High School Contest

Congratulations to the 2020 Best of the Best winner Samantha Thornfelt!

Texas high school newspaper editor wins top communications award 

The editor-in-chief of a Texas high school newspaper has won the National Federation of Press Women’s high school communications contest’s Award of Excellence award for 2020.

Samantha Thornfelt, a graduating senior at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, has been honored with the “Best of the Best” award for a sports story she wrote for her high school newspaper, The Marquee.

The feature story “Swimming against the current,” focused on a high school swimmer who fought and overcame many trials.

“I first thought of this story when brainstorming sports feature ideas for an issue early this year, Thornfelt says. “I remembered a girl named Emma who I had befriended in a class junior year.  She had always mentioned struggling in swimming, had missed multiple days in class for doctor visits and surgery, and had to wear an arm sling for the last few months of the school year.  While I figured I would only be able to write a short profile on her recovery, I soon learned her story was more in-depth and impactful than I thought.”

She joined the newspaper staff as a reporter her junior year and was promoted to News Editor at the end of my first semester.   At the end of her junior year she was chosen as the 2019-2020 Editor in Chief. “I consider this to be one of my proudest accomplishments.”

Her advisor, LaJuana Hale says, “I saw Sam’s writing skills when she was in a Journalism 1 class. We ran one of her print stories before she was even on our newspaper staff. Her writing has continued to be outstanding, winning her numerous state and national awards. Sam has been an exceptional leader for our staff this year. She was dedicated to excellence and committed to producing a newspaper that our student body would read. Every story mattered to her, and she was a joy to work with.”

Thornfelt entered her story in the Press Women of Texas high school contest where it won first place honors and advanced to the national level contest, competing against first place entries from across the nation. The story won first place in the nation in the sports writing category and competed against first place entries in 22 other categories to be named “Best of the Best.” The award comes with a cash prize of $100 for winning the sports writing category and $250 for the national award. The journalism program at Marcus High School will receive a matching $250 cash award.

In selecting the sports story as the top award, one of the national judges commented, “I believe the Sports Story is an excellently written article and hearkens back to a time when newspaper stories were the next best thing to being there if you wanted to really ‘see’ what happened at an event. It brings the reader into the story from the headline and the introductory paragraphs to the degree that you almost find yourself struggling to breathe as did the young swimmer in the story. The writer provides enough essential background to give the reader a foundation for understanding what this young swimmer has experienced throughout her sports career, thus far, and does so with a style that continues to put the reader in a position to not only want to keep reading, but to hope that the story has a happy ending. In a communications world now dominated by video, it was reassuring to find that the written word still has the power to provide the visual; and equally, if not more, encouraging to know that there are writers who still have that gift.”

Thornfelt says the distinction of this award is truly a great end to both my last year on staff, and my senior year as a whole, as I will not be able to get the same form of closure with my journalism program as I had originally hoped.  “I am extremely thankful to the National Federation of Press Women, as they have helped to validate that my college and future career paths in journalism are the ones for me.”

Through the newspaper, she was able to realize her true passion for writing and hope to continue working in the field of journalism once she graduates from the University of North Texas. She plans to major in print and online journalism. “I do not yet know the exact career path I will take, I am positive I will be a writer for the rest of my life,” Thornfelt says.

To download a list of previous Best of the Best winners, Click Here. 

2020 NFPW National High School Communications Contest winners: 

Editorial

First place – Maxton Preuninger, Clearing the Air, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.

Second place – Molly Higgins, One Hit Wonder, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri.

Third place – Hannah Woodworth, No Place for Anti-Semitism, The Bolt, Sage Hill High School, Newport Coast, California.

Honorable mention – Ellie Albin, Hopeful high school, Fishers High School, Fishers, Indiana.

Opinion

First place – Maggie Mantini, Memory Care Facilities: for patients or for profit? Marian High School, Omaha, Nebraska.

Second place – Jillian Lederman, 9/11: Forever in Our Hearts But Lost From Our Memory, Marblehead High School Newspaper: Headlight, Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Third place – Kathleen Taranto, Hornets Nest fumbles with front row tweet: Social media post causes dispute over student section, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Honorable mention – John Yun, Safety drills prove inefficient, Fishers High School, Fishers, Indiana.

News story

First place – Ben Henschel, AL(ARMED): What students, policymakers, school administration and law enforcement are doing in wake of August shootings, The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas.

Second place – Emerson Brown, Stella Heo, Katrina Ortman, Local Fires and Power Outages Shake Community, Acalanes High School Blueprint, Lafayette, California.

