At the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Journalism Championship at Hartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, junior and Co-Sports Editor Anna Ivanov placed second in Yearbook Caption Writing, while junior and Co-Features Editor Molly Tomczyk placed third in Review Writing, and senior and Managing Editor of design Kaitlyn Jiang took sixth place in Newspaper Design, Bob Wysocki, English Teacher and Oracle adviser, said.

      After qualifying, 13 Oracle editors participated in IHSA sectionals on April 6, Wysocki said. There were seven students who qualified for state in total, including Ivanov, Tomczyk, and Jiang, as well as senior and Photos Editor Andrew Collaku, senior and Web Editor Kate Shambo, junior and Assistant Editor Jonnie Devine, and junior and Co-Features editor Maia Weissman. Collaku, Ivanov, Tomcyzk, and Weissman all took home the title of Design Sectional Champions, Wysocki said.

      Ivanov competed in Yearbook Caption Writing for her second time at state. Ivanov placed second this year after placing fifth the year prior. Under the subjects sports, academic life, student life, and clubs, writers have to create a two to three sentence caption in 90 minutes.

    Addditionally, The Illinois Journalism Education Association awarded The Oracle top newspaper in the state, as well as the number one hybrid publication in the state, meaning a newspaper that has both an online and printed publication site, Wysocki said.

     Overall, the IHSA state competition is a way for students to be recognized for their talents and hard work. Members of The Oracle have strong skill sets to share, and IHSA is a great way to utilize journalistic skills, Wysocki added.

        “[This contest] to me is a validation of the hard work and talent that [students] have,” Wysocki said. “[IHSA state] is a reinforcement that what [our students] are doing is great work and an acknowledgement of [our students’] talent.”