Joliet West Senior Haley Maser placed fifth this past Friday at the IHSA State Journalism Competition hosted by Heartland Community College. Maser competed in two categories, Newspaper Design and Headline Writing, medaling in Headline Writing.

“I was honestly kind of surprised to place at state, but was very excited as it’s my last year competing for journalism. I’m so proud of the whole team and really grateful for the experience to bond with them at State.”

Maser competed against 21 students in the Headline Writing category.

To qualify for state competition, Maser had to place in the top three of her respective categories at Sectionals. There, she placed first in both Headline Writing and Newspaper Design.

The team from Joliet West, led by adviser Jenn Galloy, was represented in 12 out of the 18 categories at the state competition. Maser was the only one of the 12 students to place in the top six of her events.

“State is a great experience with amazing talent from all participants. I am extremely proud of Haley for placing 5th in the state for her category and I am equally proud of all students who represented our program,” said Galloy.