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The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story

The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story

The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story

Journalism awards history

Please send information about any missing awards to [email protected]

IOWA HIGH SCHOOL PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS:

ALL-IOWA NEWS TEAM (started in 2017)
All-Iowa News Team of the Year Winner: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017
All-Iowa News Team Finalist: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

ALL-IOWA YEARBOOK
All-Iowa Yearbook of the Year Winner: 2019, 2018, 2017
All-Iowa Yearbook of the Year Second Place: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2016, 2015

IOWA JOURNALISM ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD:
Dr. Gregg Shoultz 2016
Dr. Jerry Arganbright 2007

ROD VAHL IOWA JOURNALISM TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD:
Sara Schlesinger-Whittaker 2007

KENNETH STRATTON “FRIEND OF JOURNALISM” AWARD:
Edwin Barker 2019

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
2023 1st place: Will Cheng
2023 Honorable Mention: Sila Duran, Sachiko Goto
2022 1st place: Xiaoyi Zhu
2019 1st place: Crystal Kim
2018 1st place: Lydia Guo
2016 1st place: Simran Sarin
2015 1st place: Jaycie Weathers

HAWKEYE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
2023 3rd place: Isabella Tisdale
2023 Honorable Mention: Sachiko Goto
2022 1st place: Owen Aanestad
2021 2nd place: Owen Aanestad
2020 2nd place: Owen Aanestad
2018 1st place: Kara Wagenknecht

WRITER OF THE YEAR:
2020 2nd place: Marta Leira
2019 1st place: Anjali Huynh

VIDEOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
2023 1st place: Alaina Greenlee
2022 1st place: Alaina Greenlee
2018 1st place: Samalya Thenuwara

IHSPA SCHOLAR
2023 Laney Prelle
2022 Hanah Kitamoto and Caroline Mascardo
2020 Natalie Dunlap and Joe Goodman
2019 Sophie Stephens and Kara Wagenknecht
2018 Alyson Kuennen and Samalya Thenuwara
2017 Michael Moonjely and Taylor Shelfo
2016 Aaron Carter
2015 Jaycie Weathers

EMERGING JOURNALISTS
2024
2023 Marie Stier and Erinn Varga
2022 Zaira Ahmad, Will Cheng, Wesal Haroun and Zoe Smith
2021 Maya Chu, Alaina Greenlee, Caroline Mascardo
2020 Owen Aanestad, Alex Carlon and Brenda Gao
2019 Natalie Dunlap, Natalie Katz and Jessica Moonjely
2018 Anjali Huynh, Deniz Ince, Kara Wagenknecht and Jenna Wang
2017 Lauren Katz and Samalya Thenuwara
2016 Nina Elkadi, Catherine Ju and Simran Sarin
2015 Allie Biscupski, Michael Moonjely and Isabelle Robles
2014 Madie Miller

NEWS TEAM OF THE YEAR (replaced by All-Iowa News Team award in 2017):
2nd Place 2016
3rd Place 2015

WRITING SWEEPSTAKES (replaced by All-Iowa News Team award in 2017):
1st Place 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008
2nd Place 2014, 2013, 2007

GRAPHICS SWEEPSTAKES (replaced by All-Iowa News Team award in 2017):
1st Place 2013
2nd Place 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010
3rd Place 2009, 2007

WEBSITE SWEEPSTAKES (replaced by All-Iowa News Team award in 2017):
2nd Place Web Design 2015
1st Place Social Media 2014
2nd Place Social Media 2013
2nd Place Web Design 2011

PHOTOGRAPHY SWEEPSTAKES (replaced by All-Iowa News Team award in 2017):
2nd Place 2014
Honorable Mention 2011

INDIVIDUAL ON THE SPOT CONTESTS (discontinued in 2018):
2017 1st Place Photography Anjali Huynh
2017 3rd Place Photography Teya Kerns
2017 2nd Place News Writing Prateek Raikwar
2016 1st Place Photography Sarah Longmire
2016 3rd Place Photography Nick Pryor
2016 Honorable Mention News Writing Prateek Raikwar
2015 2nd place News Writing Shawn Thacker
2015 3rd place News Writing Prateek Raikwar
2014 1st Place News Writing Isabelle Robles
2014 2nd Place News Writing Lushia Anson
2014 2nd Place Photography Eugenia Chen
2013 1st Place News Writing Amelia Moser
2013 2nd Place Opinion Writing Fiona Armstrong-Pavlik
2013 2nd Place News Writing Lauren Knudson
2013 Honorable Mention Sports Writing Brittani Langland
2006 1st Place Opinion Writing Gordon Bourjaily

