The Arkansas Press Women (APW) have announced the winners of the 2026 High School Communications Contest, recognizing outstanding student work in journalism, photography, broadcasting, and media production from across the state.
This year’s contest showcased exceptional talent from Arkansas high schools, with strong participation from programs in Little Rock, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Bryant, Rogers, Lakeside, Conway, and other communities. Student journalists and media teams competed across a wide range of categories, including writing, design, video, photography, and broadcast journalism.
First-place winners from Arkansas will advance to the national competition conducted by the National Federation of Press Women, where they will compete against top student communicators from across the country.
“Each year, we are inspired by the creativity, professionalism, and dedication these students bring to their work,” said APW High School Contest Director Maryanne Meyerriecks. “These students are already telling important stories in their communities, and their work reflects the future of journalism and communications in Arkansas and beyond.”
The APW High School Communications Contest is designed to encourage excellence in student media and provide young communicators with opportunities for recognition and advancement at the national level.
Here is a complete list of award winners in the APW High School Contest:
Editorials
- 1st: Fajr Abdeljayem — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Elizabeth Rigby — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Asha Carter — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Alex Duhan — Little Rock Central HS
Opinion
- 1st: Makiah Perkins — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Yashika Bhagat — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Naomi Tahirou — Har-Ber HS
- Honorable Mention: Luca Peek — Little Rock Central HS
News Story
- 1st: Angelica Healey — Bentonville West HS
- 2nd: Maeher Kumar — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Ava Kate White — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Molly Rushton — Har-Ber HS; Thomas Belnap — Bentonville West HS; Taneesha Mohanta — Little Rock Central HS
Feature Story
- 1st: Ava Davenport — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Sloan Austin — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Maeher Kumar — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Sharlotte Davis; Rayyan Kreiwesh; Ma-Cey Cleveland; Krystina Montgomery; Luca Peek — Little Rock Central HS
Sports Story
- 1st: Annie Eubanks & Fajr Abdeljayem — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Sloan Austin & Luca Peek — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Zoe Smith & Julianna Baldwin — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Carsyn Coleman & Libby Castoe — Heritage HS (Rogers)
Columns or Blogs
- 1st: Alex Duhon — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Zoe Smith — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Hannah Cherepski — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Aaliyah Arnold — Little Rock Central HS
Review
- 1st: Sloan Austin — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Julia Hardin — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Jaylen Jenkins & Saer Hollingsworth — Little Rock Central HS; Carsyn Coleman — Heritage HS
- Honorable Mention: Bowen Darling; Chloe White — Little Rock Central HS
News or Feature Photo
- 1st: Asha Carter — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Elizabeth Rigby — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: A’lyric Jenkins — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Chloe White — Little Rock Central HS
Sports Photo
- 1st: Asha Carter — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Julianna Baldwin — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Carsyn Coleman — Heritage HS
Cartooning
- 1st: Saer Hollingsworth — Little Rock Central HS
Graphics/Photo Illustration
- 1st & 2nd: Carsyn Coleman — Heritage HS
- 3rd: Krystina Montgomery — Little Rock Central HS
- Honorable Mention: Asha Carter; Saer Hollingsworth — Little Rock Central HS
Environment
- 1st: Asha Carter & Isabella Wall — Little Rock Central HS
Single Page Layout
- 1st: Caroline Baker & Sharlotte Harris — Little Rock Central HS
- 2nd: Asha Carter, Julianna Baldwin & A’lyric Jenkins — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Asha Carter — Little Rock Central HS
Double-Truck Layout
- 1st & 2nd: Asha Carter — Little Rock Central HS
- 3rd: Yashika Bhagat, Asha Carter & Ava Kate White — Little Rock Central HS
Radio/TV Talk Show or Interview
- 1st: Ross May & Tate Barnes — Fayetteville HS
- 2nd & 3rd: Carsyn Coleman — Heritage HS
Best Newscast
- 1st: Mady Calhoun, Kaitlyn Ridgewell, Matthew Anderson & Isai Perez — Bryant HS (Hornet Media)
- 2nd: Fayetteville HS TV Staff — Fayetteville HS
- 3rd: Sarah Lanaux, Ava Kristofik & Miyah Pickens — Conway (Six-Leg Media)
Video Feature Story
- 1st: Megan Dyberg — Lakeside HS
- 2nd: Brooke Wanamaker — Conway; Logan Cowie — Fayetteville HS
- 3rd: Christianne Cain, Gresham Moseley, Aniyah Campbell & Laney Glymp — Bryant HS
- Honorable Mention: Johnny Stephens & Benjamin Plunkett — Little Rock School District
Video News Story
- 1st: Isai Perez, Mady Calhoun & Carson Jones — Bryant HS
- 2nd: Ross May — Fayetteville HS
- 3rd: Luke Layton, Anthony Isala & Nash Taylor — Lakeside HS
Video Sports Story
- 1st: Mady Calhoun & Taylor Lease — Bryant HS
- 2nd: Carsyn Coleman — Heritage HS
- 3rd: Jackson Davis, Brody Rima, Jacob Bailey & Will Shannon — Lakeside HS
Yearbook Layout
- 1st: Brooke Anderson — Har-Ber HS
- 2nd: Khloe Whitten — Bentonville West HS
- 3rd: Cooper Gary — Cabot HS
Yearbook Photo
- 1st: Jayden Gribble — Bentonville West HS
- 2nd: Joselyn Perez — Har-Ber HS
- 3rd: Harley Thomas — Cabot HS
Yearbook Copywriting
- 1st: Lucy Craven — Cabot HS
- 2nd: Angelica Healey — Bentonville West HS
- 3rd: Angelica Healey — Bentonville West HS
- Honorable Mention: Angelica Healey — Bentonville West HS; Emelyn Cersovsky — Har-Ber HS