Post Falls freshman wins outdoor writing contest

A story by Casey Thomas, a freshman at Post Falls High School, has been judged the best of 159 entries to win The Spokesman-Review’s 2005 Outdoor Writing Contest for high school students.

In “To Be a Thomas,” the 14-year-old uses vivid imagery to put readers in the shoes of a youngster experiencing her first timid steps off the sidelines of a family hunting tradition.

Contest runners-up include “Sledding,” a poem by Jenny Knezovich that shows the story-telling efficiency of a few well-chosen words, and “Who Are You?” a poem by Jessica Knezovich that puts a girl’s scrutiny of a boy’s character into terms the most calloused outdoorsman could understand.

The Knezovich sisters are juniors at Reardan High School. This is the first time family members have been among the winners in the same year since the contest was founded 19 years ago.

Rounding out the runners-up are “Life Lessons,” a clean, disciplined example of making a point with the classic five-paragraph style by Justin Wood, a freshman at Davenport High School, and “Canyon Swing,” a poem with enough grip in every line to take a reader along for the plunge, by Jacqueline Robinette, a freshman at Cheney High School.

Ninth graders made the strongest showing in the contest’s history, while students from Spokane high schools made their poorest showing ever. For the first time, no entries were received from Lewis and Clark High School students and only one each from Ferris and Mead, all former strongholds for writing contest winners.

Thomas will receive $75 for first place. Each of the runners-up will get $50.

The winners will be entered in the Outdoor Writers Association of America National Scholastic Writing Contest, which is open to any outdoor writing published in 2005 by junior high or high school students.

National winners, who can earn up to $300, will be announced next spring. In 19 years, 30 finalists from The Spokesman-Review contest have gone on to win national awards.

This year’s entries were judged by newspaper editors. The winning entries once again have been illustrated on this page by Spokane Valley artist Dale Hamilton, a graduate of Central Valley High School.

Other students who made the final round of judging this year include:

Reese Martin and Bryanna Pavlish, Cheney High School; Jenna Walker, Mead High School; Ashton Klein, Reardan High School; Cody Jensen and Bethany Davis, Moscow High School; and Ashley Hooper, Lakeland High School in Rathdrum.