Three Star Valley High School students took home first place ribbons in the Wyoming State Young Authors writing competition. Senior Taggart Ivie, junior Symantha Hepworth and freshman Aniston Schwab were honored as the state’s first place winners in a celebration on May 2 at St. Anthony’s Tri-Parish School in Casper for their Fiction pieces that were submitted to the state competition after placing first in the LCSD#2 finals.

“This year has been especially remarkable for LCSD#2 students,” said Cheyanne Wolfley, who serves as the District Grants Coordinator with LCSD#2. “Our district earned 12 state-level awards, including three first-place honors and nine honorable mentions. We are incredibly fortunate to have dedicated teachers and building representatives who continually inspire and support our young writers.”

The Wyoming Young Authors Contest invites students in grades K through 12 from across the state, including public, private, and homeschool students, to submit their writing in a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and graphic novels.

State Honorable Mention students from LCSD#2 included Karley Clark (5th grade Fiction, CES), Alyssa Richards (8th grade Fiction, SVMS), Logan Tree (10th gradeFiction, SVHS), Tim Grove (5th grade Non-Fiction, EES), Hailey Engen (6th grade Non-Fiction, OES), Jaycie Hobbs (3rd grade Poetry, CES), Kiera Rogers (2nd grade Graphic Novel, AES), Jordan Rasmussen (7th grade Graphic Novel, SVMS) and Adelyn Christiansen (12th grade Graphic Novel, SVHS).

“We are deeply grateful for the commitment of our building-level Young Author representatives: Stephanie Suloff, Stephanie Hepworth, Lauren Thrash, Katrina Call, Katie McKeown, Robert Kinn and Amy Klindt,” said Shelley Hunsaker, who serves as LCSD#2 Librarian, recognizing the collaborative efforts of administrators and teachers in supporting their students through the writing and competition process. “Their dedication to fostering excitement and engagement has made a significant difference for our district. This year, we saw a record number of participants, which speaks volumes about the enthusiasm surrounding the program. We have some incredible and unbelievably talented young authors at LCSD2.”