On April 20 and 21, our own Mountie Spectrum went to the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) convention in Fayetteville. There, the staff garnered much recognition and many awards.

During ASPA, the Mountie Spectrum was honored as a superior publication. Later on the Spectrum was, of the Superior newspapers, chosen for the All-Arkansas–best in state–award for the second year in a row.

The first round of awards was for stories and photographs, published online or in print, that were submitted a month before the convention. They were ranked by Honorable Mention, Excellent, Superior; and of those awarded Superior, a rare few were named the Best of ASPA.

Honorable Mention Awards

Marlee Kinder won Honorable Mention for their infographic, opinion page design, and sports page design; Damian Ruiz won for his front page design; Ruiz and Isabelle Bonner won for their service to school/community story; Isabella Dattoli won for her feature photo; E.V. Beyers won for her Feature story, and feature page design; Beyers and Ruiz for their shared feature story.

Excellent Awards

In the Excellent category Gissel Barrientos won for her infographic; Barrientos and Ruiz won for their Photo Essay; Oliver Perron won for their News photo; Beyers won for her News story and centerspread design; Analyse Riley won for her Editorial.  

Superior Awards

Eva Mundo won Superior for her Review; Sebastian Perez for his sports photo; Perron for their Editorial; and Beyers for their Review. 

Best of ASPA Awards

Of the Superiors, Perron and Beyers were selected as the best of ASPA in their categories.

On the second day of the convention, ASPA hosted on-site competitions, a collection of timed journalism contests including digital, written, and photography categories, where students competed in-person. Kinder won second for their infographic; Bonner won third for interview reporting; Beyers won third for layout design; Samantha Olden won third for news writing; Kennedy Enyart won second for their review writing.

ASPA 2023 Awards

Overall General Excellence

All-Arkansas

Superior Rating

Best of ASPA 

Oliver Perron- Editorial 

E.V. Beyers- Review

Superior

Eva Mundo- Review

Sebastian Perez- Sports Photo

Oliver Perron- Editorial 

E.V. Beyers- Review

Excellent 

Gissel Barrientos- Infographic 

E.V. Beyers- News Story

Oliver Perron- News Photo

Gissel Barrientos & Damian Ruiz – Photo Essay

E.V. Beyers – Centerspread Design

Analyse Riley- Editorial

Honorable Mention

Marlee Kinder- Infographic 

Damian Ruiz & Isabelle Bonner – Service to School/Community 

Marlee Kinder- Opinion Page Design

Damian Ruiz- FP Design 

Bella Dattoli- Feature Photo

E.V. Beyers- Feature Story

E.V. Beyers – Feature Page Design

Marlee Kinder- Sports Page Design

E.V. Beyers & Damian Ruiz – Feature Story

On-Site Competitions

2nd Place – Marlee Kinder for Infographic 

2nd Place – Kenady Enyart Review

3rd Place- Isabelle Bonner for Interviewing Reporting

3rd Place – E.V. BeyersLayout Design

3rd Place – Samantha Olden News Writing