Journalism students from Hays High School won several individual awards and one group award at the Kansas Scholastic Press Association State Contest in Lawrence on May 3.

Four students placed in five events in the Class 5A/6A division while the school’s student newspaper, The Guidon, was named All-Kansas in Class 5A, the top award a student publication can be awarded in Kansas.

More than 1,000 students from all classifications competed in a variety of individual writing, design and photographic contests at the University of Kansas. Six places are awarded, including first, second, third, and three honorable mentions.

For Hays, senior Rachel Moravek placed in two events, taking third in editorial cartoon and honorable mention in newswriting. Senior Nicole Feyerherm won honorable mention in feature writing, while sophomore Brianna Mathias was honorable mention in yearbook copy writing. Senior Aislinn Walters also earned an honorable mention in headline writing.

“I’m very proud of these students,” journalism adviser Bill Gasper said. “It is very difficult to place at state because there are so quality 6A journalism programs from the larger schools in Eastern Kansas, many of which have three times as many students enrolled. I also want to commend all the others who competed at state. We had a great year overall as we qualified 17 people in 23 events at the Wichita 5A/6A regional competition.”

The Guidon, meanwhile, was one of three Class 5A papers to win All-Kansas, the fourth time in the last six years that Hays has earned the distinction.

Newspapers are judged in five areas – coverage, writing, design, visuals, and leadership. To earn All-Kansas distinction, a newspaper must have an All-Kansas rating in three areas. The Guidon earned All-Kansas in four, including coverage, writing, design and visuals.

“All-Kansas is our ultimate goal for our publications, so it goes without saying that I’m extremely proud of my newspaper staff,” Gasper said. “The award is a result of many hours of hard work by the newspaper staff and a belief that what they are doing is very important. And, not only is their work important, they are also learning valuable future workplace skills such as effective communication, teamwork, problem solving and creative thinking