categories with several contests —

DESIGN: Literary Arts Magazine, Newspaper/Newsmagazine, Yearbook

PHOTOJOURNALISM: Feature Photo, Sports Photo

STORY: Broadcast, Multimedia, News Feature

In most contests, 10 finalists have been named and five winners and five honorable mentions will be recognized in Nashville.

In three contests, four or five finalists have been named and three winners and one or two honorable mentions will be recognized in Nashville.

In the Multimedia Story contest there were not enough entries to select finalists or winners.

The first-place winner in each contest receives a plaque. The other winners and honorable mentions receive certificates.

After the winners are announced on Nov. 15, a gallery of the winners and honorable mentions will be shared on this website allowing student journalists and advisers to see all of the entries recognized in the competition. Slide shows featuring the winners will also be available for classroom use.

Congratulations to the finalists —

DESIGN
Literary Arts Magazine
Newspaper/Newsmagazine
Yearbook

PHOTOJOURNALISM
Feature Photo
Sports Photo

REPORTING & WRITING
Broadcast Story
Feature Story
News Story

DESIGN: Literary Arts Magazine

listed by state

Parker Reynolds
Mindprints
Jackson Preparatory Junior High School, Flowood, Mississippi
Feeling of Sky Diving

Sarah Kate Forbus
Mindprints
Jackson Preparatory Junior High School, Flowood, Mississippi
Shoes

Alekh Desai
Mini-Marque
St. Mark’s School of Texas Middle School, Dallas, Texas
Bonded

Alekh Desai
Mini-Marque
St. Mark’s School of Texas Middle School, Dallas, Texas
Flying Solo

DESIGN: Newspaper/Newsmagazine

listed by state

Annabella Mi
The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Gilbane Project: A Community Divided

Emerson Whitaker
The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Today’s Middle Schoolers

Staff
The Doc
The Masters Middle School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
President Pulls Plug and DEI Programs

Krishiv Shah
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
Megan Mayhew Bergman Inspires Middle Schoolers

Stella Algard, Ada Erinc
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England Students
Urge Increase of Environmental Action on Earth Day

DESIGN: Yearbook

listed by state

Norah Al-Rikabi, Natalie Pond, Parker Sisney
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Maybe It’s Too Much

Norah Al-Rikabi, Parker Sisney
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Maybe More

Amelia Smith, Ava Youngdahl
Stampede
Maize South Middle School, Wichita, Kansas Amp
Up the Energy

Guinevere Bell, Morley Coleman, Gavin McCluskey, Stella Valarezzo
Stampede
Maize South Middle School, Wichita, Kansas
Turn Up the Votes/Did You Know?

Aliva Hill, Madi Purdie, Adelin Schreiber, J’Nyiaha Taylor
Husky Pride
Raymore-Peculiar East Middle School, Peculiar, Missouri
Student Leaders Shaping Our Story

Carly Brown, Nico DeLuca
The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
& the Rad Electives

Reese Newberry, Zane Wood
Panther
Ridgeview Middle School, Round Rock, Texas
Trial & Error

Carly Moran, Gigi Olivieira, Luca Zarraga
Panther
Ridgeview Middle School, Round Rock, Texas
All We Do Is Win

Josephine Botta, Clara Edwards, El Romaniuk, Caymbree Zeller
Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
We Didn’t Come This Far

Claire Schreiber
The Spotlight
The American School in London, London, England
You’re in the Band

PHOTOJOURNALISM: Feature Photo

listed by state

Canon Spiking
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Raising Expectations

Jade Holland
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Loud and Proud

Chiara Christensen
The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Charlie Barasa, Gabriel Stouffer and Felipe Fernandes Collet Have Fun

Setemi Ayinde
The Falcon’s Yearbook
Coral Academy of Science, Reno, Nevada
Squid Games

Rosie Rangel
The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
Confidence Is Key

Taylor Daniels
The Shield
Kelly Lane Middle School, Pflugerville, Texas
A Helping Hand

Juliana Brown
Panther
Ridgeview Middle School, Round Rock, Texas
Human Stuff

Ellie Naslund
Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
Frankie Rameriez Wins the All-School Roshambo Tournament

