GR fares well at county level competition

Green River and Rock Springs young authors found out who would move onto Wyoming State Young Author's Competition at the Sweetwater County Young Author Awards Ceremony.

The ceremony, which took place last Thursday at the Rock Springs Junior High School was a classy event, Karen Price, Young Author Coordinator for School County School District No. 2, said.

Before advancing to the county-wide level, students had to have a first-place finish at their county level to move on. Students submitted entries in three different categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

These entries, 73 in total at the county level, were then judged by a group of three. To make sure everything was on an equal field for judging, one of the judges was from Sweetwater County School District No. 2, one was from Sweetwater County School District No. 1 and one was from the Holy Sprit School.

Price said when the entries were really close she met with them face to face to determine the winner.

Thirty seven Green River entries came home with first-place or honorable mentions. Twenty three will advance to state.

"The caliber of writing at the county level is extremely high, so it is often very difficult to determine a winner," Price said.

During the ceremony, students received their books, a certificate and either a medal for honorable mention or a trophy if they took first place. Nine students received the superintendent's award. Another special thing done for the first-place students by Sweetwater County School District No. 1 was all of their books were printed in the print shop.

"The parents were so grateful and proud of their students," Price said. "Overwhelming appreciation for hosting the event was shown to the Young Author Coordinators. It is really quite humbling and in my opinion, one of the greatest events of the year."

All of the first-place winners advance to state. This year, Green River will send 23 entries to state.

"I could not have been more proud of the performance of the Green River young authors," she said. "I believe students in Green River are doing well in the content area of writing. The teachers are working hard to assure our students are exposed and have the opportunity to compete at the state level in all three genres."

"The Writer's Workshop model used by our elementary teachers helps students to see themselves as writers and not feel intimidated by the task as is often the most difficult thing when it comes to writing," she said.

Some of the students themselves expressed surprise when they were named as winners in their category.

"At first I was really nervous, but now I'm proud of myself," Green River High School junior Natasha Beckermann said.

Lacey Hart, a sophomore at GRHS who won in the fiction and poetry categories, as well as one of four superintendent's awards, said she was surprised and shocked when her name was called. She said writing is her life and uses it to be an honest person.

"I'm a compulsive liar. (Writing) gives me a place to put my lies and be honest in real life," Hart said.

Sweetwater County Young Author Green River Winners

Fiction-Honorable Mentions

Emma Johnson, Kindergarten, "The Surprised Piece of Cheese"

Chris Mora, Second Grade, "The Adventures of Talking Bear"

Tyler Castillon, Third Grade, "Lightning on the Loose"

Trey Robinson, Fourth Grade, "The Brave and Powerful Dragon"

Mauri Glathar, Seventh Grade,"The Fortunate Fortune"

Fiction-Winners

Benjamin Maggi, First Grade, "Dino Brothers, Sports All-Stars"

Amy Van der Linder, Fifth Grade, "Nature's Walk"

Camden Nelson, Sixth Grade, "The Hike"

Hannah Braithewaite, Eighth Grade, "The Final Act"

Gregory Marchal, Ninth Grade, "The Decision"

Lacey Hart, 10th Grade, "The Wolf in the Woods"

Janalee Hoffman, 11th Grade, "When the Winds Takes Me"

Hope Frey, 12th Grade, "Walk of Shame"

Non-Fiction-Honorable Mentions

Makaylee Robles, First Grade, "Creepy Crawlies"

Travis Archibald, Third Grade, "Thomas Edison"

Dylan Taylor, Fifth Grade, "The Scariest Time of My Life"

Jordan Buggy, Sixth Grade, "Changed"

Patrick Marchal, Ninth Grade, "Splashdown"

Non-Fiction-Winners

Brynlee Cordova, Kindergarten, "Camping With My Family

Emilee Jensen, Third Grade, "Braces"

Kayde Strauss, Sixth Grade, "Breathtaking"

Laura Patterson, Seventh Grade, ".70%"

Mary Harris, Eighth Grade, "England Comes to Wyoming"

Brianna Rath, 10th Grade, "Agitation is Key"

Amber Nelson, 11th Grade, "The Day the Rain Came"

Kori Lamb, 12th Grade, "No Hope"

Poetry-Honorable Mentions

Oakley Wardell, First Grade, "I Made a Zoo"

Gabrielle Lawrence, Fourth Grade, "Goodbye Truman"

Josh Moody, Fourth Grade, "All Things About Football"

Sarah Kropf, Ninth Grade, "Life, Death, and Everything in between

Nicole Davis, 12th Grade, "A Grandmother's Story"

Poetry-Winners

Nate Bailey, Second Grade, "A Few of My Favorite Things"

Haylie Johnson, Third Grade, "My California Trip"

Allison Brown, Fifth Grade, "Colors of the World"

Trenton Dowley, Sixth Grade, "The Welcome Home and other"

Lacey Hart, 10th Grade, "Sweet and Satisfying"

Natasha Beckerman, 11th Grade, "Into the Darkness"