Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - The Mill Creek Chronicle won the top prize in a high school journalism contest sponsored by the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Mill Creek High School's student newspaper won seven first-place awards, including best news section, best editorial page, best photography, best design and layout, and general excellence, at an awards ceremony Wednesday evening at the Daily Post's office.

"We were shooting for most improved," Chronicle co-editor Emily Baker said. "We were really surprised and excited (to win)."

Co-editor Kellie Beaumont said students attended a journalism conference in St. Louis, Missouri, which helped bring the staff closer together.

Peachtree Ridge High School's student newspaper, The Roar, won honorable mention for general excellence, as well as two first-place writing awards.

Twelve high schools - Berkmar, Brookwood, Collins Hill, Dacula, Grayson, Mill Creek, Norcross, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, Shiloh, Wesleyan and Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - participated in the eighth annual Gwinnett High School Journalism Awards Contest, which honors the county's most talented young newspaper reporters, photographers and page designers.

"We enjoy getting to see the high school papers and recognize them for the quality work they're doing," Daily Post editor Todd Cline said. "We've been sponsoring this contest for eight years, and it's amazing how the papers keep improving year after year."

THE WINNERS

Individual Awards

Best Art or Illustration

Winner: Lindsay Davis, Mill Creek High School, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Tiana Bui and Teresa Davis, Mill Creek High School, Mill Creek Chronicle

Best Features Photo

Winner: Lauren Kinney, Norcross High School, The Devils' Dispatch

Honorable mention: Justin Davis, Dacula High School, The Talon

Best Sports Photo

Winner: Lindsay Davis, Mill Creek High, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Justin Davis, Dacula High, The Talon

Best News Photo

Winner: Judy Kim, Peachtree Ridge High, The Roar

Honorable mention: Dakota Hosking, Dacula High, The Talon

Best Sports Story

Winner: Hunter Hartwell, Wesleyan, Green & Gold

Honorable mention: Lauren Nation, Brookwood High, The Sentinel

Best Features Story

Winner: Sammi Chancey, Peachtree Ridge High, The Roar

Honorable mention: Andrew Siegel, Wesleyan, Green & Gold

Best Column

Winner: Anisha Hedge, Brookwood High, The Sentinel

Honorable mention: Will Taylor and Ryan Schulze, Wesleyan, Green & Gold

Best Editorial

Winner: Justin Davis, Dacula High, The Talon

Honorable mention: Peachtree Ridge High, The Roar

Best News Story

Winner: Kristen Lewis, Collins Hill High, The Eagles' Voice

Honorable mention: Vanessa Flores, Berkmar High, The Liberty and Uday Betarbet, Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Zeitgeist

Publication Awards

Best Design/Layout

Winner: Mill Creek High, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Wesleyan, Green & Gold

Best Photography

Winner: Mill Creek High, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Dacula, The Talon

Best Sports Section

Winner: Peachtree Ridge High, The Roar

Honorable mention: Grayson High, Green & Gold

Best Features Section

Winner: Norcross High, The Devils' Dispatch

Honorable mention: Peachtree Ridge High, The Roar

Best Editorial Page

Winner: Mill Creek High, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Grayson High, Green & Gold

Best News Section

Winner: Mill Creek High, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Wesleyan, Green & Gold

Most Improved

Winner: Brookwood High, The Sentinel

General Excellence

Winner: Mill Creek High, Mill Creek Chronicle

Honorable mention: Peachtree Ridge High, The Roar