UNK’s The Antelope won 35 awards, including Best Overall Newspaper for the fifth year in a row, at the Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association Golden Leaf Awards.
While winning in the Best Overall category is not an easy feat, The Antelope is familiar with the victory.
“Beyond all the other awards we received at Golden Leaf, Best Overall Newspaper has been most exciting because it is all-encompassing of our work,” said Jenna Heinz, The Antelope’s editor-in-chief. “It shows our consistency in each edition of the paper and helps hold us to a consistent standard that has been proven over the past five years.”
The Antelope staff was recognized in various categories encompassing the newspaper and each of its sections. UNK competed against six other Nebraskan schools and one school each from Kansas and South Dakota similar in size and media resources.
“This competition is a great way to see how we measure up to our peers, while ensuring students have the confidence and awareness to take it to the next level: nationals,” said Rob Breeding, The Antelope’s adviser and UNK journalism instructor. “With industry professionals and other academic professors judging, we can truly see what is successful in the real world and get feedback on our work from the past year.”
Students have seen themselves over the past few years as being a part of the staff.
“I am most proud of seeing how far I have come over my couple years of being on staff,” said Maggie Wells, senior and video director of The Antelope. “I had never held a camera until my freshman year of college, and now I am winning awards at huge competitions. I have learned so much along the way about myself and my skillset.”
As The Antelope staff evolves with new students coming in each semester, its uniformity is visible through continued achievements and advising.
“This is an amazing group of students who are dedicated and work hard to deserve each award,” Breeding said.
As the school year wraps up, the Golden Leaf Awards represents a last hoorah for many seniors.
“The awards were held at Concordia during my freshman year and again this year, so being back three years later felt like a full circle moment,” Heinz said. “All our hard work being recognized proves we are doing something right as a team.”
The Antelope’s final awards:
- Best Overall Newspaper
- Best Overall Design
- 1st, Best Editorial, Jenna Heinz, “Latest newsroom cuts damage our communities”
- 1st, Best in Depth Reporting, Antelope Staff, “Rural Reality: Examining life in small town Nebraska”
- 1st, Best Display Ad, Amy Ruiz, “Piñon Market”
- 1st, Best House Ad, Travi Tighe, “Hop on over to our social media”
- 1st, Best Sports Column, Susie Bovaird, “Mental health struggles in college athletics are real”
- 1st, Best Audio Sports Pregame or Post-Game Show, Kade Mohr, Elijah Moser, “UNK volleyball vs. Okla. Baptist pregame”
- 1st, Best Video Public Service Announcement, Ashton Tackwell, “Drinking and driving”
- 1st, Best Newspaper Front Page, Antelope Staff, “Literacy legacy”
- 1st, Best Newspaper Spread, Kersie Delaney, “First serves set sail on new sun-soaked courts”
- 1st, General News Photo, Jenju Peters, “A walk in her shoes: Men show their support for women”
- 1st, Best Video Sports Story, Elijah Moser, “UNK vs Chadron state football”
- 1st, Best Video News Story, Maggie Wells, “Crochet circle club crafts connections, creations”
- 2nd, Best Editorial, Jenna Heinz, “Classes should have been canceled Tuesday”
- 2nd, Best General News Story, Susie Bovaird, “Low birth rates, social shifts may impact enrollment numbers”
- 2nd, Best in Depth Reporting, Antelope Staff, “Future in Flux”
- 2nd, Best Display Ad, Arly Ortiz, “Farmer Brown’s Field of Screams”
- 2nd, Best House Ad, Chase Johnson, “Spring at The Antelope”
- 2nd, Best Sports Column, Susie Bovaird, “Gender equality in sports still has a way to go”
- 2nd, Best Sports Game Story, Kennedy Dubas, “Football bounces back, rolls past Emporia State”
- 2nd, Best Social Media Presence, Antelope Staff, “The Antelope”
- 2nd, Best Newspaper Spread, Antelope Staff, “A walk in her shoes”
- 2nd, Best Audio Sports Play-by-Play Announcing, Elijah Moser, “UNK volleyball battles against SCSU in regionals”
- 3rd, Best Column, Kennadi Ureste, “Government shutdown reveals where U.S. funding priority is”
- 3rd, Best House Ad, Amy Ruiz, “Photographers wanted”
- 3rd, Best Sports Feature, Leticia Virgilio Francisco, “Abdalla proof it’s never too late to start”
- 3rd, Best Audio Sports Play-by-Play Announcing, Kade Mohr, Cameron Mendoza-Watson, “UNK men’s basketball vs Hesston College”
- 3rd, Best Audio Sports Pregame or Post-Game Show, Kade Mohr, Cameron Mendoza-Watson, “UNK men’s basketball vs Hesston College pregame”
- 3rd, Best Video Public Service Announcement, Muryn Haight, “Walking alone at night”
- 3rd, Best Newspaper Front Page, Jenna Heinz, “Dancing at dusk”
- 3rd, Best Sports Game Photo, Jenna Heinz, “Football bounces back, rolls past Emporia State”
- 3rd, Best Multimedia News Story, Antelope Staff, “Homecoming ’25: ‘Louie’s Jukebox Jive’ rocks 1950s spirit”
- 3rd, Best Video Sports Story, Elijah Moser, “UNK volleyball squad starts season strong”
- 3rd, Best Video News Story, Maggie Wells, “UNK’s connection to rural Nebraska”