INDIVIDUAL MULTIMEDIA, WRITING, PHOTO AND DESIGN NEWSPAPER CONTESTS:
2023 1st place Video Story: West High Halloween fundraiser haunted with success by Alaina Greenlee
2023 1st place Video News Show: West High Weekly 3.24.23 by Alaina Greenlee , Camille Gretter, Isabella Tisdale
2023 1st place Infographic: Did you know? By Will Cheng
2023 1st place Interactive graphic: Lunar New Year Thinglink by Athena Wu, Kevy Huynh and Esther park
2023 1st place Illustration or Art: Lunar New Year by Athena Wu
2023 1st place Multimedia Sports Story: Recruiting Trail with Meena Tate by Alaina Greenlee and Krisha Kapoor
2023 1st place Design: Destination West by Will Cheng
2023 1st place Web Design: wsspaper.com by Camille Gretter
2023 1st place News Story: Resistance results from controversial law across Iowa City by Ella De Young, Maya Chu, Audrey Parrish
2023 1st place Sports Feature Photo: Boys swimming by Gianna Liu
2023 1st place Personality Profile: From service to service dog by Yaya Orszula
2023 1st place Health/Science: Next meal by Ella De Young and Marie Stier
2023 1st place Entertainment: Missed connections 2023 by Erinn Varga
2023 1st place Photo Story: Iowa City Farmers Market celebrates 50th anniversary by Krisha Kapoor
2023 1st place Multimedia Feature Story: Destination West by Rosemary Timmer-Hackert, Reem Kirja, Gianna Liu
2023 1st place Podcasting: No cap recap: winter sports in hindsight by Paige Albright and Zoe Smith
2023 1st place Multimedia News Story: New school year prompts policy changes by Alaina Greenly
2023 1st place Social Media Reporting: West Side Story social media accounts by WSS Staff
2023 2nd place Video Story: Bringing the beat, making a community complete by Alaina Greenlee
2023 2nd place Video News Show: West High Weekly 11.4.22 by Alaina Greenlee , Camille Gretter, Zoe Smith
2023 2nd place Infographic: A sticky debate by Sachiko Goto
2023 2nd place Interactive Graphic: Destination West: Meet the Sources by Destination West: Meet the Sources
2023 2nd place Illustration or Art: Mad Libs by Will Cheng
2023 2nd place Ads: Elemental Studio ad by Athena Wu
2023 2nd place In-depth Sports Story: The route to recovery by Zoe Smith
2023 2nd place Staff Editorial: Editorial: Transparency is key by Ella De Young, Krisha Kapoor, Kamakshee Kuchhal
2023 2nd place News Photo: Students rally for trans rights by Sachiko Goto
2023 2nd place In-depth News Story: Destination West by Reem Kirja, Gianna Liu, Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2023 2nd place Feature Story: (No) strings attached by Ella De Young, Katherine Shoppa, Marie Stier
2023 2nd place Health/Science: Teaching through turmoil by Camille Gretter
2023 2nd place Sports Action Photo: Fan butterfly by Gianna Liu
2023 2nd place Environmental Portrait: A lifetime of discovery: Brad Wymer by Gianna Liu
2023 2nd place Multimedia Feature Story: A lifetime of discovery: Brad Wymer by Laney Prelle, Alaina Greenlee, Ella De Young
2023 2nd place Podcasting: Life after a Trojan: from West to master of the digital canvas by Paige Albright
2023 2nd place Multimedia News Story: New school year prompts policy changes by Alaina Greenlee
2023 2nd place Social Justice Reporting: Aftershock by Zaira Ahmad, Ella De Young, Gianna Liu
2023 3rd place Video News Show: West High Weekly 2.17.23 by Alaina Greenlee , Camille Gretter, Isabella Tisdale
2023 3rd place Interactive Graphic: Choosing schooling by Heidi Du and Sila Duran
2023 3rd place News Magazine – One Page Design: The grading dilemma by Sila Duran
2023 3rd place Social Media Promotion: West Side Story social media accounts by WSS staff
2023 3rd place Staff Editorial: Editorial: Mental health matters by Katherine Shoppa
2023 3rd place Feature Photo: Homecoming parade by Sachiko Goto
2023 3rd place Sports Feature Photo: Boys swimming reaction by Marie Stier
2023 3rd place Reviews: Harry Styles’ newest ‘Harry’s House’ review by Tessa Gibson
2023 3rd place Personality Profile: Write this down by Zaira Ahmad, Kamakshee Kuchhal
2023 3rd place Multimedia Feature Story: Let’s ace sexuality: Asexual Awareness Week by Nicole Lee, Isabelle Tisdale, Alaina Greenlee
2023 3rd place Multimedia News Story: West High Halloween fundraiser haunted with success by Alaina Greenlee
2023 3rd place Hawkeye Photographer of the Year: Isabella Tisdale
2023 Honorable Mention Video Story: Recruiting Trail with Meena Tate by Alaina Greenlee and Krisha Kapoor
2023 Honorable Mention Video News Show: West High Weekly 12.23.22 by Alaina Greenlee, Camille Gretter, Yaya Orszula
2023 Honorable Mention Interactive Graphic: Wymer around the world’ StoryMap by Laney Prelle
2023 Honorable Mention Illustration or Art: Home by Sila Duran, Erinn Varga, Athena Wu
2023 Honorable Mention News Magazine – One Page Design: Mad Libs by Will Cheng
2023 Honorable Mention Ads: Handicare ad by Gianna Liu
2023 Honorable Mention In-depth Sports Story: Money moves by Ella De Young, Lily Prochaska
2023 Honorable Mention Multimedia Sports Story: Girls and boys basketball both lose in tough battles to Linn Mar by Ceci De Young, Ella De Young, Lilly Graham
2023 Honorable Mention Staff Editorial: Editorial: The grading dilemma by Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2023 Honorable Mention Staff Editorial: Editorial: Is it excusable? by Jack Furlong, Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2023 Honorable Mention News Magazine – Multiple Page Design: Is it excusable? by Sachiko Goto
2023 Honorable Mention News Story: Fake rank by Lilly Graham
2023 Honorable Mention Editorial Cartoon/Comic: Jay’s Jots: No Tardy December Continues by Jay Mascardo
2023 Honorable Mention Editorial Cartoon/Comic: Jay’s Jots: No Tardy December by Jay Mascardo
2023 Honorable Mention Feature Photo: Student Produced Innovative Theater by Sachiko Goto
2023 Honorable Mention Feature Photo: Community Inclusion Club Talent Show by Sachiko Goto
2023 Honorable Mention Sports Feature Photo: Girls basketball by Isabella Tisdale
2023 Honorable Mention Hawkeye Photographer of the Year: Sachiko Goto
2023 Honorable Mention Entertainment: Guide to thrift shopping in Iowa City by Eleanor Weitz
2023 Honorable Mention Photo Story: Protest breaks out after SCOTUS ruling overturns Roe v. Wade by Sachiko Goto and Zoe Smith
2023 Honorable Mention Social Justice Reporting: Resistance results from controversial law across Iowa City by Maya Chu, Ella De Young, Audrey Parrish
2023 Honorable Mention Social Justice Reporting: Home by Ella De Young
2023 Honorable Mention Designer of the Year: Sila Duran
2023 Honorable Mention Designer of the Year: Sachiko Goto
2022 1st place Infographic: “What’s the deal with Delta?” by Sachiko Goto
2022 1st place Multimedia Feature Story: “Call for control” by Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab and Helen Zhang
2022 1st place Multimedia News Story: “Coloring the community” by Owen Aanestad and Maddy Smith
2022 1st place In-depth Sports Story: “Equal footing” by Heidi Du, Krisha Kapoor and Lily Prochaska
2022 1st place Staff Editorial: “Secluded” by Caroline Mascardo
2022 1st place Multimedia Sports Story: “Fueling the fight” by Owen Aanestad
2022 1st place Personality Profile: “Taking flight” by Zaira Ahmad
2022 1st place Social Justice Reporting: “Gender” by Zaira Ahmad, Ella De Young and Caroline Mascardo
2022 1st place In-depth News Story: “We are the BSU” by Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab and Katherine Shoppa
2022 1st place Video News Show: “West High Weekly 9.10.21” by Alaina Greenlee, Camille Gretter and Mohana Sunkara
2022 1st place Interactive Graphic: “Gender Infograms” by Zaira Ahmad
2022 1st place Social Media Reporting: “WSS social media accounts” by WSS staff
2022 1st place Podcasting: “Nicole’s Headspace: ‘Snowdrop controversy” by Nicole Lee
2022 1st place Environmental Portrait: “We are the BSU” by Sachiko Goto
2022 1st place Feature Story: “Epidemic” by Maya Chu, Ella De Young and Krisha Kapoor
2022 1st place School News Story: “The division decision” by Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab, Misha Canin and Hanah Kitamoto
2022 1st place Designer of the Year: Xiaoyi Zhu
2022 1st place Hawkeye Photographer of the Year: Owen Aanestad
2022 1st place Videographer of the Year: Alaina Greenlee
2022 2nd place Illustration or Art: “Find WSS” by Caroline Mascardo
2022 2nd place Infographic: “Student Statistics” by Sachiko Goto
2022 2nd place Ads: “Exclusively on wsspaper.com” by Misha Canin
2022 2nd place Multimedia News Story: “Winter volunteering creates community” by Alaina Greenlee
2022 2nd place In-depth Sports Story: “Breaking barriers” by Miguel Cohen Suarez and Krisha Kapoor
2022 2nd place Multimedia Sports Story: “What it feels like: tearing your ACL” by Audrey Parrish and Laney Prelle
2022 2nd place Social Media Promotion: “WSS social media accounts” by WSS staff
2022 2nd place Newsmagazine Multiple Page Design: “We are the BSU” by Sachiko Goto
2022 2nd place Social Justice Reporting: “We are the BSU” by Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab and Katherine Shoppa
2022 2nd place Video News Show: “West High Weekly 2.25.22” by Owen Aanestad, Alaina Greenlee and Camille Gretter
2022 2nd place Interactive Graphic: “A deeper look into Afghanistan’s ongoing conflict” by Paige Albright
2022 2nd place Photo Story: “Sudan’s fight for democracy” by Owen Aanestad
2022 3rd place Illustration or Art: “New Year, New West” by Zoey Guo
2022 3rd place Infographic: “Drugs longterm effects on the brain” by Xiaoyi Zhu
2022 3rd place Video Story: “Winter volunteering creates community” by Alaina Greenlee
2022 3rd place Multimedia Feature Story: “I’m glad you stayed” by Isabella Tisdale
2022 3rd place Multimedia News Story: “Sudan’s fight for democracy” by Owen Aanestad, Paige Albright and Mishka Mohamed Nour
2022 3rd place Health/Science: “Post-vax facts” by Katherine Shoppa
2022 3rd place Newsmagazine One Page Design: “Gender” by Kailey Gee
2022 3rd place Staff Editorial: “We’ll Pass” by Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2022 3rd place Multimedia Sports Story: “Girls basketball 2021-2022” by Maddy Smith and Zoe Smith
2022 3rd place Web Design: “Wsspaper.com” by WSS Staff
2022 3rd place Personality Profile: “Aspire to inspire” by Miska Mohamed Nour
2022 3rd place In-depth News Story: “Gender” by Zaira Ahmad, Ella De Young and Caroline Mascardo
2022 3rd place Video News Show: “West High Weekly 11.19.21” by Alaina Greenlee, Camille Gretter and Mohana Sunkara
2022 3rd place News Photo: “A young girl” by Owen Aanestad
2022 3rd place Interactive Graphic: “Don’t overlook Omicron” by Vivian Polgreen
2022 3rd place Sports Action Photo: “Boys and girls tennis dominates City” by Owen Aanestad
2022 3rd place Environmental Portrait: “Emma Ingersoll-Weng” by Owen Aanestad
2022 3rd place Photo Story: “Trojan Bolts place third at state meet” by Owen Aanestad
2022 3rd place Reviews: “‘Nine Days’ is one of the greatest debut films of all time” by Jack Harris
2022 3rd place Feature Story: “Language logistics” by Maya Chu, Kamakshee Kuchhal and Athena Wu
2022 3rd place School News Story: “Budding ombuds” by Lilly Graham and Soomin Koh
2022 Honorable Mention Illustration or Art: “The Radish” by Sachiko Goto
2022 Honorable Mention Illustration or Art: “Hallmark holidays” by Sila Duran
2022 Honorable Mention Infographic: “Shhh…” by Sila Duran
2022 Honorable Mention Video Story: “West introduces new hallway pass” by Owen Aanestad and Camille Gretter
2022 Honorable Mention Multimedia Feature Story: “Above and beyond” by Mishka Mohamed Nour
2022 Honorable Mention Multimedia Feature Story: “The sky’s the limit” by Alaina Greenlee and Isabella Tisdale
2022 Honorable Mention Multimedia News Story: “Students protest for BLM” by Sachiko Goto and Audrey Parrish
2022 Honorable Mention Sports Story: Game or Season Recap: “Trojan Bolts place third at state meet” by Hanah Kitamoto
2022 Honorable Mention 2022 Honorable Mention Health/Science: “Don’t overlook Omicron” by Vivian Polgreen
2022 Honorable Mention Health/Science: “Battling burnout” by Lilly Graham and Jane Lam
2022 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine One Page Design: “Trigger warning” by Xiaoyi Zhu
2022 Honorable Mention Staff Editorial: “Trigger warning” by Helen Zhang
2022 Honorable Mention Staff Editorial: “Restructuring” by Maya Chu
2022 Honorable Mention Feature Photo: “Student Produced Innovative Theater” by Caroline Barker
2022 Honorable Mention Feature Photo: “Coloring the community” by Owen Aanestad
2022 Honorable Mention Sports Feature Photo: “Trojan Bolts place third at state meet” by Owen Aanestad
2022 Honorable Mention Multimedia Sports Story: “Top 10 sports moments of 2021” by Owen Aanestad
2022 Honorable Mention Multimedia Sports Story: “Trojans of all trades” by Zoe Smith
2022 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine Multiple Page Design: “Shhh…” by Sila Duran
2022 Honorable Mention Personality Profile: “Across the ocean” by Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab and Ella De Young
2022 Honorable Mention Personality Profile: “Journey to West” by Zaira Ahmad and Katherine Shoppa
2022 Honorable Mention Social Justice Reporting: “The price to play” by Maya Chu, Heidi Du and Soomin Koh
2022 Honorable Mention In-depth News Story: “Call for control” by Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab and Helen Zhang
2022 Honorable Mention Video News Show: “Weekly news wrap-up: Jan. 14” by Audrey Parrish, Vivian Polgreen and Helelia Wa Kalala
2022 Honorable Mention News Photo: “Sudan’s fight for democracy” by Owen Aanestad
2022 Honorable Mention Podcasting: “No cap recap: spring sports are back” by Owen Aanestad and Camille Gretter
2022 Honorable Mention Reviews: “Rainbow reading recs” by Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2022 Honorable Mention Entertainment: “New year, new West” by Alaina Greenlee, Ginger McCartney and Sam Rosenthal
2021 1st place Social Media Accounts: WSS staff
2021 1st place Web Design: WSS staff
2021 1st place Ads: Baroncini Restaurant and Pizzeria by Sara Baroncini
2021 1st place Covid-19 Coverage: “Trapped” by Misha Canin and Hanah Kitamoto
2021 1st place Editorial Cartoon/Comic Strip: “Caroline’s Comics: Watching American democracy burn” by Caroline Mascardo
2021 1st place Entertainment: “3 fun fall recipes” by Caroline Barker, Misha Canin and Sila Duran
2021 1st place Feature Photo: “Photo feature: November 2020” by Zohrae McLaskey
2021 1st place Feature Story: “Detached” by Heidi Du, Hanah Kitamoto and Soom
in Koh
2021 1st place In-depth News Story: “Unzipping Gen Z” by Maya Chu, Heidi Du and Krisha Kapoor
2021 1st place In-depth Sports Story: “The e-sports report” by Caroline Chandler and Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2021 1st place Multimedia Feature Story: “Indigineous in ICCSD” by Kailey Gee, Hanah Kitamoto and Rosemary Timmer-Hackert
2021 1st place Multimedia News Story: “A nation divided: Students reflect on the Capitol attack” by Paige Albright, Bess Frerichs and Tosh Klever
2021 1st place Multimedia Sports Story: “Broken Season” by Alaina Greenlee, Hanah Kitamoto and Tosh Klever
2021 1st place News Magazine – Multiple Page Design: “Indigineous in ICCSD 4PS” by Ella Rosenthal
2021 1st place News Photo: “Mayor Bruce Teague” by Maddy Smith
2021 1st place News Story: “PALs spreads holiday cheer amidst pandemic” by Cassie Michaels, Renee Gould and Jack Harris
2021 1st place Photo Slideshow: “Girls basketball punches ticket to state tournament” by Owen Aanestad
2021 1st place Photo Story: “Boys basketball falls in rematch against Xavier” by Owen Aanestad and Hanah Kitamoto
2021 1st place Reviews: “‘Hubie Halloween’ is dimwitted Adam Sandler fun” by Sam Westergaard
2021 1st place School News Story: “Elevating untold stories” by Helen Zhang
2021 1st place Social Justice Reporting: “Beyond the Binary” by Hanah Kitamoto and Caroline Mascardo
