LPS students capture major honors at state journalism contests

Lincoln Public Schools students had plenty of good news to share this spring at the 2024 Nebraska School Activities Association State Journalism Championships.
 
Students from six LPS high schools earned state medals in the Class A contest. Lincoln High, East, Northeast, North Star, Southeast and Southwest journalists captured honors. They showcased their talents in writing, design, broadcasting and illustration events.

 
Students from across Nebraska submitted entries in 25 categories. A panel of industry professionals and NSAA-certified journalism judges selected the top eight in each division.

 
Students received state medals in 12 categories based on preliminary rankings. Journalists in the 13 remaining categories traveled to Northeast Community College in Norfolk to determine the final medal order.
 
Northeast senior Albany Tobin secured a state championship in the yearbook layout category. Judges reviewed complete, double-page yearbook spreads in PDF form for the state contest.
 
Judges felt Tobin did the best job of including compelling photography and graphic elements in her design. They also said she had engaging and consistent type use and provided a clear visual hierarchy on pages.
 
“It’s exciting,” Tobin said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up. This being my first year in yearbook, I wasn’t going to get my hopes up just in case I didn’t place. It was even more surprising because when I found out I was the only one from Northeast that made it in I was just so surprised and excited. I was filled with all the emotions.”

 
Paige Doland teaches photojournalism and English classes at Northeast and is yearbook advisor. She was thrilled when Tobin’s name was called in the first-place spot.
 
“Albany has been the backbone of our yearbook staff,” Doland said. “In the second half of the year, she earned the title of one of our senior editors due to her dedication to the book. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this honor than Albany.”
 
Tobin and her classmates produced a yearbook theme called “A Stellar Year.” They highlighted the excellence found in the word “stellar” while also paying homage to the school’s mascot of Rockets. They used colors based on the Northern Lights throughout the yearbook.

 
Tobin submitted a spread called “Let Us Create: Voices ‘n Harmony” for state. It displayed information and photos from this year’s varsity show choir group. Doland said it represented the effort Tobin applied to all of her yearbook projects.
 
“The time and energy that was spent on this page is nothing different than the work that went into all the pages Albany worked on,” Doland said. “Her pictures, layout, writing and dedication to the theme all came together to bring home first place, but most importantly, a book full of unforgettable memories.”
 
Tobin said she has learned many lifelong skills from the yearbook class.
 
“As a senior in high school, a lot of what I’m doing now is to better my future and to prove to myself that all this work is paying off,” Tobin said. “I decided to take yearbook just because it’s my senior year and I wanted to try it out.”
 
Lincoln High senior Eli Larson earned second place in the sports action photography category. He submitted photos of basketball, football and dance team students for the contest.

 
Mackenzie Wylie guided Larson as Lincoln High’s yearbook advisor. She was happy to see him earn recognition for his work behind the camera lens.
 
“Proud is an understatement,” Wylie said. “Eli embodies remarkable talent and unwavering determination. At LHS, we are proud of the exceptional achievements he has accomplished. His kindness, passion and compassion radiate through every endeavor he undertakes.
 
“His state medals are a true testament to his extraordinary efforts. Eli will be missed on our yearbook staff, but we look forward to the incredible work he will produce in any setting he is in.”
 
Southeast had the largest number of LPS state medalists. Eight Knights earned awards for their print and broadcast journalism stories. Journalism teacher Brianne Clark was thrilled to see local students represented on the state awards podium.

 
“For my students, state provides an opportunity to showcase their skills and be recognized for the hard work they put in year-round,” Clark said. “Seeing them excel and be recognized at such a high level is incredibly rewarding as an educator.”
 
Senior Rahel Teklu spearheaded Southeast’s state trip with a third-place award in the newspaper column writing category. Lily Deitering, Maisy Viehl, Molly Leyden, Jarod Cada, Adam Taylor, Maren Steinke and Myla Davis added medals for the Knights.
 
Clark said she was proud of the growth she saw from journalism students since August. It was the first year Southeast offered a broadcasting class called Knight Pride News, and seven staff members of The Clarion school newspaper were freshmen. Both news teams made successful splashes into their journalism pools throughout the year.
 
