Lions Roar earns Silver Star
By Melinda A. Lucas
The staff of The Lions Roar, the student newspaper for Albany High School, earned a 16th consecutive Star Award along with over 40 individual honors announced by the Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC) on Saturday.
The annual state-level journalism convention was cancelled for a second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but results of the judging were posted on Saturday.
The newspaper received an overall rating of Distinguished Merit, qualifying the publication to be considered for a Star Award. The Lions Roar was one of just four papers to be awarded a Silver Star, making it one of the top 10 student papers in the state among all classifications.
“We were given a Silver Star this year, following two straight years of receiving the Gold Star,” newspaper adviser Donnie Lucas said. “Some staff members were disappointed that we didn’t get Gold again this year, but it is still a prestigious honor to be in the top 10 in the state. Once we receive the written evaluations from the judges, we will see where we need to improve to get back to a Gold Star.”
This year a total of 16 Star Awards were given, including six Gold, four Silver, and six Bronze. The Lions Roar received its only Bronze Star 16 years ago, followed by eight Gold Stars and seven Silver Stars since then.
“All the papers that were awarded Silver and Gold Stars were from 4A to 6A schools except for Albany,” Lucas said. “Our kids remain competitive with newspaper staffs from much larger schools across the state.”
In addition to the overall rating for the paper, staff members competed in the 2A-3A division for individual awards, earning over 40 honors including two Tops in Texas.
The first place winners in each division, including the combined 2A-3A division as well as the 4A, 5A, and 6A entries are judged again to determine one single winner across the state in each contest.
Two Albany students won a Tops in Texas this year, including senior Hannah Trail in Editorial Cartoon and senior Sidney Bartee for Entertainment Page Design.
Each paper was allowed to submit two entries in each of the 30 contests.
Individual Winners
News Writing - 1. Luke Ivy
News Feature - HM Leddie Leech.
Editorial Writing - 2. Sarah Cotter.
Sports News Story - 1. Brooks Neece. HM Elia Hebel.
Sports Feature Story - 2. Presley Green. 3. Leddie Leech.
Feature Story - 3. Tana Thompson. HM Susie Cormack.
Entertainment Review - 3. Tana Thompson.
Entertainment Feature - 1. Sidney Bartee. 2. Sidney Bartee.
Photo Story - 1. Elia Hebel. 2. Elia Hebel and Tana Thompson.
Personal Column - 2. Tana Thompson.
Personal Opinion Column - 1. Hannah Trail.
Sports Column - 1. Ty Everitt. 3. Ty Everitt.
In-Depth News/Feature Package - 1. Tana Thompson, Ashley Richards and Luke Ivy. 2. Hannah Trail and Tana Thompson.
Infographic/Sidebar - 2. Hannah Trail.
Editorial Cartoon - 1. Hannah Trail. 2. Hannah Trail.
Sports Page/Spread Design - 2. Ty Everitt and Sidney Bartee.
Feature Page/Spread Design - 2. Hannah Trail.
Entertainment Page/Spread Design - 1. Sidney Bartee. 2. Sidney Bartee.
News Page Design - 1. Hannah Trail.
Editorial Page/Spread Design - 1. Tana Thompson. 2. Tana Thompson.
Page One Newspaper Design - 1. Tana Thompson. 3. Tana Thompson.
General News Photo - 1. Tana Thompson. 2. Ty Everitt.
Feature Photo - 2. Ty Everitt.
Entertainment Photo - 1. Tana Thompson. 2. Luke Ivy.
Sports Action Photo - 1. Elia Hebel. HM Elia Hebel.
Sports Feature Photo - 2. Tana Thompson. 3. Elia Hebel.
Portrait - 2. Tana Thompson.
Photo Portfolio - 1. Tana Thompson.
Pandemic Newspaper IAAs
2A-4A Division
News Story - HM Luke Ivy.
Feature Story - HM Susie Cormack.
Student Life Photo - 1. Tana Thompson. HM Tana Thompson.