2021 1st place Sports Photo: “Trojan basketball teams split with City in season opening double header” by Owen Aanestad
2021 1st place Sports Story: “Post-performance” by Camille Gretter and Alaina Greenlee
2021 1st place Sports Story: Game or Season Recap: “Boys swimming places third at state” by Hanah Kitamoto
2021 1st place Staff Editorial: “Counting the cases” by Caroline Mascardo
2021 1st place Video News Show: “West High Weekly 12.4.20” by Tosh Klever, Alyssa Skala and Isaac Young
2021 2nd place Covid-19 Coverage: “Zoomed out” by Alice Meng
2021 2nd place In-depth News Story: “Viral” by Kailey Gee and Marta Leira
2021 2nd place Infographic: “Gen Z at West High” by Sachiko Goto
2021 2nd place Multimedia Feature Story: “Surviving cancer: five years later” by Bess Frerichs
2021 2nd place Multimedia News Story: “In-person versus online schooling: Student-athletes weigh in” by Alex Carlon, Annie Schwartz and Abby McKeone
2021 2nd place Multimedia Sports Story: “Life in the fast lane” by Owen Aanestad, Hanah Kitamoto and Tosh Klever
2021 2nd place Photo Slideshow: “Trojan football team shuts out Liberty in season opener” by Owen Aanestad
2021 2nd place Podcasting: “No cap recap: winter sports preview with Christian Barnes” by Owen Aanestad and Camille Gretter
2021 2nd place School News Story: “Iowans weigh in on bill limiting gender identity in curriculum” by Kailey Gee and CarolineMascardo
2021 2nd place Sports Photo: “West keeps the boot for the fourth consecutive year” by Owen Aanestad
2021 2nd place Video News Story: “West High Weekly 10.9.20” by Tosh Klever and Alyssa Skala
2021 3rd place Ads: “Friends of Journalism” by Abby McKeone
2021 3rd place Editorial Cartoon/Comic Strip: “Caroline‚Äôs Comics: Watching American democracy burn” by Caroline Mascardo
2021 3rd place Entertainment: “7 socially distanced activities” by Sila Duran, Zoey Guo and Helen Zhang
2021 3rd place Illustration or Art: “All for one” by Kailey Gee
2021 3rd place In-depth News Story: “Trapped” by Misha Canin and Hanah Kitamoto
2021 3rd place Multimedia Feature Story: “#SaveTheArctic: The social media storm” by Alaina Greenlee and Emma Hall
2021 3rd place Multimedia Sports Story: “Top 10 sports moments of 2019-2020” by Owen Aanestad
2021 3rd place Personality Profile: “Bonding through swords” by Soomin Koh
2021 3rd place Photo Slideshow: “Girls wrestling competes at third annual state tournament” by Alyssa Skala
2021 3rd place Podcasting: “Life After a Trojan: from Iowa City to soaring to new possibilities” by Paige Albright
2021 3rd place Social Justice Reporting: “Standing in solidarity: protester profiles” by Fareeha Ahmad, Misha Canin and Kailey Gee
2021 3rd place Sports Photo: “Girls basketball punches ticket to state tournament” by Owen Aanestad
2021 3rd place Sports Story: “The rise of livestreams” by Owen Aanestad
2021 3rd place Sports Story: Game or Season Recap: “West keeps the boot for the fourth consecutive year” by Owen Aanestad
2021 3rd place Video Story: “Recruiting Trail with Aurora Roghair” by Tosh Klever
2021 honorable mention Ads: “Volunteer Opportunity” by Caroline Barker
2021 honorable mention Covid-19 Coverage: “COVID in our community” by Fareeha Ahmad, Maddy Smith and Helen Zhang
2021 honorable mention Covid-19 Coverage: “On call: students, siblings and learning online” by Kailey Gee
2021 honorable mention Entertainment: “Iowa City dogs speak up” by Tosh Klever and Isaac Young
2021 honorable mention Feature Photo: “Vibe Tribe” by Caroline Barker
2021 honorable mention Feature Photo: “Photo feature: November” by Gwen Watson
2021 honorable mention Feature Story: “Class of COVID” by Maya Chu and Helen Zhang
2021 honorable mention In-depth News Story: “Power to the people: 2020 election preview” by Alex Carlon, Abby McKeone and Maddy Smith
2021 honorable mention Multimedia Feature Story: “The ADHD impact” by Bess Frerichs and Gwen Watson
2021 honorable mention Multimedia News Story: “Disastrous derecho: Iowa’s unexpected storm” by Maya Chu and Krisha Kapoor
2021 honorable mention Multimedia News Story: “District discrimination” by Bess Frerichs, Maggie Huang and Abby McKeone
2021 honorable mention Multimedia Sports Story: “The route to success” by Owen Aanestad
2021 honorable mention Multimedia Sports Story: “Stay-at-home athletes” by Owen Aanestad
2021 honorable mention News Magazine – Multiple Page Design: “Winter what-to-do’s” by Zoey Guo
2021 honorable mention News Photo: “Don’t shoot” by Maddy Smith
2021 honorable mention Photo Slideshow: “Girls basketball defense falters against Southeast Polk” by Alyssa Skala
2021 honorable mention Photo Story: “Iowa City South District residents unite to paint community mural” by Paras Bassuk and Marta Leira
2021 honorable mention Podcasting: “Bag and Baggage: The model minority myth” by Zaira Ahmad and Athena Wu
2021 honorable mention Video News Show: “West High Weekly 3.13.20” by Paras Bassuk, Aditi Borde and Jillian Prescott
2020 1st place Web design for wsspaper.com, WSS staff
2020 1st place Feature photo: “Cows and broccoli trees” by Aditi Borde
2020 1st place Feature story: “Fighting for change: examining the combative culture at West High” by Alex Carlon and Joe Goodman
2020 1st place Multimedia feature story: “Emmie Boylan: living with spina bifida” by Bess Frerichs
2020 1st place Multimedia news story: “Iowa caucus preview: how students can get involved this February” by Natalie Dunlap, Abby McKeone, Ken Wilbur
2020 1st place Multimedia sports story: “Beneath the jersey: the 20-year history of sports uniforms at West” by Joe Goodman and Natalie Katz
2020 1st place Photo slideshow: “Football team loses to Rams 23-21” by Owen Aanestad
2020 1st place Review: “‘Jojo Rabbit’ is a powerhouse of comedy and emotion” by Edward Keen
2020 1st place Editorial: “Social media spies” by Jenna Wang
2020 1st place Video news show: “West High Weekly 1.31.20” by Tosh Klever and Jillian Prescott
2020 1st place Video story: “Recruiting Trail with Lily Ernst” by Joe Goodman and Tosh Klever
2020 2nd place West Side Story social media accounts, WSS staff
2020 2nd place Column: “Twenty-first century plague” by Ken Wilbur
2020 2nd place Editorial cartoon/comic strip: “I thought it was break” by Cameron Reimers
2020 2nd place Infographic: “Scholastic statistics” by Youjoo Lee
2020 2nd place Multimedia news story: “Human Rights Campaign announces Municipal Equality Index in Iowa City” by Bess Frerichs and Gwen Watson
2020 2nd place Multimedia sports story: “Mind over matter” by Joe Goodman
2020 2nd place Newsmagazine one-page design: “Unsustainable cover” by Paras Bassuk and Brenda Gao
2020 2nd place News photo: “Elizabeth Warren at West” by Paras Bassuk
2020 2nd place Personality profile: “Postoperative” by Natalie Dunlap
2020 2nd place Photo slideshow: “Greta Thunberg speaks at Iowa City climate strike” by Aditi Borde
2020 2nd place Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Breaking borders with Mami Selemani ’20” by Ken Wilbur
2020 2nd place Reviews: “‘The Lighthouse’ is without question the best film of the year” by Jack Harris
2020 2nd place Sports story: “Mind over matter” by Joe Goodman
2020 2nd place Video news show: “West High Weekly 9.20.19” by Tosh Klever and Jillian Prescott
2020 2nd place Video story: “West journalists take on boxing” by Tosh Klever
2020 3rd place Editorial cartoon/comic strip: “I’ll love you forever” by Emma Hall
2020 3rd place Feature photo: “Photo feature Best Buddies & PALs” by Paras Bassuk
2020 3rd place Multimedia feature story: “Coming Out Day: ‘It’s too much work to not be who you are.’” by Natalie Dunlap
2020 3rd place Multimedia news story: “Iowa caucus recap: student perspectives and result analysis” by Alexis Dick, Natalie Dunlap and Ken Wilbur
2020 3rd place Multimedia sports story: “2019 Drake Relays qualifiers” by Joe Goodman
2020 3rd place Newsmagazine multi-page design: “High stakes” by Amy Liao
2020 3rd place Newsmagazine one-page design: “High stakes cover” by Amy Liao
2020 3rd place News photo: “Greta in Iowa City” by Paras Bassuk
2020 3rd place News story: “West High Supply preps for grand re-opening” by Natalie Dunlap
2020 3rd place Photo slideshow: “West football beaten down by bruising Bulldogs 42-15” by Owen Aanestad
2020 3rd place Photo story: “Elizabeth Warren at West days before Iowa caucus” by Paras Bassuk
2020 3rd place Review: “‘Joker’ review and why we need controversies” by Jack Harris
2020 3rd place Video news show: “West High Weekly 2.28.20” by Tosh Klever and Jillian Prescott
2020 3rd place Video story: “Recruiting Trail with Tate Crane” by Joe Goodman and Tosh Klever
2020 Honorable Mention Column: “Sincerely, Sumner: the PowerSchool problem” by Sumner Wallace
2020 Honorable Mention Editorial cartoon/comic strip: “Summer, get ready for…” by Brenda Gao and Selina Hua
2020 Honorable Mention Feature photo: “Sampradaya Bharatanatyam Troupe of Iowa City” by Caroline Barker
2020 Honorable Mention Feature story: “Fighting for faith” by Misha Canin and Annabel Hendrickson
2020 Honorable Mention In-depth news story: “Securing safety?” by Marta Leira and Isaac Young
2020 Honorable Mention Multimedia news story: “Greta Thunberg speaks at Iowa City climate strike” by Aditi Borde, Alex Carlon and Marta Leira
2020 Honorable Mention Multimedia sports story: “Meet the boys golf captains” by Joe Goodman
2020 Honorable Mention Multimedia sports story: “Boxed out: the exploitation of college athletes” by Joe Goodman
2020 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine one-page design: “Fighting for faith cover” by Amy Liao
2020 Honorable Mention News photo: “Save me” by Paras Bassuk
2020 Honorable Mention Personality profile: “Playing at heart strings” by Jenna Wang
2020 Honorable Mention Reviews: “Top 10 best and worst of West uniforms” by Joe Goodman
2020 Honorable Mention Sports photo: “Marcus Morgan” by Owen Aanestad
2020 Honorable Mention Sports story: “Wrestling with stereotypes” by Hanah Kitamoto
2020 Honorable Mention Staff editorial: “Colorful?” by Jenna Wang
2020 Honorable Mention Video news show: “West High Weekly 12.20.19” by Tosh Klever and Jillian Prescott
2020 Honorable Mention Video news show: “West High Weekly 11.1.19” by Tosh Klever and Jillian Prescott
2020 Honorable Mention Video story: “Sydís Sweets: angel food cake” by Ella Rosenthal and Sydney Wildes
2020 Honorable Mention Ads: “Red Ginger” by Brenda Gao
2020 Honorable Mention Entertainment: “How VSCO are you?” by Youjoo Lee and Sumner Wallace
2019 1st place Feature story: “Keeping her father alive: how a suburban dad and Charles Barkley impacted a nation” by Anjali Huynh ’19
2019 1st place Illustration or Art: “A toxic tradition” by Crystal Kim ’19
2019 1st place In-depth news: “In the minority” by Anjali Huynh ’19 and Jessica Moonjely ’20
2019 1st place Infographic: “A movement beginning with a letter” by Lydia Guo ’19
2019 1st place Multimedia feature story: “Novel conversations” by Kristina Rosebrook ’19, Maddi Shinall ’19 and Sophie Stephens ’19
2019 1st place Multimedia news story: “Keeping her father alive: how a suburban dad and Charles Barkley impacted a nation” by Anjali Huynh ’19
2019 1st place Multimedia sports story: “Why not women too?” by Will Conrad ’19 and Deniz Ince ’19
2019 1st place News story: “Cut” by Natalie Katz ’20
2019 1st place Personality profile: “An unexpected addition” by Jessica Moonjely ’20
2019 1st place Photo slideshow: “West keeps the boot” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 1st place Podcast: “West Side Radio: The Me Too movement’s impact on the U.S. Humanities curriculum” by Jessica Doyle ’19 and Harry Westergaard ’19
2019 1st place Sports photo: “Even Brauns” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 1st place Video news show: “Dec. 7 West High Weekly” by Holden Logan ’21, Ian Prescott ’19 and Kristina Rosebrook ’19
2019 1st place Web design for wsspaper.com: WSS staff
2019 2nd place Designer of the Year: Lydia Guo ’19
2019 2nd place Hawkeye Photographer of the Year: Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 2nd place Feature photo: “Fashion Friday: Rawan Guzouli” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 2nd place Illustration or Art: “Into the Spider-Verse” by Rain Richards ’19
2019 2nd place Infographic: “Fall recap” by Crystal Kim ’19
2019 2nd place Multimedia feature story: “Resilience” by Natalie Dunlap ’20, Maddi Shinall ’19 and Sidney Kiersch ’19
2019 2nd place Multimedia news story: “March for our lives” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 2nd place Multimedia sports story: “West basketball teams battle City” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 2nd place Reviews: “Book review: “Skyward” blasts off with joyous and potent sci-fi fare” by Edward Keen ’20
2019 2nd place Social media coverage: WSS staff
2019 2nd place sports story: “Why not women too?” by Will Conrad ’19 and Deniz Ince ’19
2019 2nd place Staff editorial: “Safety first” by Thomas Duong ’19
2019 2nd place Video news show: “WHW 1.18.19” by Ian Prescott ’19 and Kristina Rosebrook ’19
2019 2nd place Video story: “Behind the scenes of Miracle on 34th Street” by Kristina Rosebrook ’19
2019 3rd place In-depth news: “A spectrum of perspectives” by Will Conrad ’19  and Anjali Huynh ’19
2019 3rd place Infographic: “Women in politics” by Sidney Kiersch ’19
2019 3rd place Multimedia feature story: “From a passion to a profession” by Aditi Borde ’21 and Alex Carlon ’21
2019 3rd place Multimedia news story: “Starting the new year with nothing” by Bess Frerichs ’21 and Gwen Watson ’21
2019 3rd place Multimedia sports story: “The club advantage” by Deniz Ince ’19
2019 3rd place Newsmagazine – one page design: “Summer popsicles” by Lydia Guo ’19
2019 3rd place News photo: “March for our lives cover” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 3rd place Personality profile: “High school celebrity” by Jenna Wang ’20
2019 3rd place Photo slideshow: “Boys basketball moves onto state tournament” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 3rd place Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Discussing Elon’s mid-life crisis and Trump’s inescapable self-sabotage” by Rain Richards ’19 and Ken Wilbur ’20
2019 Honorable Mention Ad design: “Aspen Leaf” by Frances Dai ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Feature photo: “Erin Netolicky” by Maddi Shinall ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Feature story: “A cultural community” by Anna Brown ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Multimedia news story: “Meet candidates for senior class president and vice president” by Fatima Kammona ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Multimedia sports story: “Trojan nation goes golden” by Grace Christopher ’19 and Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine – multiple page design: “Why not women, too?” by Lydia Guo ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine – one page design: “Why not women, too? cover” by Lydia Guo ’19
2019 Honorable Mention News photo: “Walk it out” by Kara Wagenknecht ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Choose your own adventure podcast” by Noah Krchak ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Fall Sports Recap” by Will Conrad ’19 and Ken Wilbur ’20
2019 Honorable Mention Review: “‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ is another win for Barry Jenkins” by Harry Westergaard ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Video news show: “WHW 3.1.19” by Grace Christopher ’19, Ian Prescott ’19, Rain Richards ’19 and Jillian Prescott ’21
2019 Honorable Mention Video story: “Katya Moeller: Young Violinist” by Ian Prescott ’19
2019 Honorable Mention Writer of the Year: Natalie Dunlap ’20
2018 1st place In-Depth News: “Alone” by Anna Brown ‘19 and Anjali Huynh ‘19
2018 1st place News Story: “94” by Fatima Kammona ‘19
2018 1st place Editorial Cartoon/Comic Strip: “American irony” by Vivien Ho ‘21
