Downers Grove South journalism students take third place in state contest

Journalism students at Downers Grove South High School took third place in the Illinois High School Association State Journalism competition.

The contest allows students to showcase their talents in journalism, according to a news release.

Downers Grove South took home several medals, including first place in Yearbook Caption Writing (Juliana Conyer), second place in Radio News (Hugo Pletcher), third place in Copy Editing (Maya Homberg) and Yearbook Copy Editing (Mia Cassin) and fifth place in TV news (Emma Fudacz, Megan Fox, Isabella Shin). The team of students was coached by Mary Long, Kari Alore and Mark Indreika.

“It is an honor just to get to advance to state,” Long, an English teacher and journalism sponsor at South High School, said in the release. “The whole team should be proud of their work. They are such a smart and talented group of students.”

Students who participated in the competition included Emma Fudacz, Megan Fox, Isabella Shin, Hugo Pletcher, Maya Homberg, Juliana Conyer, Mias Cassin, Marty Blader, Joey Portell, Kate Dziewiniski, Anthony Addante, Catherine Hewawissa, Itzel Sanchez, Haley Fredricks, Julia Frauendorff and Hanna Rodeck.

The tournament begins with sectional competitions at seven locations around the state. The top three finishers in each event at the sectional sites compete in the state final.