NSPA National Pacemakers
The Pacemaker is often called the Pulitzer Prize of student media, and represents the very best student work in a particular publication year. The national finalists are announced by February, and the winners are announced at the spring JEA/NSPA convention each year. The following 2014 Colorado books were honored on April 18 as the “best of the best” from last school year. Congratulations to the advisers and staffs.

Junior High/Middle School Yearbook
The Prowl, Powell MS

Yearbook 232 or fewer pages
Westwind, Lewis-Palmer HS

Yearbook 233-336 pages
Summit, Smoky Hill HS

NSPA Best of Show Awards – announced April 18, 2015
The Best of Show awards are chosen by judges on Saturday morning, with winners revealed during the Saturday afternoon NSPA Awards Ceremony. Student media must be represented at the convention (“the show”) by at least one student to be entered. Up to ten place winners are announced. Of interest this year was the fact that four Colorado middle schools were honored in the top nine, and that the Rocky Heights MS broadcast program earned an honor in a competition that included high schools. This sort of success for middle school programs is one of several reasons CHSPA will be officially becoming the Colorado Student Media Association on July 1.

Junior High Yearbook
1st – The Prowl, Powell MS
3rd – Eagle Eye View, Sierra MS
5th – The Nighthawk, Rocky Heights MS
9th – The Crusader, Castle Rock MS

Junior High Newspaper
2nd – The Summit, Sierra MS

Broadcast Program
5th – Nighthawk News, Rocky Heights MS
9th – KRAM, Rampart HS

Literary Magazine
2nd – The Looking Glass, Rocky Mountain HS
4th – MUSE, Arapahoe HS
10th – Communique, Montrose HS

Newsmagazine
7th – Next, Smoky Hill HS

Newspaper Special Edition
9th – Eagle Eye, Mountain Vista HS

Newspaper Tabloid, 16 or fewer pages
3rd – Rocky Mountain Highlighter, Rocky Mountain HS
4th – Arapahoe Herald, Arapahoe HS

Yearbook 232 or fewer pages
7th – Westwind, Lewis-Palmer HS

Yearbook 233-288 pages
7th – Reflections, Brighton HS

Yearbook 289-336 pages
1st – Summit, Smoky Hill HS
3rd – The Black & Gold, Rock Canyon HS
9th – Epic, Legend HS

Yearbook 337 or more pages
4th – Calumet, Arapahoe HS

JEA Write-off Awards – announced April 19, 2015
988 total participants / 407 recognized
62 Superior / 137 Excellents / 208 Honorable Mentions

Colorado student earned 52 total awards in the National Write-offs, in writing, design, photography and video categories. Winners represented 16 schools. The Write-offs are a mix of on-the-spot reporting and writing, along with carry-in competitions. A maximum of 10 percent of entries in a particular contest may be named “Superior.” All entries receive at least brief comments from judges.

Colorado winners by contest
Honorable Mention Newswriting – Katie Billington, Rocky Mountain High School
Honorable Mention Newswriting – Lexi Weingardt, Mountain Vista High School
Superior Editorial Writing – Jett Goldsmith, Castle View High School
Excellent Feature Writing – Conner Davis, Mountain Vista High School
Honorable Mention Feature Writing – Arrionna Farricker, Rocky Mountain High School
Honorable Mention Feature Writing – Jolene Martinez, Castle View High School
Excellent Review Writing – Jason Burke, Legend High School
Honorable Mention Review Writing – Emily Greene, Arvada West High School
Excellent Editorial Cartooning – Rebecca Knaff, Rocky Mountain High School
Excellent Commentary Writing – Mishaela Bishop, Cherokee Trail High School
Honorable Mention Commentary Writing – Maddie Dorman, Arapahoe High School
Honorable Mention Commentary Writing – Tyler Kraft, Mountain Vista High School
Honorable Mention Commentary Writing – Andrew Patra, Monarch High School
Excellent Newsmagazine: Layout – Reagan Fitzke, Mountain Vista High School
Honorable Mention Press Law & Ethics – Cesco Viola, Mountain Vista High School
Excellent YB Copy/Caption: Sports – Carson Bonino, Brighton High School
Excellent YB Copy/Caption: Sports – Samantha Wexler, Monarch High School
Honorable Mention YB Copy/Caption: Sports – Whitney Larson, Arvada West High School
Honorable Mention YB Copy/Caption: Sports – Katie Pickrell, Mountain Vista High School
Honorable Mention YB Copy/Caption: Sports – Lauren White, Lewis-Palmer High School
Excellent YB Copy/Caption: Academics – Becca Garbrick, Legend High School
Honorable Mention YB Copy/Caption: Academics – Vaneza Robles, Brighton High School
Superior YB Copy/Caption: Clubs – Amy Huang, Mountain Vista High School
Excellent YB Copy/Caption: Clubs – Vanessa Campuzano, Legend High School
Excellent YB Copy/Caption: Student Life – Emily Smith, Legend High School
Excellent YB Layout: Theme – Kate Beasley, Arvada West High School
Honorable Mention YB Layout: Theme – Janelle Bovenkamp, Smoky Hill High School
Honorable Mention YB Layout: Theme – Cassie Padilla, Montrose High School
Excellent YB Layout: Inside Pages – Chloe Bender, Lewis-Palmer High School
Excellent YB Layout: Inside Pages – Cassi Guerra, Arapahoe High School
Honorable Mention YB Layout: Inside Pages – Heather Fredrick, Montrose High School
Superior Literary Magazine: Poetry – Kit Miller, Mountain Vista High School
Honorable Mention Literary Magazine: Poetry – Brandy Holm, Smoky Hill High School
Honorable Mention Literary Magazine: Illustration – Jessica Winn, Arapahoe High School
Superior Literary Magazine: Photography – Jordan Petteys, Arapahoe High School
Honorable Mention Graphic Design: Logo – Danni Go, Montrose High School
Excellent Graphic Design: Infographics – Lindsey Archipley, Arapahoe High School
Excellent Graphic Design: Photo Illustration – Abigail Guadnola, Arapahoe High School
Excellent Graphic Design: Photo Illustration – Josh Latour, Cherokee Trail High School
Superior Yearbook Sports Photography – Faith Fyles, Arapahoe High School
Excellent Yearbook Sports Photography – Matthew Jenkins, Smoky Hill High School
Honorable Mention Yearbook Sports Photography – Amalia Linton, Arvada West High School
Superior Photography Portfolio – Maddie Malhotra, Chaparral High School
Superior Photography Portfolio – Evan Malone, Rocky Mountain High School
Honorable Mention Photography Portfolio – Lexi Youngren, Montrose High School
Excellent Photo Portrait – Dagne Milasiute, Smoky Hill High School
Honorable Mention First-Year Photo – Grace Sanburg, Montrose High School
Superior On-Air Reporter – Karsten Rygh, Conifer High School
Excellent On-Air Reporter – Elena Ehrlin, Rampart High School
Excellent Videography – Max Zahringer, Regis Jesuit High School
Excellent Short Documentary – Tori Casaretto, Regis Jesuit High School
Excellent Short Documentary – Olivia Froehlich, Regis Jesuit High School
Honorable Mention Video Editing – James Wilson, Rampart High School