With more than 2,000 students and more than 400 schools represented at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Diego April 10-13, The Apple Leaf placed among the top 10 tabloid newspapers in the nation for the fourth competition in a row. The publication ranked third this year, up from the 10th place received in the fall of 2013, and ninth place in the spring of 2013.

“I’m really proud of the entire staff,” adviser Dave Riggs said. “I think third place in the nation shows the level of dedication and overall excellence that our staff shows everyday.”

Seven Apple Leaf staff members also won individual awards for their write-off categories.

Sophomore Storrie Skalisky got a Superior for news/feature photography and junior Bryce Newberry won an Excellent in news writing. Honorable Mention winners were junior Emily Cieslak (feature writing), senior Katherine Robinson (sports writing), senior Gabe Mercer (newspaper sports photography), senior Amanda Bixby (review writing), and senior Will DeMarco (commentary writing).

Two WaWa yearbook staff members also attended the convention and junior Matthew Tangeman, WaWa’s photo editor, won an honorable mention for yearbook sports photography.

“The number of individual awards is a great reflection,” Riggs said. “It shows how much talent we have on this staff. We’ve got some really, truly, outstanding student journalists.”