Even though Etched in Stone (EiS) launched Sept. 21, the website managed to win best of show for online high school publication in the state of Colorado on Oct. 11 at Colorado High School Press Association’s(CHSPA) State J-Day at Colorado State University. Editor-in-chief and senior Ethan Dayton was nervous about the competition but was confident in the publication. “I had a feeling that we were going to win…but ultimately when they were counting down [the winners]…I was nervous. My palms were shaking. [The staff] really wanted it and when we won, it was a sigh of relief because all of the hard work we did [paid off].”

Websites entered in the online/website best of show contest were judged based on the entire live website at the time of judging. The judges placed the top three websites and then announced the winners at J-Day. The students and adviser did not receive a critique for their website.

Before the announcement of the winners, the staff spent the day going to workshops to improve their writing and photography skills, as well as improving their scholastic journalism experience. Journalism and yearbook staffs from across the state attended J-Day and entered in the best of show contests.

The EiS staff came back from J-Day ecstatic from their performance. This award helped boost the confidence of the staff. The staff hopes to do well in other competitions later in the year including the National Scholastic Press Association in San Francisco.