Beautiful spring weather only enhanced the performances of student journalists at seven sites across Illinois during the IHSA Sectional competition on April 23.

One team from each site took home the sectional plaque, and approximately 350 journalists will converge on the campus of Eastern Illinois University on April 29 to compete at the state level.

Sectional first-place teams included:

• Edwardsville (Carbondale SIUC Sectional)
• South Elgin (DeKalb NIU Sectional)
• Homewood-Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional)
• Downers Grove North (Loyola University Chicago Sectional)
• Naperville Central (Naperville Central Sectional)
• Washington (Normal ISU Sectional)
• Prospect (Roosevelt University Schaumburg)

Gallery • 9 Photos

For all other placements, see the IHSA SpeechWire page.

Even for those students who did not move on, their willingness to compete well under challenging circumstances is simply proof of their skills and character, and we salute their efforts.

As we look forward to State, a few reminders:
1. Checks must be (for this year only) made out to IHSA for the state competition.
2. There will be newspaper and yearbook swap tables at state, so bring a copy of your publication to share!
3. Don’t forget to follow Illinois JEA on social media and use the hashtag  #ihsaj2016.
4. NEW THIS YEAR: At State, from 2-3 p.m., we will recognize the accomplishments of student journalists all over the state — through regional associations, IJOY winners, the newspaper & digital media contest winners, and the announcement of the All-State Journalism Team. Please join us!

Get all the details for the Journalism State Competition on April 29.