NSPA honors middle school/junior high journalists

Nov. 15, 2025

NSPA Individual Awards honor the nation’s best junior high/middle school  journalism. The awards are presented to individuals and small teams. There are nine contests in three categories —

DESIGN: (three contests)

PHOTOJOURNALISM: (two contests)

STORY: (four contests)

See the Nashville awards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mention

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mention

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mention

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mention

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mention

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

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

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

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

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