Congratulations to our 2018 Yearbook Contest winners!

January 26, 2019

Throughout Illinois, no matter the size of the school or program, yearbook staffs and advisers created wonderful journalism as they told the stories of their 2017-18 school year.

In recognition of that work, the Illinois Journalism Education Association is proud to announce the winners of the 2018 IJEA Yearbook Contest:

Leading the way were the Overall General Excellence winners in each of the contest’s six enrollment divisions:

Because this contest involved boundaried and nonboundaried schools, we applied the IHSA enrollment multiplier of 1.65 to all nonboundaried schools to provide a more level playing field.

Schools submitted their 2017-18 yearbooks in November 2018, ensuring that fall-delivery books were included in the judging.

The books were judged in eight individual categories: copy writing, sports coverage, best use of photography, graphics, divider pages, layout and design, theme development and coverage of the year.

Books earned points based on how they placed in each category:

1st = 5 points
2nd = 4 points
3rd = 3 points
Honorable mention = 1 point

The top four point-scoring books in each division received first, second, third and honorable mention for Overall General Excellence in their respective divisions.

Dr. Sally Renaud, IJEA executive director and journalism professor at Eastern Illinois University, administered the contest. Judges were drawn from the ranks of experienced journalists, teachers and advisers.

An enthusiastic congratulations to all yearbook staffs and advisers. We are proud of the amazing work you do each year throughout Illinois. Best of luck on your continuing coverage of the 2018-19 school year; we can’t wait to see next year’s entries!

NOTE: Please scroll down this page to see the complete 2018 IJEA Yearbook Contest results for your division, or click the PDF links near the beginning of this article.

DIVISION 1 | Enrollment 170 or fewer

D1 Copy Writing

1st: Cisne
2nd: West Prairie
3rd: Greenfield
HM: Calhoun
HM: Woodlawn

D1 Sports Coverage

1st: Greenfield
2nd: Woodlawn
3rd: Cisne
HM: Calhoun

D1 Best Use of Photography

1st: Calhoun
2nd: Hartsburg-Emden
3rd: West Prairie
HM: Greenfield
HM: Woodlawn

D1 Graphics

1st: West Prairie
2nd: Cisne
3rd: Schlarman
HM: Calhoun

D1 Divider Pages

1st: Cisne
2nd: West Prairie
3rd: Woodlawn
HM: Greenfield

D1 Layout and Design

1st: West Prairie
2nd: Calhoun
3rd: Cisne
HM: Schlarman
HM: Woodlawn

D1 Theme Development

1st: Cisne
2nd: Woodlawn
3rd: West Prairie
HM: Greenfield

D1 Coverage of the Year

1st: Calhoun
2nd: West Prairie
3rd: Cisne
HM: Schlarman

D1 Overall General Excellence

1st: Cisne (tie)
1st: West Prairie (tie)
2nd: Calhoun
3rd: Woodlawn
HM: Greenfield

DIVISION 2 | Enrollment 171 to 310

D2 Copy Writing

1st: Okawville
2nd: Brown County
3rd: Carlyle
HM: Payson Seymour

D2 Sports Coverage

1st: Brown County
2nd: Okawville
3rd: Carlyle

D2 Best Use of Photography

1st: Salt Fork
2nd: Villa Grove
3rd: Meridian
HM: Brown County
HM: Payson Seymour
HM: Okawville

D2 Graphics

1st: Meridian
2nd: Villa Grove
3rd: Salt Fork
HM: Okawville
HM: Payson Seymour
HM: Carlyle

D2 Divider Pages

1st: Payson Seymour
2nd: Salt Fork
3rd: Brown County
HM: Okawville

D2 Layout and Design

1st: Meridian
2nd: Salt Fork
3rd: Okawville
HM: Payson Seymour

D2 Theme Development

1st: Okawville
2nd: Meridian
3rd: Salt Fork
HM: Payson Seymour

D2 Coverage of the Year

1st: Brown County
2nd: Meridian
3rd: Okawville
HM: Payson Seymour
HM: Salt Fork

D2 Overall General Excellence

1st: Okawville
2nd: Meridian
3rd: Salt Fork
HM: Brown County

DIVISION 3 | Enrollment 311 to 530

D3 Copy Writing

1st: Newton Community
2nd: Herscher
3rd: Hillsboro
HM: Monticello

D3 Sports Coverage

1st: Hillsboro
2nd: Herscher
3rd: Newton Community
HM: Monticello
HM: Teutopolis

D3 Best Use of Photography

1st: St. Joseph-Ogden
2nd: Herscher
3rd: Monticello
HM: Hillsboro
HM: Newton Community

D3 Graphics

1st: Teutopolis
2nd: Newton Community
3rd: Southwestern
HM: Hillsboro

D3 Divider Pages

1st: Herscher
2nd: Teutopolis
3rd: Newton Community
HM: Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond

D3 Layout and Design

1st: St. Joseph-Ogden
2nd: Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond
3rd: Newton Community
HM: Flora
HM: Monticello

