Gretna High School’s journalism program is celebrating one of its most successful seasons to date after Gretna Media students earned major honors and state qualifications across three prestigious competitions: the Nebraska Press Women (NPW) High School Communications Contest, the NSAA State Journalism Qualifiers and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) High School Journalism Competition.
The awards recognize excellence in writing, photography, design and in-depth reporting, highlighting the strength and versatility of Gretna Media’s student journalists.
The Nebraska School Activities Association recently announced that Gretna Media qualified for the 2025–2026 Class B State Journalism Championship in 11 individual categories, while also earning top preliminary honors in the In-Depth category. Students will compete April 27 at Northeast Community College in Norfolk for individual and team state championships.
Several students qualified in multiple events, including Mary Jane Kushiner, Skylar Miller, Roxy Lightle, Juliette Lilla, Chanel Kinzl and Lauren Von Seggern.
At the Nebraska Press Women contest, senior Mary Jane Kushiner earned first place in Feature Story for her article, “Ruth’s Religion: Senior Navigates Her Faith in Suburban Gretna.” The piece explored the role of faith among students in modern suburban life.
Gretna Media also found success at the UNO Journalism Competition, where Maggie Meis won first place in Yearbook/Magazine Layout and Daniela Praulina captured first place in News Photo.
“These awards are a testament to the hard work and curiosity our students bring to the newsroom every day,” Gretna Media adviser Tim Kaldahl said. “Whether they are capturing a split-second sports action shot or diving deep into a complex opinion piece, these students are learning how to tell the stories that define our school and community.”
Additional award winners included:
Top In-Depth State Honors: Caitlyn Cheleen, Chanel Kinzl, Mary Jane Kushiner and Lauren Von Seggern
NSAA State Qualifiers:
Roxy Lightle (Advertising, Column Writing)
Chanel Kinzl (Column Writing, In-Depth)
Kelsey Van Waart (Editorial Writing)
Sydney Malone (Headline Writing)
Mary Jane Kushiner (Feature Writing, Sports Feature Writing)
Charles Otto (Feature Writing)
Skylar Miller (News Writing, Yearbook Feature Writing)
Juliette Lilla (Newspaper and Yearbook Sports Feature Writing)
Alyson Dytrych (Sports News Writing)
Lauren Von Seggern (Yearbook Feature Writing, In-Depth)
At UNO, second-place awards went to Sawyer Long (Review), Colin Lingbloom (Sports Photo), Juliette Lilla (Sports Story) and Alyson Dytrych (Sports News Writing). Third-place finishers included Skylar Miller (Cartoon/News Layout), Annabelle Rolf (Yearbook Layout), Sarah Kula (Feature) and Roxy Lightle (Art/Graphics).
NPW honorable mentions were awarded to Skylar Miller (Columns), Charlie Otto (Feature), Kelsey Van Waart (Opinion), Sydney Malone (Sports Story), Mary Jane Kushiner (Sports Story), Colin Lingbloom (News and Sports Photo) and Daniela Praulina (Sports Photo).
The strong performances across all three competitions provide momentum for Gretna Media as students prepare for the upcoming state championships in Norfolk.