2018 1st place Multimedia Feature Story: “An artist’s journey” by Samalya Thenuwara ‘18
2018 1st place Sports Story: “Concussed” by Ellie Gretter ‘18 and Deniz Ince ‘19
2018 1st place Multimedia News story: “First ever Girl Up fundraiser raises over $3,650” by Alyson Kuennen ‘18 and Samalya Thenuwara ‘18
2018 1st place Illustration or Art: “Missed connections” by Frances Dai ‘19
2018 1st place Multimedia Sports Story: “Road to state: a multimedia experience” by Grace Christopher ‘19, Ellie Gretter ‘18 and Kara Wagenknecht ‘19
2018 1st place Photo Story: “The Green Room opens its doors” by Alyson Kuennen ‘18
2018 1st place Podcasting: “The Kpop Corner” by Eman Elsheikh ‘18 and Hae-joo Yoon ‘18
2018 1st place Column: “The lost art” by Junhee Lee ‘18
2018 2nd place In-Depth News: “50 years at West” by Junhee Lee ‘18 and Jenna Wang ‘20
2018 2nd place Personality Profile: “A brotherly bond” by Jessica Moonjely ‘20
2018 2nd place Video Story: “A discussion: Gun ownership in Iowa” by Ethan Goers ‘18 and Nick Pryor ‘18
2018 2nd place News Photo: “Diversity dinner” by Teya Kerns ‘20
2018 2nd place Infographic: “Lunar New Year” by Lydia Guo ‘19
2018 2nd place Feature Story: “On the line” by Prateek Raikwar ‘18 and Shawn Thacker ‘18
2018 2nd place Newsmagazine Multiple Page Design: “The countdown begins” by Crystal Kim ‘19
2018 2nd place Feature Photo: “Uprooted: Mercy and Linda” by Alyson Kuennen ‘18
2018 2nd place Multimedia Sports Story: “West brings home the boot” by Eman Elsheikh ‘18, George Liu ‘19, Fenna Semken ‘18
2018 2nd place Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Spilling the tea” by Jessica Doyle ‘19 and Natalie Dunlap ‘20
2018 2nd place Social Media accounts: West Side Story staff
Photo Story: “Woody Harrelson presents groundbreaking film to Iowa City” by Alyson Kuennen ‘18
2018 2nd place Web Design for wsspaper.com: West Side Story staff
2018 3rd place Multimedia News Story: “24 units to change 24 lives” by Natalie Dunlap ‘20 and Mary Vander Weg ‘19
2018 3rd place Staff Editorial: “A tradition of silence” by Junhee Lee ‘18 and Wingel Xue ‘18
2018 3rd place Sports Photo: “Boys swim team hosts state meet” by Kara Wagenknecht ‘19
2018 3rd place Personality Profile: “Coming full circle” by Nina Elkadi ‘18
Feature Story: “Effectiveness of sexual assault prevention education questioned” by Fenna Semken ‘18
2018 3rd place News Story: “Got goats?” by Natalie Katz ‘20
2018 3rd place Feature Photo: “Vape nation” by Alyson Kuennen ‘18
2018 3rd place Infographic: “One year later” by Thomas Duong ‘19
2018 3rd place Multimedia Feature Story: “Prioritizing Your Passion” by Natalie Dunlap ‘20
2018 3rd place Multimedia Sports Story: “Student groups highlight basketball halftime” by Ethan Goers ‘18 and Kara Wagenknecht ‘19
2018 3rd place Video Story: “West High celebrates 50 years of excellence” by Samalya Thenuwara ‘18
2018 3rd place Photo Story: “Women of Troy to face crosstown rivals in state championship” by Kara Wagenknecht
2018 Honorable Mention Video Story: “An artist’s journey” by Samalya Thenuwara
2018 Honorable Mention Multimedia News Story: “Charged Women’s March rallies in downtown Iowa City” by Anjali Huynh ‘19
2018 Honorable Mention Multimedia Feature Story: “Test anxiety” by Jessica Doyle ‘19 and Sophie Stephens ‘19
2018 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine One Page Design: “The age of adderall cover” by Catherine Ju ‘18, Pareen Mhatre ‘18 and Angela Zirbes ‘18
2018 Honorable Mention In-Depth News: “The AP obstacle” by Emma Brustkern ‘18 and Lauren Katz ‘18
2018 Honorable Mention Multimedia Sports Story: “Trojans advance to the semi final round” by Grace Christopher ‘19, Ellie Gretter ‘18 and Kara Wagenknecht ‘19
2018 Honorable Mention Feature Story: “Uprooted” by Anjali Huynh ‘19, Jessica Moonjely ‘19, Prateek Raikwar ‘18 and Shawn Thacker ‘18
2017 1st place Column: “A Modest Disposal” by Prateek Raikwar ’18.
2017 1st place Illustration or Art: “Waste” by Simran Sarin ’17.
2017 1st place In-depth News: “Officials On The Way Out” by Deniz Ince ’19 and Gabby Skopec ’17.
2017 1st place Infographic: “Fall Sports Update” by Leah Dusterhoft ’17.
2017 1st place Multimedia News Story: “Forever with “Flash” by Isabelle Robles ’17 and Fenna Semken ’18.
2017 1st place Multimedia Sports Story: “Ready for the next step: an interactive timeline” by Isabelle Robles ’17.
2017 1st place Personality Profile: “She Was Strong and Her Braveness Was No Mystery” by Nina Elkadi ’18.
2017 1st place Photo Story: “40 students leave class for sit-in protest” by Alyson Kuennen ’18.
2017 1st place Podcasting: “WSSPodcast Episode 1: Anne Schularick” by Prateek Raikwar ’18.
2017 1st place Sports Photo: “High Jump” by Sarah Longmire
2017 1st place Sports Story:  “Officials On The Way Out” by Deniz Ince ’19 and Gabby Skopec ’17.
2017 1st place Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitter (sports) and wsspaper on Snapchat
2017 2nd place Column: “Grab ‘Em By The Safety Pin” by Wingel Xue
2017 2nd place Infographic: “Chacos vs. Birks” by Leah Dusterhoft
2017 2nd place Multimedia Feature Story: “Living life with Rett Syndrome” by Samalya Thenuwara
2017 2nd place Multimedia Sports Story: “West cruises past Burlington” by Sarah Longmire and Isabelle Robles
2017 2nd place Personality Profile: “30 Minutes of Innocence and a Lifetime of Guilt” by Prateek Raikwar
2017 2nd place Photo Story: “Ride Along with an Officer” by Alyson Kuennen
2017 2nd place Sports Photo: “Rachael fights for the ball” by Sarah Longmire
2017 3rd place Feature Photo: “Ride Along” by Alyson Kuennen
2017 3rd place Feature Story: “A Look Back” by Nina Elkadi
2017 3rd place Multimedia Feature Story: “The story of a miracle” by Fenna Semken
2017 3rd place Multimedia Sports Story: “’You’re on your own on this one:’ the story of a female wrestler” by Jessica Doyle ’19 and Deniz Ince ’19.
2017 3rd place Newsmagazine Multiple Page Design: “Oyakodon” by Catherine Ju ’18.
2017 3rd place Newsmagazine One Page Design: “She Was Strong and Her Braveness Was No Mystery” by Catherine Ju ’18.
2017 3rd place News Photo: “Personalities of the Women’s March” by Allie Schmitt-Morriss ’19.
2017 3rd place Photo Story: “Open House at the Children’s Hospital” by Sarah Longmire ’17.
2017 3rd place Sports Story: “Success & Siblings” by Ellie Gretter ’18 and Denize Ince ’19.
2017 3rd place Staff Editorial: “The Melting Melting Pot” by Simran Sarin ’17.
2017 Honorable Mention Editorial cartoon or comic strip: “How To Be A WSS Staffer” by Braedyn Dochterman ’17.
2017 Honorable Mention Feature story: “Waste” by Will Conrad ’19 and Junhee Lee ’18.
2017 Honorable Mention Illustration or art: “Best of IC” by Angie Zirbes ’18.
2017 Honorable Mention Multimedia feature story: “Defining the female Olympian” by Leah Dusterhoft ’17 and Michael Moonjely ’17.
2017 Honorable Mention Multimedia news story: “Students lead anti-hate protest, work to end discrimination” by Cameron Cook ’17, Isabelle Robles ’17, Fenna Semken ’18, Caroline Young ’19, Angie Zirbes ’18.
2017 Honorable Mention Multimedia sports story: “Students sign National Letters of Intent” by Gabby Skopec ’17.
2017 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine multiple page design: “Waste” by Simran Sarin ’17.
2017 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine one page design: “Living La Vida Cocoa” by Crystal Kim ’19.
2017 Honorable Mention News photo: “West Students at Rally” by Caroline Young ’19.
2017 Honorable Mention Personality profile: “On-the-spot success: Julie Watkins ’17” by Mary Vander Weg ’19.
2017 Honorable Mention Sports photo: “West basketball state tournament” by Sarah Longmire ’17.
2016 1st place Editorial cartoon Braedyn Dochterman Charlie Hebdo
2016 1st place Feature story Junee Lee and Prateek Raikway Breaking the binary
2016 1st place Infographic Wingel Xue Dance marathon
2016 1st place Multimedia news story Christina Dai, Nina Elkadi, Ellie Gretter & Fenna Semken Crisis reveals character
2016 1st place News photo Sarah Longmire Students dance FTK
2016 1st place Design (multiple page) Simran Sarin What Next?
2016 1st place Photo story Sarah Longmire Bernie Sanders
2016 1st place Staff editorial Cameron Cook Dear Students
2016 2nd place Column Junhee Lee Walk the border
2016 2nd place Illustration Braedyn Dochterman Dr. Jerry Arganbright
2016 2nd place Multimedia news story Allie Biscupski Clinton draws young voters at Coralville event
2016 2nd place Design (One-page) Leah Dusterhoft Fading faith
2016 2nd place News photo Sarah Longmire Students attend Bernie rally
2016 2nd place News story Nina Elkadi Hiding behind the screen
2016 2nd place Staff editorial Eleanor Ho A new angle for security
2016 2nd place Video story Cameron Cook & Nina Elkadi Iowa Caucuses
2016 2nd place Social Media WSS Staff & Barbara Badonovic
2016 2nd place Website Design WSS staff and Web Managing Editor Allie Biscupski & Web Programmers Schyler Davis, Jacob Nishimura & David Wu
2016 3rd place In-depth news story Nina Elkadi Safe and sound
2016 3rd place Infographic Maddie Moriyama Iowa and the election
2016 3rd place News story Christina Dai & Nina Elkadi Crisis reveals character
2016 3rd place Multimedia news story Nina Elkadi and Isabelle Robles Bernie rally features celebrities and musical guests
2016 3rd place Sports story Aaron Carter Making the cut
2016 Honorable Mention Multimedia feature story Junhee Lee and Prateek Raikwar Breaking the binary
2016 Honorable Mention Multimedia sports story Leah Dusterhoft State wrestling one-stop shop
2016 Honorable Mention Design (one page) Simran Sarin Missed connections
2016 Honorable Mention Design (multiple pages) Ryo Ohashi Think before you speak
2016 Honorable Mention Sports photo Sarah Longmire Powderpuff
2015 1st place In-depth news Eleanor Ho, Megumi Kitamoto
& Michael Moonjely A sense of security
2015 1st place News story Akash Borde & Shanthi
Chackalackal A deficiency in proficiency
2015 1st place Photo story Paige Brazina Coming together
2015 2nd place Illustration or art Braedyn Dochterman Horizontal
2015 2nd place Photo story Madie Miller & Chanel Vidal My favorite place in Iowa City
2015 2nd place Sports story Aaron Carter & Leola Eko Join the club (you might have to)
2015 2nd place Video story Eugenia Chen, Cameron Cook
& Gabby Skopec West High devours: homemade vs. storebought
2015 3rd place Newsmagazine cover Madie Miller A deficiency in proficiency
2015 3rd place Two page design Katie Peplow No excuses
2015 3rd place Video story Layla Hannaford West Side Story quizzes teachers on teen lingo
2015 4th place Digital media story Nick Deerberg, Brittani Langland & Avery Smith 13 movies to watch on Friday the 13th
2015 4th place Feature story Lushia Anson & Madie Miller Hashtag activism
2015 4th place In-depth news Danetta Dobre & Isabelle Robles No excuses
2015 5th place Digital media story Brittani Langland & Mary Mondanaro Rising star: Nelson Brands
2015 5th place Feature story Kelsey Keranen The threat on campus
2015 5th place Video story Barbara Badivonac & Allie Biscupski West High Weekly
2015 Honorable mention Digital media story Allie Biscupski & Brittani
& In-depth news story Langland Ferguson to Iowa City
2015 Honorable mention Infographic Jaycie Weathers A deficiency in proficiency
2015 Honorable mention Staff editorial Jaycie Weathers Wake me up when September begins
2014 1st place In-depth news Megumi Kitamoto & Hilah Kohen Searching for Peace
2014 1st place News Story Kelsey Keranen & Rebecca Wen Evaluating Equality
2014 1st place Photo Story Madie Miller Running a mile for Line
2014 1st place Feature Story Lushia Anson & Stephon Berry The meaning of millennial
2014 1st place Newsmagazine Cover Jaeho Lee Evaluating equality
2014 1st place Digital Media Story Hilah Kohen Personal column: scenes from Israeli-American Life
2014 2nd place Newsmagazine Cover Jaeho Lee You are being watched
2014 2nd place Sports Photo Gage Van Dyke Concussions
2014 2nd place Photo Story Grace Young Duck, duck … chicken?
2014 2nd place Two-page Design Brittani Langland The damage is still there
2014 2nd place Sports Story Madie Miller & Matt Murry The damage is still there
2014 2nd place Digital Media Story Stephon Berry Black history month
& Brittani Langland
2014 2nd place Photo Slideshow Lydia Hinman IC West vs. Hempstead
2014 2nd place Video Story – Feature Layla Hannaford 1 in 2000: Meldia Sharpe
2014 2nd place Video Story – Sports Brittani Langland Battle of the Boot: 2013
2014 3rd place Staff Editorial Jaycie Weathers Locker blocker
2014 3rd place Two-page Design Shirley Wang You are being watched
2014 3rd place Art or Illustration Kelsey Keranen Constant Connection
2014 3rd place Column Stephon Berry Struggle bus
2014 3rd place Photo Slideshow Brittani Langland The West High Galapagos and Amazon 2013 expedition
2014 3rd place Digital Media Story Lucy Blair, Lydia Hinman, No shave November Brittani Langland, Lizzie Pruneau, Blake Oetting, Apoorva Raikwar & Shirley Wang
2014 3rd place Video Story – Feature Lushia Anson, Music Playathon Megumi Kitamoto, Jaeho Lee& Anthony Pizzimenti
2014 Honorable Mention Feature Photo Paige Brazina Showtime
2014 Honorable Mention One-page Design Katie Peplow Women of the world
2014 Honorable Mention Art or Illustration Leela Sathyaputri & Shirley Wang Losing our allegiance
2014 Honorable Mention Video Story – Sports Brittani Langland Boys Basketball
2013 1st place Infographics Ashton Duncan Revenue Purpose Statement Visual Presentation
2013 1st place Newsmagazine Cover Leela Sathyaputri The New Normal
2013 1st place Illustration Leela Sathyaputri Caught in the Web
2013 1st place Sports Story Pombie Silverman Born to Run
2013 1st place Digital Media Story Fiona Armstrong-Pavlik, Arts and entertainment Meredith Cullen, for your spring breakHannah Muellerleile, Julia Shriver and Jaycie Weathers
2013 1st place Video Story Valerie Hsieh India Association of Iowa City Harvest Festival
2013 2nd place Local Column Ashton Duncan Trash
2013 2nd place Infographics Kaitlyn McCurdy Fast Facts graphic
2013 2nd place News Story Amelia Moser Election Connection
2013 2nd place Digital Media Story Audrey Hopewell, The art of self-expression
Kelsey Keranen and Julia Truszkowski
2013 3rd place News Story Juliann Skarda Distributing Diversity
2013 Honorable Mention Editorial Cartoon Leela Sathyaputri Jailbook Blues
2013 Honorable Mention Sports Photo Hannah Muellerleile In high spirits
2013 Honorable Mention Feature Photo Abbie Skemp Shades of Devotion
2013 Honorable Mention Video Story Jaeho Lee Jeff Conner
2009 1st Place Column Kerri Sorrell One Year Later
2009 1st Place Graphics Daria Kieffer
2009 1st Place Personality Profile Claire Perlman Making Sense Through Paper: Veteran and West High Grad Strives for Peace
2009 1st Place Editorial Thomas Ewing 18 Year Old Drinking Age Goes Down Smooth, West Side Story Wakes Up Grouchy
2009 3rd Place News Story Jenna Broghamer, Clouds of Controversy Jaime Rosenthal and Saranya Subramanian
2009 3rd Place News Story Jenna Broghamer To Change or Not to Change?  West High Debates Whether to Change the Women Mascot to ‘Trojans’ as Well
2009 Honorable Mention Feature Story Claire Perlman Teenage Depression
2008 1st Place Feature Story Audrey Keranen Raising the bar for entry to bars?
2008 1st Place In-depth Story Audrey Keranen Teenage pregnancy cover story
2008 2nd Place News Story Abi Marshall Tate Misconstrued
2008 2nd Place Personality Profile Jayne Berglund Profile on Addie Hugen
2008 3rd Place News Story Katie Hanson A Tribute to Jill Moore
2007 1st Place Layout and Design Audrey Keranen
2007 1st Place News Story Clara Hogan
2007 1st Place Personality Profile Clara Hogan
2007 1st Place Graphics Brian Stewart
2007 2nd Place Column Katie Ryken
2007 Honorable Mention Photography Jessica Cullen
2007 Honorable Mention Photography Swarnima Chaudhary
2007 Honorable Mention Feature Story Katie Hanson

