WHS places 5th at state journalism

WHS journalism achieved five awards at the Kansas Scholastic Press Association state contest Saturday morning, including one state champion.

In the write-off contests, students receive a page of quotes and information and must write a story in 90 minutes.

Sophomore Kendyl Bolinder placed first in editorial writing. “The prompt we wrote about (a student protest) has actually happened at Wabaunsee, so I was prepared to write about it,” Bolinder said. Sophomore Emma Frey placed second in the event.

Junior Kaytlyn Meseke placed third in feature writing and received honorable mention in cutline writing. Junior Eleanor Badeker received honorable mention in copy editing.

As a team, WHS placed fifth in 2A, the school’s highest finish ever.

“We didn’t bring many people to the competition,” adviser Brendan Praeger said, “so a top-5 finish is definitely a solid achievement. I think our students are usually well-prepared because we produce so much content throughout the year. It’s a big advantage over schools that only publish a few times a semester.”