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Five Blueprint writers have placed in the 2019 PA Press Awards.  Two students earned first place this year.

This is the fourth year the BA Blueprint has participated in this contest.

Julian Bartlebaugh received first place for his “Under Pressure” story in the Sports Story category.  Bartlebaugh also got an honorable mention in the News story category with “Hyped over energy drinks: B-A students look for balance with access to sugary and caffeinated drinks”.

Blueprint Advisor, Mr. Kerry Naylor, commented, “Every story Julian written this year has been a big one.  He loves long-form writing and he’s very good at putting in the work, which is why he also won two SNO Awards.”

The other first place winner is Mya Decker in Radio/TV Interview or Talk Show for her “2 Cool 4 School” videos.  Mya Decker also received an honorable mention for her story “Just a Cheerleader” in the sports category.

“2 Cool 4 School is Mya’s baby,” said Mr. Naylor. “It’s a totally original idea that she came up with on her own as a junior, and at that time she was producing it almost every week just as a part of an independent study. It’s taken off and gown and it’s wonderful to see her work rewarded.”

A second place winner is Kaelynn Behrens in the Feature story category for “Ripples of Change: B-A grad helps open cashew factory to spark Mozambique economy”.

Mason Yingling got second place in the Sports story category for his “Wanting Moore: B-A senior Jordan Moore survived a near fatal-crash in May and he’s returning to the football field tonight” story.

In the Video Feature story category, Kaelynn Behrens and Mya Decker received third place for their “Forgotten Bellwood” documentary series.

Mr. Naylor added, “Kaelynn and Mya have been the backbone of our video department for three years and they’ve been getting accolades for a long time.  It’s very well deserved, and I have no idea what we will do without them.”

Maria Cuevas got an honorable mention in Sports photo with her picture from “Bellwood-Antis vs. West Branch Wrestling Match”.

“I’m very proud of our writers.  The students who did well in this contest are kids who work very hard and push themselves to be the best.  They thrive on feedback and want to write big, important stories,” Mr. Naylor says.

“Blueprint has been my life for my entire high school career. Getting recognized like this for all of the hard work our staff has put in is really amazing. Being named the Editor in Chief has been my greatest honor and I am so proud of everything we have put out as a team,” said Behrens.

“Blueprint has been huge for me! I’m so proud of all of the Blueprint writers! Mostly of Julian and Kaelynn. Julian is crazy dedicated and that will serve him well and Kaelynn is crazy driven and she will succeed in anything she does because of it. I loved this class and the things we were able to accomplish and I’m so blessed to see us all get rewarded,” said Decker

The students who won an award will attend an Awards Banquet on June 1 in Lilitz.

Both Decker and Bartlebaugh will now have their work entered into the National Federation of Press Women’s national contest in Baton Rouge.