IHSPA YEARBOOK AWARDS:

2023 First place Sports Feature Photo: “Volleyball vs. City” by Ceci De Young ’24
2023 Second place Feature Photo: “Face painting” by Wesal Haroun ’24
2023 Second place Personality Profile: “Hannah Longmire” by Josie Schwartz ’25
2023 Third place Sports Action Photo: “Jack McCaffrey” by Ceci De Young ’24
2023 Third place Cover: “House of Troy” by Ceci De Young ’24 and Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar ’24
2023 Third place Feature Photo: “Club West Halloween Party” by Wesal Haroun ’24
2023 Third place Personality Profile: “Kate Van Waning” by Melissa Uc ’23
2023 Honorable Mention Design: “Year in Review” by Ava Bruxvoort ’25, Ivy Hendrickson ’25 and Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar ’24
2023 Honorable Mention Photo Illustration: “Most likely to win an Oscar” by Will Cheng ’23 and Jay Mascardo ’23
2023 Honorable Mention Sports Feature Photo: “First three-pointer of the season” by Ceci De Young ’24
2023 Honorable Mention Design: “Trojan Family” by Wesal Haroun ’24
2023 Honorable Mention Design: “We are Involved” by Wesal Haroun ’24, Emily Rabe ’26 and Charlotte Stephens ’26
2023 Honorable Mention Design: “Opening Theme 3” by Ivy Hendrickson ’25
2023 Honorable Mention Feature Photo: “Mosh Pit” by Sigrid Rossi ’24
2022 first place Design: Mugs: Melissa Uc ’23
2022 second place Cover: Cameron Reimers ’22
2022 second place Design: Opening, Closing or Division: Clay Bopp ’22
2022 second place Design: Summer to December Events: Clay Bopp ’22
2022 second place Feature Photo: Student Life, Outside-of-School Related: Sachiko Goto ’23
2022 second place Reader Services: Kiley Butcher ’22, Zohrae McLaskey ’22, Willow Oleson ’23, Cameron Reimers ’22 and Rachel Swack ’23
2022 second place Sports Feature Photo/Caption: Ceci De Young ’24
2022 second place Theme: Clay Bopp ’22, Kiley Butcher ’22 and Cameron Reimers ’22
2022 third place Design: Mugs: Melissa Uc ’23
2022 third place Infograph/Mod: Wesal Haroun ’24, Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar ’24 and Maddie Otis ’24
2022 third place Photo Illustration: Cameron Reimers ’22
2022 third place Sports Action Photo: Clay Bopp ’22
2022 third place Sports Feature Photo/Caption: Owen Aanestad ’22
2022 third place Story: Student life, Outside-of-School Related: Gianna Liu ’25 and Anna Song ’25
2021 First Place Reader Services (Index): Zohrae McLaskey ’22, Cameron Reimers ’22, Rachel Swack ’23, Nicole Trout ’21
2021 First Place Theme for “Like No Other”: Trojan Epic staff
2021 First Place Total Package for “Into the Woods”: Owen Aanestad ’22, Cameron Reimers ’22
2021 Second Place Design/January-June Events for “SPIT”: Cameron Reimers ’22
2021 Second Place Design/Mugs for Seniors: Maddy Smith ’22
2021 Second Place Personality Profile for “In loving memory of Dylan Salge”: Hanah Kitamoto ’22
2021 Second Place Sports Feature Photo/Caption for “Fired up”: Owen Aanestad ’22
2021 Second Place Sports Story for “History in the making”: Tess DeGrazia ’23, Hanah Kitamoto ’22, Maddy Smith ’22
2021 Third Place Cover: Cameron Reimers ’22
2021 Third Place Design/Opening-Closing or Division Spread for “Synergy like no other”: Alyssa Skala ’21, Nicole Trout ’21
2021 Third Place Photo Illustration for the cover: Cameron Reimers ’22
2021 Third Place: Sports Action Photo/Caption for “Audrey Koch”: Alyssa Skala ’21
2021 Honorable Mention: Feature Photo for “Selling the cow”: Owen Aanestad ’22
2021 Honorable Mention: Design/Mugs for Sophomores: Katherine Shoppa ’23 and Melissa Uc ’23
2021 Honorable Mention: Design/Mugs for Sophomore Tribute: Sarah Callanan ’21, Hanah Kitamoto ’22, Cameron Reimers ’22, Willow Oleson ’23, Melissa Uc ’23
2021 Honorable Mention: Feature Photo for “Filling the streets”: Caroline Barker ’22
2021 Honorable Mention: Writing/Student Life out-of-school-related for “Year in review”: Kailey Gee ’22, Maggie Huang ’21, Hanah Kitamoto ’22, Alyssa Skala ’21
2021 Honorable Mention: Sports Feature Photo for “Accomplishing Goals”: Owen Aanestad ’22
2020 Feature Photo/Student Life School-Related 1st place: Caroline Barker
2020 Design Opening Closing or Division Spread 1st place: Alyssa Skala, Nicole Trout, Caroline Barker, Sydney Wildes, Owen Aanestad
2020 Design January to June Events 1st place: Cameron Reimers, Alice Meng, Alyssa Skala
2020 Environmental Photo 2nd place: Alyssa Skala
2020 Design Theme 2nd place: Cameron Reimers, Alyssa Skala, Nicole Trout, Paras Bassuk, Joe Goodman
2020 Design Total Package 2nd place: Cameron Reimers, Abdul Ahmed, Mariam Keita, Maddy Smith
2020 Design Mugs 2nd place: Sumner Wallace, Jessica Moonjely, Abdul Ahmed, Isaac Young
2020 Cover 2nd place: Cameron Reimers
2020 Environmental Photo 3rd place: Aditi Borde
2020 Design Total Package 3rd place: Kiley Butcher, Alyssa Skala
2020 Design Opening Closing Theme or Division Spread 3rd place: Owen Aanestad, Joe Goodman
2020 Design Summer to December Events 3rd place: Owen Aanestad, Caroline Barker
2020 Sports Action Photo Honorable Mention: Alyssa Skala
2020 Design Total Package Honorable Mention: Owen Aanestad, Joe Goodman
2020 Design Reader Services Honorable Mention: Alyssa Skala, Nicole Trout, Abdul Ahmed, Cameron Reimers
2020 Design Summer to December Events Honorable Mention: Alexis Dick, Sydney Wildes, Alyssa Skala, Sam Westergaard, Caroline Barker
2020 Design Mugs Honorable Mention: Abdul Ahmed
2020 Design January to June Events Honorable Mention: Sara Baroncini, Sarah Callanan, Alyssa Skala, Kiley Butcher
2020 Design January to June Events Honorable Mention: Cameron Reimers, Abdul Ahmed, Mariam Keita, Maddy Smith
2019 Cover Design 1st place winners Sidney Kout, Peyton Brady, and Jack Dickens
2019 Design (January) 1st and 2nd place winner Jack Dickens
2019 Design (January) 3rd place winners Sidney Kout and Jack Dickens
2019 Design (January) Honorable Mentions Ellie Brown, Nicole Trout, and Jack Dickens
2019 Design (Mugs) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner Ellie Brown
2019 Design (Mugs) Honorable Mention Ellie Brown
2019 Design (Opening) 1st place winners Sidney Kout, Peyton Brady, and Krisha Vyas
2019 Design (Opening) 3rd place winners Sidney Kout and Peyton Brady
2019 Design (Opening) Honorable Mentions Sidney Kout and Peyton Brady
2019 Design (Summer) 1st place winners Sidney Kout, Nicole Trout, and Abdul Ahmed
2019 Design (Summer) 2nd place winners Sidney Kout and Jack Dickens
2019 Design (Summer) 3rd place winners Peyton Brady and Jack Dickens
2019 Feature Photo 2nd place winner Krisha Vyas
2019 Feature Photo 3rd place winner Jack Dickens
2019 Infographic 1st place winners Ellie Brown and Peyton Brady
2019 Infographic 2nd place winners Sidney Kout and Jack Dickens
2019 Personality Profile 1st place winners Peyton Brady and Sidney Kout
2019 Personality Profile 2nd place winner Epic Staff
2019 Personality Profile 3rd place winner Epic Staff
2019 Reader Services 1st place winners Peyton Brady and Sidney Kout
2019 Sports Feature Photo 2nd place winner Sidney Kout
2019 Sports Feature Photo Honorable Mention Ellie Brown
2019 Story (Student Life) 1st place winners Peyton Brady and Sidney Kout
2019 Story (Student Life) 2nd place winner Epic Staff
2019 Story (Student Life) 3rd place winners Ellie Brown and Peyton Brady
2019 Theme 1st place winners Peyton Brady, Sidney Kout, Jack Dickens, Krisha Vyas, and Ellie Brown
2019 Total Package 2nd place winner Abdul Ahmed