D3 Theme Development

1st: St. Joseph-Ogden
2nd: Newton
3rd: Herscher
HM: Southwestern

D3 Coverage of the Year

1st: Hillsboro
2nd: Herscher
3rd: Newton Community
HM: Monticello
HM: Teutopolis

D3 Overall General Excellence

1st: Newton Community
2nd: Herscher
3rd: Hillsboro (tie)
3rd: St. Joseph-Ogden (tie)
HM: Teutopolis

DIVISION 4 | Enrollment 531 to 1,000

D4 Copy Writing

1st: University of Chicago Lab
2nd: Taylorville
3rd: Phoenix Military
HM: Carbondale
HM: Morton

D4 Sports Coverage

1st: University of Chicago Lab
2nd: Richmond-Burton
3rd: Morton
HM: Taylorville
HM: Canton
HM: Jersey Community

D4 Best Use of Photography

1st: University of Chicago Lab
2nd: Taylorville
3rd: Morton
HM: Jersey Community
HM: Canton
HM: Phoenix Military
HM: Carbondale
HM: Richland County

D4 Graphics

1st: Jersey Community
2nd: University of Chicago Lab
3rd: Richland County
HM: Taylorville
HM: Canton
HM: Phoenix Military

D4 Divider Pages

1st: Richmond-Burton
2nd: University of Chicago Lab
3rd: Carbondale
HM: Richland County

D4 Layout and Design

1st: University of Chicago Lab
2nd: Canton
3rd: Jersey Community
HM: Taylorville
HM: Carbondale

D4 Theme Development

1st: Jersey Community
2nd: Richland County
3rd: Canton
HM: Taylorville
HM: Phoenix Military

D4 Coverage of the Year

1st: Richmond-Burton
2nd: University of Chicago Lab
3rd: Taylorville
HM: Canton
HM: Carbondale

D4 Overall General Excellence

1st: University of Chicago Lab
2nd: Jersey Community (tie)
2nd: Taylorville (tie)
3rd: Richmond-Burton
HM: Canton

DIVISION 5 | Enrollment 1,001 to 2,030

D5 Copy Writing

1st: Elk Grove
2nd: Mundelein
3rd: Triad
HM: Ottawa Township
HM: Kaneland
HM: Richwoods

D5 Sports Coverage

1st: Triad
2nd: Elk Grove
3rd: Mundelein
HM: Ottawa Township
HM: Sacred Heart-Griffin
HM: Kaneland

D5 Best Use of Photography

1st: Ottawa Township
2nd: Mattoon
3rd: Triad
HM: Mundelein
HM: Sacred Heart-Griffin

D5 Graphics

1st: Kaneland
2nd: Ottawa Township
3rd: Mundelein
HM: Mattoon
HM: Sacred Heart-Griffin

D5 Divider Pages

1st: Triad
2nd: Elk Grove
3rd: Kaneland
HM: Sacred Heart-Griffin
HM: Richwoods

D5 Layout and Design

1st: Elk Grove
2nd: Triad
3rd: Kaneland
HM: Mattoon

D5 Theme Development

1st: Elk Grove
2nd: Kaneland
3rd: Triad
HM: Mundelein
HM: Mattoon

D5 Coverage of the Year

1st: Ottawa Township
2nd: Mattoon
3rd: Sacred Heart-Griffin
HM: Mundelein
HM: Elk Grove
HM: Richwoods

D5 Overall General Excellence

1st: Elk Grove
2nd: Triad
3rd: Kaneland
HM: Ottawa Township

DIVISION 6 | Enrollment 2,031 or more

D6 Copy Writing

1st: Glenbrook South
2nd: Prospect
3rd: McHenry
HM: Edwardsville
HM: Oswego East

D6 Sports Coverage

1st: Prospect
2nd: Glenbrook South
3rd: McHenry
HM: Edwardsville
HM: Oswego East
HM: Downers Grove North

D6 Best Use of Photography

1st: Glenbrook South
2nd: Oswego East
3rd: McHenry
HM: Schaumburg
HM: Edwardsville

D6 Graphics

1st: Edwardsville
2nd: O’Fallon Township
3rd: Glenbrook South
HM: McHenry
HM: Downers Grove North

D6 Divider Pages

1st: Oswego East
2nd: Glenbrook South
3rd: McHenry
HM: Edwardsville
HM: Downers Grove North

D6 Layout and Design

1st: Glenbrook South
2nd: Oswego East
3rd: McHenry
HM: Prospect
HM: O’Fallon
HM: Downers Grove North
HM: Edwardsville

D6 Theme Development

1st: Glenbrook South
2nd: McHenry
3rd: Downers Grove North
HM: Edwardsville

D6 Coverage of the Year

1st: Glenbrook South
2nd: Oswego East
3rd: Prospect
HM: Downers Grove North

D6 Overall General Excellence

1st: Glenbrook South
2nd: McHenry
3rd: Oswego East
HM: Prospect