Third place – Eden Stobaugh, Embracing Her Star, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Honorable mention – Kathleen Taranto and Makenzie Christman, Sex trafficking in the Lehigh Valley: How social media puts people at risk, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Feature story

First place – Ethan Peter, “Sectored off”: Meacham Park, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri.

Second place – Reya Mosby, Guardian angel, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.

Third place – Mason Cooney, Laura Mognnam, Sweeping it under the rug, The Broadview, Convent of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco, California.

Honorable mention –Mary Musa, Amanda Jose, Student News Top Stories Caught Between Two Worlds: The Struggles of First Generation Americans, Padua Academy, Wilmington, Delaware.

Honorable mention – Jaeliana Contreras, How’d They Learn That? Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Honorable mention – Kendall Reynolds, Hope Lynas, Jon Page and Jenna Schweikert, Goodbye, Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Indiana.

Sports story

First place – Samantha Thornfelt, Swimming against the current, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.

Second place – Eli Beck, What’s next? Southport High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Third place – Kade Rogerson, Mascot Name Changes, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Columns or blogs

First place – Sofia Olsson, Sofia’s Satires, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, California.

Second place – Rachel Bayler, Music ‘n Musings: Loss does not come without growth, Southport High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Third place – Kade Rogerson, Hogs’ Firing of Coach is a Good Move; Doping Claims End Russian Olympic Bid, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Honorable mention – Krissy Heilenman, Kindly, Krissy, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Review

First place – Matias Boeri, No Kidding: ‘Joker’ is a Triumph in Art, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Second place – Jackie Cameron, Tidying Up With Jackie: review of Marie Kondo’s cleaning method, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas.

Third place – Anna Lowe, Energy Spot provides little nutritional info, Greenwood High School, Greenwood, Indiana.

Honorable mention – Madison Harris-Weiner, American Graffiti, Newport Coast, California.

News or Feature photo

First place – Francesca D’Urzo, Sam Stampleman dances into the hearts of the San Francisco Ballet, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Second place – Clare Dierckman, Scaly Transformation, Carmel High School. HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.

Third place – Sebastian Emerson, Prairie Burn, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas.

Honorable mention – Emma Brashear, Emmaus Shave for the Brave raises over $100,000, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Sports photo

First place – Kate Nixon, Sliding into the Victory, The Harbinger, Prairie Village, Kansas,

Second place – Ray Mo, Game, Set, Match!, Carmel High School, HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.

Third place – Elizabeth Chan, Lions defeat Broncos again, 10-7, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.

Honorable mention – Mary Quinn, Delaware Valley wrestling, Delaware Valley High School, Milford, Pennsylvania.

Cartooning

First place – Nate Garcia, One year until 2020 primaries, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Second place – Megan Chan, Impeach, The Bolt, Sage Hill High School, Newport Coast, California.

Third place – Adia West, Pick Up Lines, Midway High School Panther Post, Waco, Texas.

Honorable mention – Sean Burton, Achooo, Millard South High School, Omaha, Nebraska.

Honorable mention – Ellen Zhang, Student Activism Cartoon, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Graphics/Photo Illustration 

First place – Wolfgang Frick, Active Shooter, The Kirkwood Call, Kirkwood, Missouri.

Second place – Emily Seiler, Falling into fashion, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.  

Third place – Amanda Marshall, Why We Print, , The Bolt, Sage Hill High School, Newport Coast, California.

Honorable mention – Emma Brashear, Rylan Bassett, The Vaping Epidemic: The plague of our generation, The Stinger, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Honorable mention – Gray Martens, Marvin Fan, The Legacy of Star Wars, Carmel High School, HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.

Honorable mention – Julia Steiner, Pets of Westside, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska.

Single page layout

First place – Erin Lee, Media Under Fire, Sunny Hills High School, The Accolade, Irvine, California.

Second place – Ethan Schreiber, Wanna Go To Lunch? The Northwest Passage, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas.

Third place – Ishani Shethia, Hero to the animals, Bellaire High School Three Penny Press, Bellaire, Texas.

Honorable mention – Brenna Cavallaro, Avengers specialty page, Delaware Valley High School, Milford, Pennsylvania.

Double-truck layout

First place – Angela Qian, Doodles of Fun, Carmel High School, HiLite, Carmel, Indiana.

Second place – Tara Connick, Children having children, The Marquee, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, Texas.

Third place – Molly Higgins, One Hit Wonder, The Kirkwood Call, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri.

Honorable mention – Mason Cooney, Laura Mognnam, Sweeping it under the rug, The Broadview, Convent of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco, California.

Environment

First place – Sowmya Chundi, Rhea Acharya, No Time to Waste, HiLite, Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana.

