Judges have selected eight winners for the 2023 , including Marquette High School senior Gemma Speichinger, who won the Best in Show award.
Speichinger's image stood out to the judges because of the pure emotion shown across the image. All parts of the frame — every face, fist and even the background adds to the image. Football is part of the quintessential high school experience and this image expertly captured a moment in what could be a technically difficult setting to photograph.
Other category winners include:
- Best General News: Dana Zafarani of Parkway West High School
- Best Landscape: Matthew Gilliard of Hazelwood West High School
- Best Feature: Chase Golem of Edwardsville High School
- Best Portrait: Andrew Poertner of Francis Howell North High School
- Best Animal and Wildlife: Madeline Awad of Ladue Horton Watkins High School
- Best Sports Action: McKenzie Brown of Lindbergh High School
- Best Sports Feature: Wendy Stephens of Clayton High School
The contest received more than 350 student entries from 62 schools across the St. Louis, Quincy and Rolla regions. The submissions represent a range of perspectives from promising young photographers and journalists who have visually documented the world with their digital, film and phone cameras.
"It was such a treat to participate in this year’s judging of the © 2024 ÍâÍøÌìÌà Teen Photojournalist Prize. Our budding photographers allow the public to peek into their lives, to understand their high school experience in a way that they want us to see it," said judge Robert Cohen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff photojournalist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We celebrate with them, and hope that they may become the next generation of visual storytellers."
View the category winners below.
Best General News
Best Landscape
Best Feature
Best Portrait

Best Animal and Wildlife
Best Sports Feature

Best Sports Action
Honorable Mentions
- Sports Feature: Will Huster of Kirkwood High School
- Sports Feature: Parker Smith of Francis Howell North High School
- Sports Action: Sydney Davis of Liberty (Wentzville) High School
- Sports Action: Maxwell Grellner of St. Louis University High School
- General News: Owen Wohl of Clayton High School
- General News: Sadie Cotton of Francis Howell North High School
- Feature: Aniya Sparrow of Francis Howell Central High School
- Feature: Chase Golem of Edwardsville High School
- Landscape: Walter Hurley of St. Louis University High School
- Landscape: Mae Scott of Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
- Landscape: Mekhi Brown of Pattonville High School
- Portrait: Maverick Shelp of Ft. Zumwalt North High School
- Portrait: Ankita Pandurangi of Francis Howell North High School
- Animals and Wildlife: Jaheim Magaki of Principia Upper School
- Animals and Wildlife: Eden Sands of Rolla High School
- Animals and Wildlife: Angela Wirthlin of Clayton High School
View all of the honorable mention photographs .
The winners and finalists will be honored during a public reception at 7 p.m. May 17 at © 2024 ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ's headquarters in Grand Center, 3651 Olive St. Light refreshments will be provided. You can .
The photos will be framed and displayed on gallery walls in © 2024 ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ's lobby from May 17 through mid-June, on the big screen in the Public Media Commons outside STLPR's offices and online and . To view the framed exhibit, come to the opening reception or make an appointment for a different time by emailing hello@stlpr.org.
The Best in Show winner will receive $800 in gift certificates, and each category winner will receive $200 in gift certificates. Category winners and honorable mention recipients are invited to a master class .
Contest judges included , freelance photojournalist and National Geographic Explorer , STLPR Digital and Special Projects editor and Munoz.
Satam said it was exciting and challenging to judge the more than 350 entries because so many of the images were so strong. "I encourage all the participants to continue photographing and telling the stories that matter to them and their community," she said.
The © 2024 ÍâÍøÌìÌà Photojournalism Prize is an annual award and educational program, with entries accepted again next spring. Watch and for updates and details. This year's contest was made possible by , and © 2024 ÍâÍøÌìÌà supporters.