STUDENT NEWSPAPERS ONLINE AWARDS:

SNO DISTINGUISHED WEBSITE: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

SNO BADGES:
2023-2024 Continuous Coverage Badge
2023-2024 Audience Engagement Badge
2023-2024 Best of SNO Badge
2022-2023 Continuous Coverage Badge
2022-2023 Audience Engagement Badge
2022-2023 Best of SNO Badge
2022-2023 Writing Excellence
2022-2023 Story Page Excellence
2022-2023 Site Excellence Badge
2021-2022 Continuous Coverage Badge
2021-2022 Audience Engagement Badge
2021-2022 Best of SNO Badge
2021-2022 Writing Excellence
2021-2022 Story Page Excellence
2021-2022 Site Excellence Badge
2020-2021 Continuous Coverage Badge
2020-2021 Audience Engagement Badge
2020-2021 Best of SNO Badge
2020-2021 Writing Excellence
2020-2021 Story Page Excellence
2020-2021 Site Excellence Badge
2020-2021 Multimedia Badge
2019-2020 Multimedia Badge
2019-2020 Best of SNO Badge
2019-2020 Audience Engagement Badge
2019-2020 Story Page Excellence Badge
2019-2020 Continuous Coverage Badge
2019-2020 Site Excellence Badge
2018-2019 Story Page Excellence Badge
2018-2019 Site Excellence Badge
2018-2019 Excellence in Writing Badge
2018-2019 Multimedia Badge
2018-2019 Audience Engagement Badge
2017-2018 Site Excellence Badge
2017-2018 Story Page Excellence Badge
2017-2018 Excellence in Writing Badge
2017-2018 Multimedia Badge
2017-2018 Audience Engagement Badge
2016-2017 Continuous Coverage Badge
2016-2017 Site Excellence Badge
2016-2017 Story Page Excellence Badge
2016-2017 Excellence in Writing Badge
2016-2017 Multimedia Badge
2016-2017 Audience Engagement Badge

BEST OF SNO AWARDS

NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS:

NEWSPAPER/NEWSMAGAZINE PACEMAKER WINNER: 2021, 2018, 2011
NEWSPAPER/NEWSMAGAZINE PACEMAKER FINALIST: 2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2012, 2011, 2007, 2005
ONLINE PACEMAKER WINNER: 2012
ONLINE PACEMAKER FINALIST: 2022, 2021, 2019, 2017, 2012

