{"id":625383,"date":"2026-10-29T15:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T20:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/?p=625383"},"modified":"2026-11-04T13:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T19:05:39","slug":"2026-individual-award-finalists-juniorhigh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/2026-individual-award-finalists-juniorhigh\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Individual Award finalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NSPA announces junior high\/middle school finalists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 60 finalists from nine contests in three categories are named; winners announced at the Orlando convention<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct. 30, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The National Scholastic Press Association has named approximately 60 finalists in its Individual Awards for middle school and junior high journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winners will be announced at the NSPA Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention<\/strong><\/a> in Orlando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NSPA Individual Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of individual students and small teams of journalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJunior high and middle school journalists are doing some amazing work,\u201d said NSPA associate director Gary Lundgren. \u201cMany of the entries submitted would be competitive in the high school competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of finalists named in each competition is based on the number and overall quality of the entries submitted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The competition features three categories with several contests \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DESIGN: <\/strong>Literary Arts Magazine, Newspaper\/Newsmagazine, Yearbook<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOJOURNALISM:<\/strong> Feature Photo, Sports Photo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPORTING & WRITING:<\/strong> Broadcast, Multimedia, News, Feature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In categories with 10 finalists, five winners and five honorable mentions will be recognized in Orlando. Categories with five or fewer finalists don\u2019t have honorable mentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first-place winner in each contest receives a plaque. The other winners and honorable mentions receive certificates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the winners are announced on Nov. 21, 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 later in the school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to the finalists \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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DESIGN
<\/strong>Literary Arts Magazine
<\/a>Newspaper\/Newsmagazine
<\/a>Yearbook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOJOURNALISM<\/strong>
Feature Photo
<\/a>Sports Photo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPORTING & WRITING<\/strong>
Broadcast Story<\/a>
Multimedia Story
<\/a>Feature Story
<\/a>News Story<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
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DESIGN: Literary Arts Magazine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caroline Li, Lily Song, Xanakee Vang
<\/strong>Cooper Connection
Cooper Middle School, McLean, Virginia
Our Aquarelle Canvas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary Lanford Neely
<\/strong>Mindprints
Jackson Preparatory School, Flowood, Mississippi
What Is Love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Kate Forbus
<\/strong>Mindprints
Jackson Preparatory School, Flowood, Mississippi
Summer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DESIGN: Newspaper\/Newsmagazine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ada Garberina
<\/strong>The Doc
The Masters School Middle School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Leadership Groups Take Action<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amelia Kara, Elia Lavi
<\/strong>The Scroll
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Winter Wishlist Ideas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Anderson, Asa Gettleman, Parker Rosenberg
<\/strong>The Scroll
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Eagles Flight For Top Two Fencing Spots<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medha Sangi
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
AAPS Educators Picket for Fair Contracts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divya Kohi, Zoe Zaiger<\/strong>
The Doc
The Masters School Middle School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Before They Took Attendance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DESIGN: Yearbook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canon Spiking, Hensleigh Duell
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
All the Noise<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamila Kuzel, Jessica Murray, Maren Parker, Jackson Sieckowski
<\/strong>Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
Can You Hear Us Now<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laney Lawrence, Will Wurster
<\/strong>The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
Locked In<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marina Jin
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Buzzer Alert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vivian Liu
<\/strong>Spotlight
The American School in London, London, England
Putting Fears Aside<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
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PHOTOJOURNALISM: Feature Photo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brynn Stewart
<\/strong>The Den
Bernardo Heights Middle School, San Diego, California
Father Knows Best<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canon Spiking
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Every Action In Mrs. Moeller’s Physical Science Class<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hailey Johnson
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Go Big Blue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hallie Menard
<\/strong>The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
Cool Shades<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacy Smith
<\/strong>The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
Turning Books Into Play<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maren Parker
<\/strong>Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
Running Down the Isle Giving High Fives<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mila Vorderwuelbecke
<\/strong>Spotlight
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Check It Out<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siddhi Vidwans
<\/strong>The Den
Bernardo Heights Middle School, San Diego, California
Broken Bridges<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Badalamente
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Eight Grade Concert Band Plays Their Three-Movement Piece<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zayd Al-khafaji
