Although not a typical spectator sport, ten students competed at the IHSA Journalism Sectional Competition on April 23, hoping to qualify for State. Of those students, four students placed, and junior Ashley Rayan advanced to the State round on April 29.
Managing editor Ashley Rayan placed second in News Writing, which allowed her to compete at the IHSA Journalism State Competition at Eastern Illinois University.
“Placing was an amazing feeling, especially in our tough sectional site. It was really cool for me to be able to say that I placed. Even though I didn’t place at State, it was an awesome experience, and I hope to be able to do it all again next year,” Rayan said.
Many of the students that competed were editors and have been preparing by writing articles and designing pages every issue.
“To prepare for Sectionals, I edited several stories and looked at past entries. We all made sure we had our style books and dictionaries so we would be ready to perform the very best we could,” said news editor Grace Marino.
For many seniors, this would be the last Sectional they would compete in.
“It was interesting placing, especially in cartooning, because it is cool to be able to convert a message through artwork and have others like it,” said production editor Connor Sinclair.
Students are already starting to prepare for next year.
“I plan to keep practicing my editing skills throughout the summer and continue to learn ways to better my writing as a whole,” Marino said.