BEST OF SHOW:
2022 Fifth Place Website Fall St. Louis Convention
2022 Tenth Place Newsmagazine Fall St. Louis Convention
2022 Fifth Place Newsmagazine Spring L.A. Convention
2021 Second Place Newsmagazine Fall Virtual Convention
2021 Ninth Place Website Fall Virtual Convention
2021 First Place Social Justice Reporting: Maya Chu, Heidi Du and Soomin Koh “The price to play” Fall Virtual Convention
2021 First Place Newsmagazine Spring Virtual Convention
2021 Sixth Place Social Justice Reporting: Hanah Kitamoto and Caroline Mascardo Spring Virtual Convention
2021 Ninth Place Website Spring Virtual Convention
2020 Fourth Place Newsmagazine Fall Virtual Convention
2018 Tenth Place Website San Francisco Convention
2017 Fourth Place Newsmagazine Seattle Convention
2016 Ninth Place Newsmagazine Indianapolis Convention
2016 9th Place Newsmagazine Los Angeles Convention
2015 4th Place Newsmagazine Orlando Convention
2014 9th Place Website Washington, D.C. Convention
2012 5th Place Website San Antonio Convention
2012 6th Place Special Section Seattle Convention
2011 3rd Place Newsmagazine Minneapolis Convention
2007 2nd Place Newsmagazine Denver Convention

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:
2023 Portfolio of the Year — Broadcast Journalist of the Year finalist and honorable mention: Alaina Greenlee ’23
2023 Portfolio of the Year — Designer of the Year finalist and honorable mention: Erinn Varga ’24
2023 Multimedia Feature Story finalist and honorable mention — Reem Kirja ’25, Gianna Liu ’25 and Rosemary Timmer-Hackert ’23 for Destination West
2023 Multimedia Feature Story finalist and honorable mention — Ella De Young ’23, Alaina Greenlee ’23, Jessie Li ’25 and Laney Prelle ’23 for A lifetime of discovery
2023 Interactive Graphic finalist and honorable mention — Nicole Lee ’24 for Which character from “Clue” are you?
2023 Fred Ross Systemic Change Journalism Competition finalist and fifth place winner — Ella De Young ’23 and Marie Stier ’25 for Next meal
2023 Social Media Promotion finalist and honorable mention — Helena Wa Kalala ’23 and WSS Staff for social media coverage
2023 Newsmagazine Page/Spread finalist and fourth place winner — Erinn Varga ’23 for Art-ificial Art
2022 Social Media Promotion finalist and first place winner: West Side Story staff led by Hanah Kitamoto ’22 and Helena Wa Kalala ’23
2022 Multimedia Sports Story finalist and fourth place winner: Owen Aanestad ’22 for “Crossing the limits”
2022 Multimedia Sports Story finalist and honorable mention: Owen Aanestad ’22 for “Fueling the fight”
2022 Newsmagazine Page Spread finalist and second place winner: Will Cheng ’23 for “Silenced Speech”
2022 Illustration finalist and second place winner: Caroline Mascardo ’22 for “Find WSS”
2022 Sports Story finalist and honorable mention: Heidi Du ’23, Krisha Kapoor ’23 and Lily Prochaska ’23 for “Equal Footing”
2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion finalists and fourth place winner: Zaira Ahmad ’24, Ella De Young ’23 and Caroline Mascardo ’22 for “Gender.”
2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion finalist and fifth place winner: Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab ’22 and Katherine Shoppa ’23 for “We are the BSU”
2022 Portfolio of the Year — Broadcast Journalist of the Year finalist and second place winner: Alaina Greenlee ’23
2022 Portfolio of the Year — Designer of the Year finalist and honorable mention: Xiaoyi Zhu ’22
2022 Portfolio of the Year — Photojournalist of the Year finalist and honorable mention: Owen Aanestad ’22
2021 Sports Game/Action Photo of the Year finalist and first place winner: Owen Aanestad ’22
2021 Sports Story of the Year finalist and first place winner: Hanah Kitamoto ’22 and Caroline Mascardo ’22
2021 COVID-19 Coverage: Online News or Feature finalist and fifth place winner: Kailey Gee ’22
2021 Multimedia Sports Story of the Year finalist and first place winner: Alaina Greenlee ’23, Krisha Kapoor ’23, Hanah Kitamoto ’22 and Tosh Klever ’21
2021 Photo Slideshow finalist and honorable mention: Owen Aanestad ’22
2021 Newsmagazine Page/Spread Design of the Year finalist and fourth place winner: Zoey Guo ’22 for “New name, same game
2021 Portfolio of the Year — Artist finalist and honorable mention: Kailey Gee ’22
2021 Portfolio of the Year — Photojournalist finalist and fourth place winner: Owen Aanestad ’22
2021 Best Use of Social Media — Social Media Promotion finalist and honorable mention: WSS Staff
2020 Multimedia Feature Story of the Year finalist and fourth place winner: Bess Frerichs ’21 for Emmie Boylan: Living with spina bifida
2020 Design of the Year — Informational Graphic finalist and fifth place winner: Amy Liao ’21 for “Next Level”
2020 Photojournalist of the Year finalist and honorable mention recipient: Owen Aanestad ’22
2020 Broadcast News Story of the Year finalist and honorable mention recipient: Tosh Klever ’21 for Construction at West
2020 Design of the Year — Newsmagazine Cover of the Year finalist and honorable mention recipient: Selina Hua ’20 for the Disconnected cover
2020 Digital Story of the Year — Multimedia News finalist and honorable mention recipient: Alex Carlon ’21 and Joe Goodman ’20 for Fighting for change: Examining the combative culture at West High
2020 Digital Story of the Year — Multimedia Sports finalist and honorable mention recipient: Joe Goodman ’20 and Natalie Katz ’20 for Beneath the jersey: The 20-year history of sports uniforms at West
2020 Digital Story of the Year — Blog finalist and honorable mention recipient: Sumner Wallace ’20 for Sincerely, Sumner: Crying is cool
2020 Photo of the Year — Environmental Portrait finalist and honorable mention recipient: Caroline Barker ’22 for a portrait of Advika Shah ’22
2020 Photo of the Year — Environmental Portrait finalist and honorable mention recipient: Paras Bassuk ’21 for a portrait of Chris Kim ’20
2020 Social Justice Reporting of the Year finalist and honorable mention recipient: Alice Meng ’21 and Jenna Wang ’20 for Disconnected
2020 Best Use of Social Media Promotion finalist and honorable mention recipient: WSS Staff
2019 National Writer of the Year finalist and first place winner Anjali Huynh
2019 Sports Story of the Year finalist and second place winner Sophie Stephens
2019 Multimedia Sports Story of the Year finalists and second place winners Will Conrad & Deniz Ince
2019 Illustration of the Year finalist and third place winner Crystal Kim
2019 Marketer of the Year finalist and fourth place winner Thomas Duong
2019 Social Justice Reporting finalists and fifth place winners Anjali Huynh & Jessica Moonjely
2019 Sports Story of the Year Honorable Mentions Will Conrad and Deniz Ince
2019 Interactive Graphic of the Year Honorable Mention Joe Goodman
2019 Photo Slideshow of the Year Honorable Mention Kara Wagenknecht
2019 Multimedia Feature of the Year Honorable Mentions Kristina Rosebrook & Sophie Stephens 
2019 Newsmagazine/Spread of the Year Honorable Mention Amy Liao
2019 Comic Strip/Panel of the Year Honorable Mention Brenda Gao
2018 Illustration of the Year finalist and 1st place winner Angela Zirbes
2018 Broadcast Journalist of the Year finalist and 3rd place winner Samalya Thenuwara
2018 Multimedia Feature Story of the Year finalist and 3rd place winner Samalya Thenuwara
2018 Designer of the Year finalist and honorable mention Lydia Guo
2018 Sports Story of the Year finalist and honorable mention Lauren Katz
2017 Multimedia Feature Story of the Year Finalist and 2nd Place Winner Living life with Rett syndrome by Samalya Thenuwara
2017 Multimedia News Story of the Year Finalist and Honorable Mention Students lead anti-hate protest, work to end discrimination by Cameron Cook, Isabelle Robles, Fenna Semken, Caroline Young and Angela Zirbes
2017 News Photo of the Year Finalist and Third Place Winner Alyson Kuennen
2015 Editorial of the Year Honorable Mention Akash Borde Securing our school
2015 1st Place Multimedia News Story Allie Biscupski, Brittani Langland Ferguson to Iowa City
2015 Multimedia Sports Story finalist Brittani Langland Rising Star: Nelson Brands
2015 1st Place Comic Strip Kelsey Keranen Fun Promposal ideas
2014 2nd Place Multimedia Sports Story of the Year Brittani Langland, Katie Peplow, Jaycie Weather & Megumi Kitamoto Homecoming Recap
2014 2nd Place Illustration of the Year Leela Sathyaputri & Shirley Wang The cover of the September 2013 issue
2014 3rd Place Diversity Story of the Year Megumi Kitamoto, Hilah Kohen Searching for Peace
2014 Honorable Mention Infographic of the YearTyler Voss & Shirley Wang Senior Class 2014: By the Numbers
2013 Honorable Mention Multimedia Story of the Year Paul Curry, Brenna Deerberg, Amelia Moser, Juliann Skarda, Shirley Wang  West High Investigates: Anonymous
2013 Honorable Mention Feature Story of the Year Juliann Skarda Seeking Shelter
2012 3rd Place Design of the Year Shamis McGillin and Anna Egeland Coming Out Cover
2011 3rd Place Design of they Year Elizabeth Lin and Jojo Silverman Bullying Defined Cover

JEA AWARDS:

JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR WINNERS:
2023: First place: Krisha Kapoor
2022: First place: Kailey Gee
2022: Third place: Owen Aanestad
2021: Third place: Alyssa Skala
2020 First place: Natalie Dunlap
2019 Second place: Anjali Huynh
2018 Second place: Nina Elkadi
2017 First place Iowa’s Journalist of the Year: Isabelle Robles
2017 National Journalist of the Year runner-up (1 of 6): Isabelle Robles

NATIONAL STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS (FORMERLY THE WRITE-OFF CONTESTS):
2021 Honorable Mention Sports Writing Hanah Kitamoto
2021 Honorable Mention Graphic Design: Photo Illustration Owen Aanestad
2021 Superior Newsmagazine Layout Grace Huang
2021 Excellent Sports Writing Hanah Kitamoto
2021 Honorable Mention Sports Action Photo Owen Aanestad
2021 Honorable Mention Photo Portfolio Alyssa Skala
2017 Superior Newsmagazine Layout Wingel Xue, Seattle
2016 Superior Feature Writing Junhee Lee, Indianapolis
2016 Superior Graphic Design: Photo Illustration Leah Dusterhoft, Indianapolis
2016 Superior Online News Package: Pareen Mhatre, Isabelle Robles and Grace Yarrow, Indianapolis
2016 Excellent Editorial Writing Eleanor Ho, Indianapolis
2016 Excellent Graphic Design: Infographics Simran Sarin, Indianapolis
2016 Honorable Mention Review Writing Mary Vander Weg, Indianapolis
2016 Honorable Mention Commentary Writing Anjali Huynh, Indianapolis
2016 Honorable Mention News Editing & Headline Writing Christina Dai, Indianapolis
2014 Excellent Newsmagazine: Layout Jaycie Weathers, Washington, D.C.
2013 Excellent Graphic Design: Infographics Lydia Hinman, Boston
2013 Honorable Mention News Editing/Headline Writing Amelia Moser, Boston
2013 Superior Newsmagazine: Layout Hannah Muellerleile, San Francisco
2013 Honorable Mention Feature Writing Juliann Skarda, San Francisco
2012 Superior Feature Writing Brenna Deerberg, San Antonio
2012 Honorable Mention Newswriting Juliann Skarda, San Antonio
2012 Superior Newswriting Eleanor Marshall, Seattle
2012 Honorable Mention Feature Writing Juliann Skarda, Seattle
2012 Honorable Mention Review Writing Quentin Misiag, Seattle
2012 Honorable Mention Videography Grant Leonard, Seattle
2011 Honorable Mention Newswriting Caroline Van Voorhis, Minneapolis
2011 Honorable Mention Editorial Writing Ashton Duncan, Minneapolis
2011 Honorable Mention Commentary Writing Leah Murray, Minneapolis
2010 Superior Review Writing Madhu Srikantha, Kansas City
2010 Honorable Mention Sports Writing Dan Rothman, Kansas City
2007 Excellent Review Writing Brian Stewart, Denver
2005 Honorable Mention Newsmagazine: Layout Ashton Shurson, Seattle

