Palo Alto’s Gunn High School takes top honors in Press Club student journalism contest

Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto took top honors at the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club’s 2012 High School Journalism Awards which were presented Thursday afternoon at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo.

Gunn’s newspaper, The Oracle, was recognized as the first-place winner in the General Excellence category. The paper’s editor and advisor will be honored at the Press Club’s Evening of Excellence May 19 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City.

In all, 11 Peninsula high schools participated in the competition, which drew 419 entries in 12 categories from 223 students. Fifty students representing eight high schools won awards.

The Outlook of Aragon High School in San Mateo took 12 awards, the highest number to a single school in the competition. The Highlander of Carlmont High School in Belmont and Gunn’s Oracle tied for second with seven awards each.

The contest was judged by professional journalists who are members of the Press Club. Here is a complete list of the winning entries:

News Story

First:  Amrita Moitra and Jean Wang, The Oracle, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Second:  Sabrina Imbler, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Third:  Brian Benton, The Campanile, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto

Feature Story

First:  Kira Brenner, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Second:  Sabrina Imbler, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Third:  Sarah Levin, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Sports Story

First:  Gianna Dimick, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Second:  Jack Heffernan, The Friar, Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo

Third:  Jack Heffernan, The Friar, Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo

Editorial

First:  Cooper Aspegren, The Oracle, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Second:  The Burlingame B Staff, Burlingame High School, Burlingame

Third:  The Outlook Staff, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Column

First:  Carly Bertolozzi, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Second:  Peter Dennis, The Viking Sports Magazine, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto

Third:  Ashley Ngu, The Oracle, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

News Photo

First:  Liz Vargas, The Panther, Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto

Second:  Chloe Scott, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Third:  Chloe Scott, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Feature Photo

First:  Kore Chan, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Second:  Sam Alavi, Kore Chan, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Third:  Wendy Qiu, The Oracle, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Sports Photo

First:  Kore Chan, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Second:  Alex Furuya, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Third:  Sam Alavi, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Layout and Design

First:  The Outlook Staff, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Second:  The Panther Staff, Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto

Third:  The Highlander Staff, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Web Site Design

First:  Jonathan Slowey and Victoria Xiao, thebearcat.net, San Mateo High School, San Mateo

Second:  Dylan Wang, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Third:  The Oracle Staff, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Web Site Content

First:  Jonathan Slowey and Victoria Xiao, thebearcat.net, San Mateo High School, San Mateo

Second:  The Oracle Staff, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Third:  The Staff, scotscoopnews.com, Carlmont High School, Belmont

General Excellence

First:  The Oracle Staff, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Second:  The Campanile Staff, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto

Third:  The Outlook Staff, Aragon High School, San Mateo