Second place – Malia Battafarano, Food for Thought, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska. 

Third place – Sofia Olsson and Charlotte Glass, Global Climate Strike Hits the Streets of San Francisco, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, California.

Honorable mention – Emily Rutledge, The Earth’s Lungs Aflame, Prospective Newspaper, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas. 

Radio Prepared Report

First Place – Sage Duarte, INK, INC., WMPH-FM, Mount Pleasant High School, Wilmington, Delaware.

Second place – Eliana D’Astici, The War After Service, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.

Third place – Will Eikenbary, Retrospectre: Putting it in Hinde Gear, Westside Wired, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska.

Honorable mention – Lara Craciun, In Memory of Mo Ep1: In a Nutshell, Scot Scoop, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Television Interview or Talk Show

First place – Maddy Ting, Zachary Khouri, and Miki Nguyen, Queer Time S2E3: Who am I? Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Second place – Ben Hilgen, Coach Buzea Battles Cancer, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.

Third place – Meg Gross and Grace Taylor, The Thunderbeat, College Takes with Meg and Grace S1:E3, Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska.

Honorable mention –Zion Brown,  Lentz Lowdown interview, Ben Davis, Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Honorable mention – Isabelle Milford, Mission Marrow Interview, Coyote Nation TV, Frisco, Texas.

Best Newscast 

First place — Ally Tauber, Sara Hummadi, Anika Newland, Noah Kim, “MHS1 11.8.19”. McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas, 

Second Place – Gavin Trisler, Isabella Oseguera, Elizabeth Kalinowsky and Mikaka, Clendenin, Ram Review Episode 20, Lakeside TV, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Third Place — Caroline Moloney, Sienna DeMedio, Delaney Lawson, Olivia Stankewicz, Maggie Patterson, Heather Banas, Padua Academy, Wilmington, Delaware, PATV Cycle 7 Show 151.

Honorable Mention – Nick Decatoire, Jacob Habel, Lauren Courtney, Andrew Burkey, Tanner Crisp, Reina Morales, Paige DeSimone, Raider Nation News Season 4 Episode 2, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois.

Video News Story

First place – Brooks Bell, Day of Caring, Lakeside TV, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Second place – Ben Turnquest and Langston Johnson, Walk of Hope 2019, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois.

Third place – Elissa Treu, AFJROTC honors fallen heroes since 9/11, Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska.

Honorable mention – Payton Zolck, Technology transforms the school environment, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Video Feature Story 

First place – Kendel Dawson, Justin Washington and Chis McCrae, Finding Hope for Women and Children, Caesar Rodney High School, Camden, Delaware.

Second place – Ally Tauber, Barney’s Ring, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.

Third place – Mandy Hitchcock, The Plight of the Honeybee, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California.

Honorable mention – Breanna Mothershed, Evan Meyers and Carson Burnham, Carson the Science Guy, Lakeside TV, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Video Sports Story

First place – Khera Goss, Jerrian’s story, Ben Davis, Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Second place – Sumit Nalavade, Basketball Tryouts, Coyote Nation TV, Frisco, Texas.

Third place – Meg Gross and Keely Prusia, Thunderbird defense breaks school record, Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, Nebraska.

Honorable mention – Malachi Johnson, “Hand-to-hand combat”: Playing D-Line while Female, Caesar Rodney High School, Camden, Delaware.

Honorable mention – Sydney Willians, Skater Gus Smith’s Road to Recover, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas.

Yearbook layout

First place – Lexi Harris, Lionpalooza, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.

Second place – Rachael Hinshaw and Ann Ramsey, State Bound, Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Third place – Delilah Brockman, Homecoming, Shawnee Mission North High School, Overland Park, Kansas.

Honorable mention – Kayla Yakimisky, Bless Our Show, Huntley High School Harmony Yearbook, Huntley, Illinois. 

Yearbook photo

First place – Victoria Smolen, Picasso and Einstein Walk into a Bar, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois.

Second place – Elizabeth Chan, Mini Marquettes, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.

Third place – Jordan Heath, Edge of Glory, Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.

Honorable mention – Ian Abbott, Bubble Gum, Dorchester High School, Dorchester, Nebraska.

Yearbook Copywriting

First place – Annalissa Houser, Third Place Win, The Lair, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas.

Second place – Kayla Thompson, This One’s for Kate, McKinney High School, McKinney, Texas.

Third place – Raquel Thompson, Dancing King,  Bryant High School Journalism, Bryant, Arkansas.

Honorable mention – Cole Sherman, State Bound, Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis, Indiana.