Awards & Recognitions

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2024).

Finalist for Best of MS for News Story (Individual) — Madeline Fowler, “CHHS upholds ‘A’ ranking for the 2022-2023 school year.”

Finalist for Best of MS for Depth Reporting (Individual) — Madeline Fowler, “It’s time for consumers to quit ‘buying’ into fast fashion.”

Finalist for Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Alfeenah Prather, “Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ splashes into families’ must-watch list.”

Finalist for Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Brylee Rowland, “Opinion: Kids should skip the Sephora haul and return to their Webkinz days.”

Winner for Best of MS for Review (Individual) — Arturo Guerrero II, “Review: ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ examines family dynamics during teenhood.”

Finalist for Best of MS for Review (Individual) — Arthur Roman Jr., “Review: Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS’ charts number 1; is it worthy?”

Finalist for Best of MS for Editorial Cartoon (Individual) — Arturo Guerrero II

“Web of Memories.” Clip Studio, Digital Art, 07 Sept. 2023. (Arturo Guerrero II)

Finalist for Best of MS for Editorial Cartoon (Individual) — Arturo Guerrero II

“A Stalker Lurks.” Clip Studio, Digital Art, 01 Nov. 2023. (Arturo Guerrero II)

Finalist for Best of MS for Sports Story (Individual) — Erik Mendoza, “Volleyball’s senior night serves against Saltillo.”

Winner for Best of MS for News Photo (Individual) — Stefany Sobotka

Finalist for Best of MS for News Photo (Individual) — Cheyanne Cruse

Sept. 22, 2023; Olive Branch, MS, USA. Taking the win, Center Hill’s boys soccer team knocks out their competitors—both tigers and fellow floats alike—in the Homecoming parade float contest. (Cheyanne Cruse)

Finalist for Best of MS for Sports Photo (Individual) — Stefany Sobotka

Finalist for Best of MS for Opinion Writing (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express

Finalist for Best of MS for Online Presence (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express

Finalist for Best of MS for Social Media Presence (All-Publications) — The Pony Express, Instagram and Twitter.

2024 Class of All-Mississippi Honoree (Individual) — Michael Montgomery, Editor-in-Chief of The Pony Express

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2023).

Finalist of Best of MS for Review (Individual) — Stefany Sobotka, “Review: Jax’s ‘Victoria’s Secret’ portrays women’s empowerment and fights against body stereotypes.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Depth Reporting (Individual)— Zahara Jamshidi, “Sunshine Protection Act moves to ‘save daylight’ permanently.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Stefany Sobotka, “Review: Jax’s ‘Victoria’s Secret’ portrays women’s empowerment and fights against body stereotypes.”

Finalist of Best of MS for News Photograph (Individual) — Stefany Sobotka

School resource officer Hannah celebrates his team’s inevitable victory at the pep rally. This photo, taken by Photography Editor Stefany Sobotka, placed as a finalist for “Best News Photo” at MSPA’s Spring 2023 “Best of MS” awards. (Stefany Sobotka)

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2022).

Finalist for JoAnne Sellers Newspaper Adviser of the Year— Ginny Shikle, The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Winner of Best of MS for Depth Reporting (Individual) — Shelby Parsons, “Mississippi governor turns medical marijuana bill into law.”

This is a thoroughly researched and fact-filled presentation on the topic addressed this situation by the Mississippi Legislature. People curious about this topic were provided a clear picture of the situation.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Review (Individual) — Jasmine Cork, “Review: Melanie Martinez’s “K-12” fails as a musical.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Shelby Parsons, “Opinion: Sex, Society, and Mississippi Public Education.”

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2021).

Finalist JoAnne Sellers Newspaper Adviser of the Year — Ginny Shikle, The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for News Story (Individual) — Tony Macklin, “District rolls out digital learning initiative.”

Finalist of Best of MS for News Story (Individual) — Shelby Parsons, “Desoto County Schools to extend online learning.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Feature Story (Individual) — Jose Esquivel, “Mustang Profile: Lily Moore is motivated by what seems impossible to others.”

Winner of Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Lily Dawson, “Opinion: Stay safe, Center Hill: My experience with COVID-19.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Zackery Blaisdell, “Opinion: We must spread the cure faster than the illness.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Editorial Cartoon (Individual) — Lacey Buckley, “Mental Health During Quarantine.”

“Mental Health During Quarantine.” Digital Art, 18 Dec. 2020. (Lacey Buckley)

Finalist of Best of MS for News Photograph (Individual) — Morgan Ewing II

Hope Mealer, right, logs in to her new school-issued laptop. The school distributed about 1,000 Lenovo ThinkPads to students through the Digital Learning Initiative. (Morgan Ewing II)

Finalist of Best of MS for Page Design (Individual) — Brandon Mayse, Volume 4, Issue 2, “National Blue Ribbon School” (Page 1)

The Pony Express, Volume 4, Issue 2, “National Blue Ribbon School.” (Designed by Brandon Mayse)

Finalist of Best of MS for Page Design (Individual) — Brandon Mayse, The Pony Express, Volume 4, Issue 4, “Mustang Profile: Lily Moore is motivated by what seems impossible to others.” (Page 6)

The Pony Express, Volume 4, Issue 4, “Mustang Profile: Lily Moore is motivated by what seems impossible to others.” (Designed by Brandon Mayse)

Finalist of Best of MS for Infographic (Individual) — Brandon Mayse, “Desoto County Schools Digital Learning Initiative.”