Jacob Varghese
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
Fifth Grader Charlie Barron Plays King Agnar

Jacob Varghese
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
Students Accompany Raven Goldstein Who Plays Dewey Finn

PHOTOJOURNALISM: Sports Photo

listed by state

Parker Sisney
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Think Fast

Danielle Larreal-Spears
The Paw Post
Franklin Community Middle School, Franklin, Indiana
Kryan Jochim, Seventh Grade Wrestler, Trying to Get a Wing on His Opponent

Olivia Kline
Crimson Wings
Maize Middle School, Maize, Kansas
Eyes on the Prize

Ella Kellogg
Crimson Wings
Maize Middle School, Maize, Kansas
Avoiding a Tackle

Rosie Rangel
The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
After the Ball

Harneet Kaur
The Shield
Kelly Lane Middle School, Pflugerville, Texas
On My Way Home

Sophia Bonilla
Panther
Ridgeview Middle School, Round Rock, Texas
Fight for It

Molly Bruner
Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
Pushing to the End

Nolan Galloway
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
What a Kick!

Viraj Dubey
The Spotlight
The American School in London, London, England
Through Ball!

REPORTING & WRITING: Broadcast Story

listed by state

Ellie Hassman, Penny Marco, Juliana Otsu-Blevins
Bobcat News
Bell Middle School, Golden, Colorado
What Is a Hold?

Nolan Fillenwarth, Jake Fouch, Andrew Kepner
Cub News Network
Franklin Community Middle School, Franklin, Indiana
Downtown Franklin Tree Lighting

Ana Anorga, Emberley Martin, McKenna Popst
Cub News Network
Franklin Community Middle School, Franklin, Indiana
Visiting Santa

Erik Frost, Jennavecia Loera, Kyle Quincena
ALTV News
Armand Larive Middle School, Hermiston, Oregon
Chess Club Opens

Erik Frost, Jennavecia Loera, Kyle Quincena
ALTV News
Armand Larive Middle School, Hermiston, Oregon
Great Clips!

REPORTING & WRITING: Feature Story

listed by state

Hailey Johnson
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Vivek Kalyankar

Aeda Baang, Medha Sangi
The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
From Teacher to Student to Back Again: Meet Ms. Brooks

Vimal Vasan Srinivasan
The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan Clague
Robotics Team Wins Third Place at FTC Michigan Qualifier

Nicholas Nadjarian
The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
A Spoon Full of Sugar Teens’ Sweet Tooth Can Be Dangerous

Joshua Zou
The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Inside Autism: Understanding Is the Key

Crystal Rosas, Khadija Samir, Sophia Silva
The Falcon’s Yearbook
Coral Academy of Science Middle School, Reno, Nevada
Speaking to Leave an Impact

Crystal Rosas
The Falcon’s Yearbook
Coral Academy of Science Middle School, Reno, Nevada
Long Live King Gerald

Riley Anderson, Sophia Bonilla, Norah Ripley
Panther
Ridgeview Middle School, Round Rock, Texas
Diving Below

Nihaal Garud
The Spotlight
The American School in London, London, England
Stepping Out of Bounds

Stella Algard
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
All A’s But No Z’s: Students Suffer From Lack of Sleep

REPORTING & WRITING: News Story

listed by state

Parker Sisney
The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
We Are So Back

Sarai Simmons, Emily Tao
The Monarch Pride
Moore Middle School, Redlands, California
Here to Innovate

Saanvi Kulkarni
The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Gilbane Project: A Community Divided

Noah Nguyen
The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Smith Takes Her Passion for Stem Over Seas

Amruth Prasad
The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Crane Earns National and State Awards

Eli Goldfine
The Doc
The Masters Middle School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Snacking Struggles: Students Wrestle With Limited Choices

Aaron Pertsovsky
The Spotlight
The American School in London, London, England
Break the Bias

Carolina Corona, Sonia Foster
The Spotlight
The American School in London, London, England
The Controversial Ban

Wolfi Lukesch
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
Cancellation of Grade 8 Outward Bound Trip Causes Mixed Feelings

Wolfi Lukesch
The Scroll
The American School in London, London, England
Phone Ban Causes Mixed Feelings