<\/strong>The Crane
Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Sasha Schunck Jumps Up to Catch the Volleyball<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOJOURNALISM: Sports Photo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allison Siew
<\/strong>The Den
Bernardo Heights Middle School, San Diego, California
Fearless Flags<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley Burke
<\/strong>The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
Zachary Wade Makes the Catch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canon Spiking
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Kenzie Luigs Jumps Into the Air<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyrus Farzad
<\/strong>The Scroll
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Raylen Grove Smashes the Ball<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma Shew
<\/strong>Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
Maren Parker Goes Up Against a Defender<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hallie Caudle
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Brodie Baker Catches a Pass<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Murray
<\/strong>Seppala
Northwood Middle School, Spokane, Washington
Nolan Saad Runs a Kid Ove<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Bezas
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Protecting the Ball, Eight Grader Kennedy Wright<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sam Julian
<\/strong>Spotlight
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Raylen Grove Puts Up a Layup<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Scott
<\/strong>The Den
Bernardo Heights Middle School, San Diego, California
Making a Run For It<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

REPORTING & WRITING: Broadcast Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexander Mackaay
<\/strong>Eagle News Network
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
School Should Start Later <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emory Lipford
<\/strong>Cub News Network
Franklin Community Middle School, Franklin, Indiana
Focus Changes for Next Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis Badalamente
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Checking Out the Newest Chick-fil-A<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle Quincena, Emily Ramirez-Garcia, Jaxson Robledo
<\/strong>ALTV
Armand Larive Middle School, Hermiston, Oregon
Hermiston Humane Society – Part 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sai Carley
<\/strong>Eagle News Network
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Behind the Scenes of Organizing Winter Sprit Day <\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPORTING & WRITING: Multimedia Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis Badalamente
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Red Cup Rebellion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPORTING & WRITING: Feature Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anika Nanda
<\/strong>The Scroll
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
School Fights Against Gender Disparity in STEM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Spears
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Trace Whitelaw<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ary Rahnema
<\/strong>Spotlight
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Seize the Moment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Hayden Reagor
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Breanna Duncan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate Rogers
<\/strong>The Ranch
McAnally Middle School, Aledo, Texas
Try and Catch Me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy Dalton
<\/strong>The Raspberry Donut
Friends School of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland
Friends Alums 9\/11 Ordeal Inspired Hit Musical<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mia Lopez-Geha, Irene McIsaac
<\/strong>Spotlight
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Train Harder Play Smarter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nolan Little
<\/strong>The Crane
Cranbrook Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Mighigan
Why Stuffed Animals Never Go Out of Style<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivia Yim
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Featuring Caleb Samulak<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoe Zaiger
<\/strong>The Doc
The Masters School Middle School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Students Struggle With Mental Health<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPORTING & WRITING: News Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

listed in random order<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aeda Baang, Jessie Guo
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Clague Students Protest Against ICE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canon Spiking
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Delay of Game<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cormac Davis
<\/strong>The Scroll
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Locker Rooms to be Renovated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eli Goldfine
<\/strong>The Doc
The Masters School Middle School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Superintelligence: The Future of Humanity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elizabeth Pfeifer
<\/strong>Mule Time Media
Alamo Heights Junior School, San Antonio, Texas
Impact of Alamo Heights Junior School Service Clubs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Hale
<\/strong>The Round-Up
Woodland Junior High School, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Stampede of the Season<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medha Sangi
<\/strong>The Cougar Star
Clague Middle School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Picket for fair contract<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tavie Son
<\/strong>Time Media
Alamo Heights Junior School, San Antonio, Texas
Bold Changes Coming<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolfi Lukesch, Tom Smith
<\/strong>The Scroll
The American School in London Middle School, London, England
Scroll Conducts Extensive Independent Tests of Water Quality<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zayd Al-Khafaji
<\/strong>The Crane
Cranbrook Middle School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Anversa Shines on Carnegie Hall Stage <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NSPA announces junior high\/middle school finalists Approximately 60 finalists from nine contests in three categories are named; winners announced at the Orlando convention Oct. 30, 2026 MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The National Scholastic Press Association has named approximately 60 finalists in its Individual Awards for middle school and junior high journalists. The winners will be announced at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625383"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":625396,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625383\/revisions\/625396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}