NSPA announces winners of spring Clips & Clicks contest

August 22, 2025

MINNEAPOLIS — Congratulations to the winners of the Clips & Clicks contest for the spring 2025 semester — and to the NSPA-member student media outlets competing for this year’s Sweepstakes.

The competition, open to all NSPA members, honors current work among student journalists, and the spring-semester winners feature work produced from Dec. 14, 2024, to May 9, 2025.

There were 750 submissions in the spring competition. Judges were collegiate professors, student media advisers and professional journalists.

“The judges consistently said they were very impressed with the quality of the entries submitted,” associate director Gary Lundgren said. 

In all, 108 entries, approximately 15 percent of those entered, were recognized. The number of winners in each category was determined by the judges based on the quantity and quality of the entries. When calculating Sweepstakes, the following points are assigned —

First Place: 10
Second Place: 9
Third Place: 8
Fourth Place: 7
Fifth Place: 6
Honorable Mention: 5

CCNN Live, Christopher Columbus High School, claims 2024-25 Sweepstakes

Congratulations to CCNN Live, Christopher Columbus High School, winner of this year’s Clips & Clicks Sweepstakes trophy.  This marks the third time in five years CCNN Live has claimed the Sweepstakes trophy with previous wins in 2023 and 2021.

Sweepstakes rankings are by NSPA-member student media outlet, not by school. Results of both fall and spring contests generate final standings. The Top 10 winners are listed below.

First Place
Students Walkout in Protest over Immigration Laws
Dakota Benz
Good Morning John Burroughs
John Burroughs High School
Burbank, California

First Place
Performing Arts Take the Stage
Dakota Benz, Silas Hamernik
Good Morning John Burroughs
John Burroughs High School
Burbank, California

First Place
Mia the Fighter
Emily Bobadilla, Lola Hernandez, Valeria Rincon
OLLA TV
Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
Miami, Florida

First Place
A Life Without Screens
Staff
CCNN Live
Christopher Columbus High School
Miami, Florida

First Place
Going Overboard
Vincent Hsiao
Panorama
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri

First Place
The Sound of Saint Louis
Loukya Gillella, Adela Gingrich, Grace Kweon, Alzhraa Mahmoud, Celina Zhou
Panorama
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri

First Place
Identity
Maya Mathew
ID
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Miami, Florida

First Place
Hunting the Grizzly
Madeline Fong
Melodrama
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri

First Place
Hot Wheels
Vera Lopresti, Aleah Sawyer
Raider
Gulliver Preparatory School
Miami, Florida

Honorable Mention

See Us at the Pep Rally
Staff
Adelante
Christopher Columbus High School
Miami, Florida

Time is Tik-Ing
Sara Lipnitzky, Fan Phadael
The Marquee
Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida

Crunching Numbers
Alexandrine Malval-Deeb
Raider
Gulliver Preparatory School
Miami, Florida

You’ll Never Guess What Happened Next
Ruthi Bosserdet, Chelby Gambrel, Leland Hawkins, Archana Naadarajan
The Trail
McIntosh High School
Peachtree City, Georgia

Breaking Barriers
Katie Buck
Hauberk
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

First Place
What’s in Your Backpack?
Sydney Eck
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

First Place
Pitch Night Winners
Jakeman Strelitz
El Paisano
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

First Place
Soaked!
Amy Ledezma Gonzalez
The Torch
Orange Glen High School
Escondido, California

Honorable Mention

Battle of the Bands Brings Mac Musicians Together
Sophia Manos
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas

Winners!
Amy Ledezma Gonzalez
The Torch
Orange Glen High School
Escondido, California

Amna Assembly
Macy Williams
Brickhouse
Shawnee Mission North High School
Overland Park, Kansas

Jonathan Guild Drumline
Macy Williams
Brickhouse
Shawnee Mission North High School
Overland Park, Kansas

Varsity Boys Basketball Upset
Seth Johnson
Veteran
Vandegrift High School
Austin, Texas

First Place
In Control
Jakeman Strelitz
El Paisano
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

Honorable Mention

Field Hockey Wins State Championship for First Time
Lily Chen
The Spoke
Conestoga High School
Berwyn, Pennsylvania

Served
Tyler Russell
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

JV Baseball
Seth Johnson
Voice
Vandegrift High School
Austin, Texas

He’s Out
Jakeman Strelitz
El Paisano
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

Chap Relays
Jakeman Strelitz
El Paisano
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

First Place
New SFUSD Leadership Halts School Closure Plans Amid District Crisis
Maddie Shoop-Gardner
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California

Honorable Mention
Schools and Communities Team Up to Boost Youth Voting
Maddie Shoop-Gardner
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California

Measles Outbreak Intensifies Vaccine Debate
Shiori Chen
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California

San Carlos Downtown Improvement Plans Move Forward
Nikhil Nunna
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California

Students Walk Out Demanding Awareness, Advocacy Toward Immigration Policies
Satenik Ayrapetyan, Linus Bossardt, Tania Lopez
The Pearl Post
Daniel Pearl Magnet High School
Lake Balboa, California

Professional Learning Communities to be Removed in 2025
Kristie Min, Lennon Riedie
The Westlake Featherduster
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

First Place
Remembering Dawn Momohara
Dominic Niyo
The Pinion
President William McKinley High School
Honolulu, Hawaii

Honorable Mention

Harnessing Strength Through the Healing Power of Horses
Maddie Shoop-Gardner
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California

Record Reis
Adela Gingrich
Panorama
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri

New Dynamics
Emmy O’Roark
Hauberk
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Who’s Hosting?
Amanda Brantley, Dalia Sandberg
The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas

Big Time Rush
Lee Monistere
The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas

First Place
Field Hockey Wins State Championship for First Time
Abby Chong, Lauren Pinheiro, Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla
The Spoke
Conestoga High School
Berwyn, Pennsylvania

Honorable Mention

Inside the World of College Sports Recruiting
Andrew Liang
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California

Touching Down for College
Fletcher Vandegrift
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas

Hope for a Rebound
Zoya Prabhakar
The Campanile
Palo Alto High School

Chaps Fall to North Crowley in State Championship
Miles Strelitz
The Westlake Featherduster
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

Chaps Pull Late Come-From-Behind Win Over Lake Travis
Andrew Stout
The Westlake Featherduster
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

First Place
More Than a Check
Avni Bansal
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

First Place
School Needs More Advanced Humanities
Annika Chu
The Campanile
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California

Honorable Mention

Free Speech or Free-For-All?
Magnolia Mass
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas

Rethink the Page
Christopher Long
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

Flaming-Hot Opinions with an Air of Soullessness
Ella Hughes, Dalia Sandberg
The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas

The Key to Winning? Put all Sports on Equal Footing
Ainsley Bass, Mikail Khan
The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas

Mac Miller’s Second Posthumous Release Embodies His Lasting Legacy
Oona Seppala
The Oracle
The Archer School for Girls
Los Angeles, California