Inkspot sends 5 to IHSA State Journalism competition

Five members of Community’s journalism program qualified for the IHSA State Journalism competition. Each competitor finished in the top-three in the cateogy they participated in at Sectionals.

Five Inkspot staff members are headed to the IHSA State Journalism Finals on April 26 at Heartland Community College.

Abby Ruebush, Bella Green, Ben Kerber, Charlie Faulkner and BJ Dumas posted top-three finishes at April 5’s Sectional competition, qualifying for the State Final.

At the competition, the journalists showcased various real-world journalistic skills—writing, reporting, editing—in a 90-minute or three-hour time frame.

Ruebush, the Inkspot’s Editor-in-Chief, was the Sectional champion in Headline Writing, earning the senior a third straight trip to State.

Green will compete in two events when she makes her debut at State; the junior finished third in News Writing and Sports Writing.

Kerber and Faulkner each earned second-place honors, finishing as runners-up in Radio News and Editorial Cartooning, respectively.

Dumas earned a third-place finish in the Yearbook Double-page Spread category with his design skills stamping his ticket to State.

Community took fifth in the Sectional with 45 points, scoring in 15 of the 17 events the Inkspot staff competed in. A complete list of the Inkspot’s point-scorers is provided below.

Community’s State competitors will look to beat last year’s IHSA Finals finish in which three journalists medaled, tying a program record.

2024 IHSA Sectional Medalists

Carter Hull – Advertising – 6th place

Carter Hull – Yearbook Copy Writing – 6th place

Abby Ruebush – Copy Editing – 6th place

Charlie Faulkner – Infographics – 5th place

Bailey Kozlen – Editorial Writing – 5th place

Bailey Kozlen – Yearbook Caption Writing – 5th place

BJ Dumas – Newspaper Design – 5th place

Bryce Hickman – Review Writing – 4th place

Pranathi Ganti, Marielsie Iglesias, Zach Knox-Doyle – TV News – 4th place

BJ Dumas – Yearbook Doublepage Spread Design – 3rd place*

Bella Green – Sports Writing – 3rd place*

Bella Green – News Writing – 3rd place*

Ben Kerber – Radio News – 2nd place*

Charlie Faulkner – Editorial Cartooning – 2nd place*

Abby Ruebush – Headline Writing – 1st place*

*State Qualifier

Team Finish – 45 points – 5th place

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Inkspot Staff

Stories published under Inkspot Staff are unattributed to a single reporter because they: have been produced through a collaborative staff effort; individual staff member contribution is not easily distinguishable; and/or the story was disseminated from announcements or press releases.