“Desoto County Schools Digital Learning Initiative.” (Infographic by Brandon Mayse; Photo by Jose Esquivel)

Finalist of Best of MS for News Publication of the Year (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for News and Feature Writing (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for Opinion Writing (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for Print Layout & Design (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for Online Presence (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

MSPA Best of MS Literary Magazine Awards (Fall 2020).

Finalist for Adviser of the Year — Michelle Jones, inkstained., Center Hill High School

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2020).

Winner of Best of MS for Depth Reporting (Individual) — Shelby Parsons, “Gasping for air: An American pandemic.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Feature Story (Individual) — Sarah Claire Miller, “Students broaden horizons with world travels.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Opinion Piece (Individual) — Kymoria Mottley, “Opinion: Overcome intolerance with education.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Staff Editorial (Individual) — The Pony Express Staff, “Editorial: Slashing and burning in Amazon rainforest are killing our planet.”

Winner of Best of MS for Editorial Cartoon (Individual) — Lacey Buckley, “Perplexed Personas”

“Perplexed Personas.” Digital Art. (Lacey Buckley)

Winner of Best of MS for Sports Story (Individual) — Cassidy Bishop, “Northwest bound, Laila Armstong almost didn’t play softball.”

Finalist of Best of MS for News Photo (Individual) — Shelby Parsons

For TV and Movie Dress Up Day, inclusion teacher Heather Wilder dressed as Melanie Daniels, a character from the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds.” Wilder said she bought the suit at an estate sale, and she and her mother sewed on birds purchased from Dollar Tree. (Shelby Parsons)

Finalist of Best of MS for Sports Photo (Individual) — Katie Whitaker

Lauryn Bulloch pushes the ball while her teammates cover during an Aug. 20 match against Southaven. The Mustangs won the home non-conference match 3-0. (Katie Whitaker)

Finalist of Best of MS for Print Layout & Design (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for Online Presence (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

MSPA Convention Carry-In Awards (Spring 2020).

Winner of COVID-19 Coverage for COVID-19 Visuals (Individual) — Lacey Buckely, “Out until April 17, teachers, students begin distant learning.”

According to cdc.gov, “A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).” In response to the pandemic and to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Mississippi, all public schools are closed through at least April 17. (Lacey Buckley)

Finalist of COVID-19 Coverage for COVID-19 Writing (Individual) — Sarah Claire Miller, “Out until April 17, teachers, students begin distant learning.”

Winner of COVID-19 Coverage for COVID-19 Design (Individual) — Sarah Claire Miller, “COVID-19”

“COVID-19” Infographic. (Sarah Claire Miller)

Winner of Visuals for Portrait (Individual) — Max Lankford

His 30 on the ACT and 5.0 GPA prove athlete David DuVall is more than sports. “The stereotype ‘dumb jock’ has always kinda been at the back of my mind, but I try my best to not let it define who I am,” the senior said. (Max Lankford)

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2019).

Finalist for JoAnne Sellers Newspaper Adviser of the Year— Ginny Shikle, The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for News Story (Individual) — Mary Catherine Miller, “Flat tire creates memorable road trip for girls track team.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Depth Reporting (Individual) — Emily Merz, “Center Hill students, staff not immune to flu epidemic.”

Finalist of Best of MS for Editorial Cartoons (Individual) — Ana Le, “The controversy of Colin Kapernick, Nike and kneeling”

“The Controversy of Colin Kapernick, Nike, and Kneeling.” Colored Pencil, Paper, 25 Sept. 2018. (Ana Le)

Winner of Best of MS for News Photo (Individual) — Annie Chan

Spurred to action by the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, protesters rallied across the country March 24 during the March for Our Lives. The student-led movement for gun control included this rally in Memphis. (Annie Chan)

Finalist of Best of MS for Feature Photo (Individual) — Candice Buford

Freshman Caden Tackett holds Oreo, one of the pets in Kerry Matthews’s biology classroom. Matthews also has two cockatiels named Chainsaw and Pickles and a betta fish named Mr. Coffee because it lives in an old coffee pot. (Candice Buford)

Finalist of Best of MS for News Publication of the Year (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express,, Center Hill High School

Scholastic Press Ally Award — William “Bill” Hatch, Center Hill High School

MSPA Best of MS Newspaper Awards (Spring 2018).

Finalist of Best of MS for Feature Photo (Individual) — Kayleigh Miron

Melanie Caffee, director of “A Christmas Carol,” applies Logan Vandevender’s stage makeup during a recent rehearsal. (Kayleigh Miron)

Winner of Best of MS for Sports Photo (Individual) — Annie Chan

In the first four games of the season, Brien Kimmons scored no less than 26 points. (Annie Chan)

Finalist of Best of MS for Sports Photo (Individual) — Annie Chan

Processed with VSCO with e1 preset. (Annie Chan)

Winner of Best of MS for Most Improved (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for News & Feature Writing (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express,, Center Hill High School

Finalist of Best of MS for Online Presence (Newspaper Publication) — The Pony Express,, Center Hill High School

Winner of JoAnne Sellers Newspaper Adviser of the Year— Ginny Shikle, The Pony Express,, Center Hill High School

Finalist for Newspaper Editor of the Year — Sherrice Wright, The Pony Express, Center Hill High School

MSPA Convention Carry-In Awards (Spring 2018).

Finalist for News Photo (Individual) — Annie Chan