QUILL AND SCROLL AWARDS:

QUILL AND SCROLL HONOR SOCIETY MEMBERS

BLUE AND GOLD AWARD FOR STAFF EXCELLENCE: 2020 First Place

BLUE AND GOLD WRITING EXCELLENCE: 2020 First Place

INTERNATIONAL GALLUP AWARDS: 2016, 2015, 2013, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 1996, 1995, 1987, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1975, 1974

INTERNATIONAL FIRST PLACE AWARD: 2014

INTERNATIONAL SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS:
2021 Tosh Klever: First Place Video Sports Package for “Recruiting Trail: Aurora Roghair ’21″
2020 Paras Bassuk: First Place Photo Illustration for “Unsustainable”
2020 Hanah Kitamoto: First Place Sports Writing for “Wrestling with stereotypes”
2020 Amy Liao: First Place Sports Page Design for “No off season”
2019 Kara Wagenknecht: First Place Sports Reaction Photography West basketball teams battle City
2019 Fatima Kammona: Third Place Feature Writing From invincible to helpless
2018 Fatima Kammona: News Writing 94
2018 Natalie Katz: Health, Science and Agricultural Writing Got goats?
2018 Alyson Kuennen: Photo Illustration Vape Nation
2017 Wingel Xue: Advertisement Oyama Sushi
2016 Eugenia Chen: Advertisement Hot House Yoga
2015 Eugenia Chen: Advertisement Celebrate Prom with a Cupcake
2011 Elizabeth Lin: Advertisement Works in Progress

NATIONAL WINNERS:
2023 Will Cheng: Second Place Features Design for “Silenced speech
2023 Zaira Ahmad Honorable Mention Profile Writing for “Taking flight
2022 Hanah Kitamoto and Caroline Mascardo: National Winner in the Sports Feature Category for “Beyond the Binary
2021 Zoey Guo: Second Place Sports Page Design for “New Name Same Game
2021 Alice Meng: Third Place Pandemic Coverage — Single for “Zoomed out
2021 Owen Aanestad: Honorable Mention Photo Slideshow for “Trojan football team shuts out Liberty in season opener
2021 Maddy Smith: Honorable Mention Feature Writing for “Vibe Tribe Custom apparel: creating a community
2021 Soomin Koh: Honorable Mention Profile Writing for “Bonding through swords
2021 Fareeha Ahmad, Helen Zhang, Maya Chu Soomin Koh, Maddy Smith, Hanah Kitamoto and Heidi Du: Honorable Mention Pandemic Coverage — Series for “Covid in our community,” “Class of Covid” and “Detached
2021 Grace Huang: Feature Page Design for “Clues to cure the blues
2020 Jenna Wang: Second Place Editorial Writing for “Social media spies”
2020 Alex Carlon and Joe Goodman: Third Place In-depth Team Reporting for “Fighting for change: examining the combative culture at West High”
2020 Bess Frerichs: Honorable Mention Profile Writing for “Emmie Boylan: living with spina bifida”
2020 Joe Goodman: Honorable Mention Sports Writing for “Mind over matter”
2020 Joe Goodman: Honorable Mention Opinion Writing for “Boxed out: the exploitation of college athletes”
2020 Alyssa Skala: Honorable Mention Sports Action Photo for “Even Brauns ’20 slams home a dunk against Dubuque Hempstead on Jan. 7”
2019 Anjali Huynh Honorable Mention in In-Depth Reporting: Individual for “Hidden among us.”
2019 Anjali Huynh and Will Conrad Honorable Mention in In-Depth Reporting: Team for “A spectrum of perspectives.”
2019 Anjali Huynh, Lucy Polyak and Ian Prescott Honorable Mention in Editorial Writing for “Legalizing Hate.”
2019 Sophie Stephens Honorable Mention in Sports Writing for “Silent tradition.”
2019 Jessica Moonjely Honorable Mention in Political Opinion for “Midterms matter.
2019 Natalie Dunlap Honorable Mention in Health, Science and Agriculture for “Unlikely exercise companions.”
2019 Jessica Doyle and Harry Westergaard Honorable Mention in Audio Podcast: Single Episode for “West Side Radio: The Me Too movement’s impact on the U.S. Humanities curriculum.”
2018 Samalya Thunuwara: Blog earsl.org
2018 Ethan Goers and Nick Pryor: Multimedia Storytelling A Discussion: Gun Ownership in Iowa
2018 Wingel Xue: Advertisement Taj International
2018 Grace Christopher, Ellie Gretter and Kara Wagenknecht: Multimedia Storytelling (Features) Road to State: a multimedia experience
2018 Allie Schmitt-Morris: News Feature Photography Rally against Muslim ban draws over 1500
2018 Catherine Ju: Photo Illustration 4 days to state
2018 Kara Wagenknecht: Sports Photography Trojans fall to Dowling in state championship
2018 Nina Elkadi: Opinion Columns Try to monitor my closed Chromebook
2018 Luke Reynolds: Opinion Column Not that kind of boy
2018 Natalie Dunlap: Profile Writing Prioritizing your passion
2018 Jessica Moonjely: Profile Writing A brotherly bond
2017 Leah Dusterhoft: Opinion Column The D1 expectation
2017 Eleanor Ho: Editorial Writing Comm(unity) against hate
2017 Simran Sarin: 1st place in the blog Simply Gestalt
2017 Allie Schmitt-Morris: Photo Slideshow D.C. Photos
2017 Samalya Thenuwara: Multimedia Storytelling Living life with Rett Syndrome
2016 Aaron Carter: Sports Writing Making the cut
2016 Nina Elkadi: Feature Writing Constant connection
2016 Leah Dusterhoft, Nina Elkadi, Louis Ho, Sarah Longmire and Michael Moonjely: Multimedia Feature Trump rally attracts supporters and protesters
2016 Junhee Lee: Profile Sophia Chen
2016 Kelsey Keranen, Michael Moonjely, Shawn Thacker and Sharon Xiang: In-depth Team Reporting What next?
2016 Consuelo Mendoza: Editorial Writing Gender-neutral bathroom
2016 Simran Sarin: Cover Design What next?
2015 Braedyn Dochterman Editorial Cartoon
2015 Akash Borde Editorial Writing Securing our school
2015 Jiung Jung Feature Writing Four peas in a pod
2015 Isabelle Robles Blogging A Penne For Your Thoughts
2014 Kelsey Keranen Opinion Columns Other
2014 Apoorva Raikwar Multimedia No Shave November
2014 Paul Curry Opinion Columns A visit from Reagan
2014 Leela Sathyaputri Photo Illustration Cover: Counting candles
2014 Jaeho Lee Photo Slideshow Fencing
2014 Jaeho Lee Photo Illustration Cover: You are being watched
2014 Megumi Kitamoto Editorial Trial and Error
2013 Olive Carrollhach Infographic The End of the World
2013 Paul Curry Column A visit from Reagan
2013 Aileen Norris Advertisement Bluebird Café
2013 Leela Sathyaputri Editorial Cartoon West Side Effects
2013 Pombie Silverman Sports Story Born to Run
2013 Frank Weirich Photo Illustration Cover of Gun Issue
2011 Garrett Anstreicher Column Megafreak of Nature
2011 Emily Kreiter Feature Story Beyond Functional
2011 Elizabeth Lin Advertisement Works in Progress
2011 Alissa Rothman Feature Story Freshman Recovering from Recent Spinal Stroke
2007 Gordon Bourjaily Editorial How the Grinch Stole Snack Time
2007 Gordon Bourjaily Column Facing the School Day with OCD
2007 Brian Stewart Advertisement Make-A-Wish Benefit Dinner
2005 Kat Rokhlin Column Oligopoly in standardized testing must be broken

 

MISCELLANEOUS SCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS & HONORS:

TINA WANG MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS:
2024
2023 Sachiko Goto
2022 Hanah Kitamoto
2021 Abby McKeone
2020 Joe Goodman
2019 Anjali Huynh
2018 Alyson Kuennen
2017 Simran Sarin
2016 Aaron Carter
2015 Jaycie Weathers
2014 Amelia Moser
2013 Ashton Duncan
2012 Anna Egeland
2011 Anna Hippee
2009 Claire Perlman
2008 Lily Kim
2007 Gordon Bourjaily
2006 Ashton Shurson
2004 Nick Petersen

AL NEUHARTH NATIONAL FREE SPIRIT WINNERS:
2023 Wesal Haroun
2022 Maya Chu
2021 Hanah Kitamoto
2020 Marta Leira
2018 Anjali Huynh
2016 Isabelle Robles
2014 Lushia Anson
2012 Ashton Duncan
2011 Eleanor Marshall
2006 Gordon Bourjaily

DAILY IOWAN SCHOLARS:
2020 Natalie Dunlap
2007 Brian Stewart
2004 Nick Petersen
2003 Seung Min Kim

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF:
2023-2024 Newspaper: Zaira Ahmad; Online: Zoe Smith; Yearbook: Wesal Haroun & Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar
2022-2023 Newspaper: Krisha Kapoor & Katherine Shoppa; Online: Camille Gretter; Yearbook: Zoe Scott & Melissa Uc, Assistant: Wesal Haroun
2021-2022 Newspaper: Kailey Gee & Hanah Kitamoto; Online: Owen Aanestad; Yearbook: Zohrae McLaskey & Cameron Reimers
2020-2021 Newspaper: Marta Leira; Online: Alex Carlon; Yearbook: Cameron Reimers & Nicole Trout
2019-20 Broadcast: Jillian Prescott; Newspaper: Natalie Katz; Online: Natalie Dunlap; Yearbook: Abdul Ahmed & Nicole Trout
2018-19 Broadcast: Ian Prescott; Online: Kara Wagenknecht; Print: Deniz Ince
2017-18 Broadcast: Samalya Thenuwara; Online: Fenna Semken; Print: Nina Elkadi
2016-17 Digital: Isabelle Robles & Print: Simran Sarin
2015-16 WSS Kelsey Keranen & Sharon Xiang
2014-15 WSS Brittani Langland
2013-14 WSS Amelia Moser
2012-13 WSS Juliann Skarda
2011-12 WSS Eleanor Marshall
2010-11 WSS Lilli Oetting
2009-10 WSS Jenna Broghamer
2008-9 WSS Kerri Sorrell
2007-8 WSS Jayne Berglund
2006-7 WSS Clara Hogan & Brian Stewart
2005-6 WSS Ashton Shurson
2004-5 WSS Danny Valentine
2003-4 WSS Nick Petersen
2002-3 WSS Nick Petersen

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