The Iowa High School Press Association awarded the West Side Story staff 52 awards in the annual spring journalism contest. IHSPA also named the 2018-2019 West Side Story staff as an All-Iowa News Team finalist based on the schools with the largest number of awards from this contest. IHSPA will announce News Team winners at its state journalism conference this fall. 

IHSPA named Crystal Kim ’19 as the 2019 Designer of the Year, and Anjali Huynh ’19 as the 2019 Writer of the Year.

The judge said this about Kim’s portfolio: “The diversity of work in the designer’s portfolio, with excellent use of both illustration and photography, along with innovative visual problem solving, pushed her into the first-place spot in a very tight contest. The immigration package is particularly noteworthy. Clever use of silhouettes and line drawings paired with subtle background gradients combine for a beautiful presentation. Excellent eye for detail in typography and composition throughout the portfolio.”

About Huynh’s portfolio, the judge wrote, “I was so impressed with Anjali’s story on student immigrants, which really captured the diversity of Iowa City Community School District beautifully and the complex worlds these students are living in. Anjali is a strong writer with a knack for story telling. She’s not afraid to tackle a hard topic, but does it with compassion and fairness.”

The West Side Story staff received first place in the state for the following:

1. 1. Feature story: “Keeping her father alive: how a suburban dad and Charles Barkley impacted a nation” by Anjali Huynh
   2. Illustration or Art: “A toxic tradition” by Crystal Kim
   3. In-depth news: “In the minority” by Anjali Huynh and Jessica Moonjely
   4. Infographic: “A movement beginning with a letter” by Lydia Guo
   5. Multimedia feature story: “Novel conversations” by Kristina Rosebrook, Maddi Shinall and Sophie Stephens
   6. Multimedia news story: “Keeping her father alive: how a suburban dad and Charles Barkley impacted a nation” by Anjali Huynh
   7. Multimedia sports story: “Why not women too?” by Will Conrad and Deniz Ince
   8. News story: “Cut” by Natalie Katz
   9. Personality profile: “An unexpected addition” by Jessica Moonjely
   10. Photo slideshow: “West keeps the boot” by Kara Wagenknecht
   11. Podcast: “West Side Radio: The Me Too movement’s impact on the U.S. Humanities curriculum” by Jessica Doyle and Harry Westergaard
   12. Sports photo: “Even Brauns” by Kara Wagenknecht
   13. Video news show: “Dec. 7 West High Weekly” by Holden Logan, Ian Prescott and Kristina Rosebrook
   14. Web design for wsspaper.com: WSS staff

The West Side Story staff received second place in the state for the following:

1. Designer of the Year: Lydia Guo 
2. Hawkeye Photographer of the Year: Kara Wagenknecht 
3. Feature photo: “Fashion Friday: Rawan Guzouli” by Kara Wagenknecht 
4. Illustration or Art: “Into the Spider-Verse” by Rain Richards
5. Infographic: “Fall recap” by Crystal Kim
6. Multimedia feature story: “Resilience” by Natalie Dunlap, Maddi Shinall and Sidney Kiersch
7. Multimedia news story: “March for our lives” by Kara Wagenknecht 
8. Multimedia sports story: “West basketball teams battle City” by Kara Wagenknecht
9. Reviews: “Book review: “Skyward” blasts off with joyous and potent sci-fi fare” by Edward Keen
10. Social media coverage: WSS staff
11. Sports story: “Why not women too?” by Will Conrad and Deniz Ince
12. Staff editorial: “Safety first” by Thomas Duong 
13. Video news show: “WHW 1.18.19” by Ian Prescott and Kristina Rosebrook
14. Video story: “Behind the scenes of Miracle on 34th Street” by Kristina Rosebrook

The West Side Story staff received third place in the state for the following:

1. In-depth news: “A spectrum of perspectives” by Will Conrad and Anjali Huynh
2. Infographic: “Women in politics” by Sidney Kiersch
3. Multimedia feature story: “From a passion to a profession” by Aditi Borde and Alex Carlon
4. Multimedia news story: “Starting the new year with nothing” by Bess Frerichs and Gwen Watson
5. Multimedia sports story: “The club advantage” by Deniz Ince
6. Newsmagazine – one page design: “Summer popsicles” by Lydia Guo
7. News photo: “March for our lives cover” by Kara Wagenknecht
8. Personality profile: “High school celebrity” by Jenna Wang 
9. Photo slideshow: “Boys basketball moves onto state tournament” by Kara Wagenknecht
10. Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Discussing Elon’s mid-life crisis and Trump’s inescapable self-sabotage” by Rain Richards and Ken Wilbur

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The West Side Story staff received honorable mention for the following:

1. Ad design: “Aspen Leaf” by Frances Dai
2. Feature photo: “Erin Netolicky” by Maddi Shinall
3. Feature story: “A cultural community” by Anna Brown
4. Multimedia news story: “Meet candidates for senior class president and vice president” by Fatima Kammona
5. Multimedia sports story: “Trojan nation goes golden” by Grace Christopher and Kara Wagenknecht
6. Newsmagazine – multiple page design: “Why not women, too?” by Lydia Guo
7. Newsmagazine – one page design: “Why not women, too? cover” by Lydia Guo
8. News photo: “Walk it out” by Kara Wagenknecht
9. Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Choose your own adventure podcast” by Noah Krchak 
10. Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Fall Sports Recap” by Will Conrad and Ken Wilbur
11. Review: “‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ is another win for Barry Jenkins” by Harry Westergaard
12. Video news show: “WHW 3.1.19” by Grace Christopher, Ian Prescott, Rain Richards and Jillian Prescott
13. Video story: “Katya Moeller: Young Violinist” by Ian Prescott
14. Writer of the Year: Natalie Dunlap

IHSPA identified Alex Carlon, Natalie Dunlap, Natalie Katz, Jessica Moonjely and Jillian Prescott as Emerging Journalist Finalists, a program which seeks to acknowledge emerging talent in newspaper, yearbook and digital media students in member high schools. From the 34 state finalists, IHSPA then selects 10 Emerging Journalist winners based on the overall quality of their work, the impact on their school and community, the students’ understanding of the fundamentals of journalism and the level of experimentation. Three of the ten winners are from the WSS staff, and they are Natalie Dunlap, Natalie Katz and Jessica Moonjely.

IHSPA honored Sophie Stephens and Kara Wagenknecht as IHSPA Scholars, an academic honor for seniors.