“Storytelling that works to connect us to others, rather than divide, is at the heart of my teaching philosophy with these groups,” Clark said. “It has been so rewarding to see them work hard to create stories that do just that.”
 
Southwest Talon yearbook staff members celebrated a successful state trip with a third-place award in yearbook theme development. Students used “Nothing We Can’t Do” as the basis for the yearbook. Advisor Brandi Benson watched them create multiple pages that showed Silver Hawks doing well in school activities.

 
“We are very lucky at LSW to have so many activities for students to participate in and so many areas in which students can and do succeed,” Benson said. “The yearbook staff wanted to create a theme that fit our student body and the idea that we could do anything. Coincidentally, with our staff being so young this year and clearing so many hurdles to finish the book, finishing third at state in theme development was a perfect connection to our theme.”
 
Benson said yearbook editor Khloe Swanson played a key role in the project. She shepherded a staff that included a large number of newcomers. Benson said she was pleased with everyone's eagerness to complete the pages.
 
“Our editor Khloe has done a spectacular job of stepping up to take on the leadership role,” Benson said. “I am so grateful for the hard work and commitment our entire staff put into finishing the book.”
 
Student newspapers at Lincoln High, East, Northeast, North Star, Southeast and Southwest can be viewed through the links provided. Links to all of the individual LPS state journalism entries are available to view here.

Below are the results from the 2024 state journalism competition:

Lincoln High

Eli Larson – Sports Action Photography – 2nd place – “Lincoln High defense forces a fumble in a game against Northeast,” “The Lincoln High Pomalinks dance for one of the last times as a team on Senior Night” and “Jackson Duncan fights for the ball in a heated game against Bellevue East, ultimately bringing them to a 70-68 win”
Eli Larson – Feature Photography – 5th place – “Anania Ruba prepares for an impressive 30-point performance in a 63-50 win against Gretna East,” “Tre Crabtree placed in the top ten at the district meet, earning a spot at the state competition for the team for the first time in half a decade” and “Riek Bol, a Lincoln High alumni, speaks about his time as a student at Lincoln High during a Black History Month event”

Lincoln East

Hope Shortridge – Newspaper Sports Feature Writing – 7th place – “Elly Honnens leaves her mark on Lincoln East golf”
Hope Shortridge – Sports Action Photography – 6th place – “Volleyball Celebration,” “Tennis Reaction” and “Basketball Layup”
Ella Herzberg – Newspaper News Writing – 7th place – “Scholastic Book Fairs include titles that deal with race, gender and sexuality”
Louis Hoffman – Photo/Artistic Illustration – 8th place – “Steamboat Willie”

Lincoln Northeast

Albany Tobin – Yearbook Layout – 1st place – “Let Us Create: Voices ‘n Harmony”

Lincoln North Star

Josh Goodrich – Yearbook Layout – 6th place – “Music Yearbook Spread”

Lincoln Southeast

Lily Deitering – Entertainment Review Writing – 6th place – “Triangle Factory Fire Project”
Maisy Viehl and Molly Leyden – Broadcast Feature Story – 6th place – “Broadcast Feature: Moravec’s Specimens”
Maisy Viehl and Jarod Cada – Broadcast Sports Story – 5th place – “Broadcast Sports: Girls Wrestling”
Rahel Teklu and Adam Taylor – Broadcast Public Service Announcement – 4th place – “Broadcast PSA: Voter Registration at LSE”
Maren Steinke – Broadcast Public Service Announcement – 6th place – “Broadcast PSA: Covid & Cold Season”
Rahel Teklu – Newspaper Column Writing – 3rd place – “It’s Hard to Feel Like I Belong”
Myla Davis – Newspaper Feature Writing – 6th place – “Ramadan”

Lincoln Southwest

Lillian Bittle – Newspaper Feature Writing – 5th place – “NP Feature – Beauty and the Beast”
Lyric Lee – Yearbook Feature Writing – 7th place – “YB Feature – B&TB”
Chloe Wiens – Yearbook Layout – 5th place – “YB Layout – Vball Day”
LSW Talon Staff – Yearbook Theme Development – 3rd place – “Nothing We Can’t Do”

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