HHS Journalism Team 2017
9 May 2017

On Friday, April 28, the Huntley HS Journalism team placed 4th in state in the IHSA State Journalism Tournament. Individual winners included Courtney Thomas (State Champion, Newspaper Design), Ryan O’Sullivan (3rd place, Photo Storytelling), Madison Barr (3rd place, Advertising), and Emily Kindl (5th place, Copy Editing).
It marked the 8th top-five finish since 2006 for the HHS Journalism team.
“It was kind of a shock to get first for Newspaper Design, but it really validated all of the design work I’ve done for the magazine,” Thomas said.
Thomas is the 8th state champion in journalism to come from HHS since 2006.
The success at the state finals followed the team sectional championship at the NIU IHSA Sectional held April 22. The team won the sectional with a total of 64 points over Galena (55 points) and South Elgin (40 points).
Individual winners from the sectional included:

  • Gwen Bryczek, Editorial Cartooning, 1st place
  • Bri Governale, Yearbook Layout, 1st place
  • Mawa Iqbal, News Writing, 1st place
  • Emily Kindl, Copy Editing, 1st place
  • Lucas Modzelewski, Review Writing, 1st place
  • Camille Paddock, Feature Writing, 1st place
  • Courtney Thomas, Newspaper Design, 1st place
  • Madison Barr, Advertising, 2nd place
  • Ryan O’Sullivan, Photo Storytelling, 2nd place
  • Alex Landman, YB Caption Writing, 4th place
  • Bry Walker, Broadcast, 4th place
  • Bri Governale, Katrina Troy, YB Theme, 5th place
  • Maggie McGee, Infographics, 5th place
  • Maddy Moffett, Editorial Writing, 6th place
  • Katrina Troy, Yearbook Copy Writing, 6th place.
It is the 8th sectional championship in the last 12 years of competition.
HHS Journalism Members at State
HHS Journalism Team Members at State
Journalism adviser Dennis Brown was pleased with the results.
“I’m so proud of everything that these students accomplished this year,” said Brown. “Each year these competitions get tougher and tougher and the fact that they were able to do so well is a testament to their hard work.”
In addition, senior Maddy Moffett was named to the Illinois Journalism Education Association’s All-State team, the seventh honoree since 2011.
“It was an honor to be nominated to my fellow editors and being named to the team was great,” said Moffett. “It was a great way to cap off my senior year.”