KET is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Young Writers Contest. The annual contest encourages creative expression and literacy development by inviting students in grades Pre-K through high school to submit original graphic novels, illustrated stories, poetry and short stories.

This year, KET received 1,235 submissions from students across Kentucky.

The top three winners, along with a list of finalists for each division, are listed below. Full versions of the winning entries are available online at KET.org/writerscontest.

All Grades — Graphic Novel

First Place: Lucinda McCaffrey, SCAPA at Bluegrass, Lexington
Second Place: Adriana Sofronova, Newburg Middle School, Louisville
Third Place: Brayden Spillman, Model Laboratory School, Richmond

Finalists:

• Penelope Reynolds, Reynolds Academy, Lexington
• Maci Blevins, Black Mountain Elementary, Evarts
• Emersyn Wood, Newton Parrish Elementary, Owensboro
• Evan Troutman, St. Aloysius, Louisville
• Jameson Watson, Locust Grove Elementary School, Crestwood
• Braxton Voils, St. Gregory Elementary School, Coxs Creek
• Liam Wood, Northern Elementary, Somerset
• Wyatt Cisell, St. Gregory Elementary School, Coxs Creek
• Ibraheem Gauhar, Greathouse Shryock Elementary, Louisville
• Avnita Sherigar, Model Laboratory, Richmond
• Sylvia Mason, Noe Middle School, Louisville

Illustrated Story – PreK/Kindergarten

First Place: Hadassah Iocco, Iocco Homeschool, Corinth
Second Place: Hadiyah Gauhar, St. Matthews Elementary, Louisville
Third Place: Luke Banks, Crossroads Preschool, Lexington

Finalists:

• Hayden Hatfield, Norton Commons Elementary, Prospect
• Alexander O’Connor, Brandeis Elementary, Louisville
• Ewan Curtis, Norton Commons Elementary, Prospect
• Tess Randall, Norton Commons Elementary, Prospect
• Hothri Balla, Norton Commons Elementary, Prospect
• Everett Wiley, Deep Springs Elementary, Lexington
• Kasey Spillman, Sunshine Friends, Berea

Illustrated Story – First Grade

First Place: Caroline Reynolds, Reynolds Academy, Lexington
Second Place: Wriston Iocco, Iocco Homeschool, Walton
Third Place: Anishka Sherigar, Model Laboratory, Richmond

Finalists:

• Eleanor Gann, Louisville Classical Academy, Louisville
• Lydie DeHoag, Cassidy Elementary, Lexington
• Amelia Collier, Glenn Marshall Elementary, Richmond
• Esme Calvert-Azzarella, Louisville Classical Academy, Louisville
• Nora Lechleiter, Saint Albert, Louisville
• Sawyer Lyczkowski, Glenn Marshall Elementary, Richmond
• Suhina Singh, Stopher Elementary School, Louisville
• Yuqi Lin, Rosa Parks Elementary, Lexington
• Carter Stafford, Northview Elementary, Mount Sterling

Illustrated Story – Second Grade

First Place: Lincoln Adame, Lone Oak Elementary School, Paducah
Second Place: Penelope Dittz, Stopher Elementary School, Louisville
Third Place: Jeshurun Iocco, Iocco Homeschool, Corinth

Finalists:

• Nathan Hardin, Cirque Hardin, Louisville
• Christian Beamus, Greathouse Elementary, Louisville
• Marlee Carter, Carter’s Wonder Academy, London
• Latcher Harbison, Red Cross Elementary, Glasgow
• Maryam Gauhar, Greathouse Shryock Elementary, Louisville
• Cason Thompson, YHWH Discipleship, Salvisa
• Eloise Davila, Davila Schoolhouse, Louisville
• Oliver Daugherty, Pleasant Ridge Private School, Lexington
• Dorothy Dobson, Bloom Elementary, Louisville
• Marcos Taquira Paz, Toliver, Danville

Illustrated Story – Third Grade

First Place: Grace Hardin, Cirque Hardin, Louisville
Second Place: Elise Thompson, YHWH Discipleship, Salvisa
Third Place: Isabel Tedder, Ashland Elementary, Lexington

Finalists:

• Jackson Middleton, Williamstown Elementary School, Williamstown
• Courtnee Holland, Lincoln Elementary School, Louisville
• Emma Moore, Williamstown Elementary School, Williamstown
• Nakshatra Reddy vemula, Bridgeport Elementary School, Frankfort
• Eden Reis, Williamstown Elementary School, Williamstown
• Annistyn Flynn, Model Laboratory School, Richmond
• Easton Madden, Williamstown Elementary School, Williamstown

Illustrated Story – Intermediate (4th-5th)

First Place: Sidney DeBord, Northern Elementary, Somerset
Second Place: Yasmeen Esmail, homeschool, Elizabethtown
Third Place: Claire Stites, Daniel Boone Elementary School, Richmond

Finalists:

• Ava Williams, Laurel Elementary, Vanceburg
• Bingqi Lin, Meadowthorpe Elementary, Lexington
• Aaron Smith, St. Gregory Elementary School, Coxs Creek
• Abby Toutant, Model Laboratory School, Richmond
• Levi Galloway, St. Gregory Elementary School, Coxs Creek
• Nolan Jones, Good Shepherd, Frankfort
• Lily Marie Schneider, Emmet Field Elementary, Louisville
• Lucas Glasnovic, homeschool, Louisville

Illustrated Story – Middle Grades (6th-8th)

First Place: Jubilee Bodager, homeschool, Lexington
Second Place: Adah Hardin, Cirque Hardin, Louisville
Third Place: Sylvia Mason, Noe Middle School, Louisville

Finalists:

• Eden Winkle, One Girl, Williamstown Independent, Williamstown
• Avery Garffie, Woodford County Middle School, Versailles
• Sarah Gauhar, Barret Traditional Middle School, Louisville
• Ivy LaRocco, St. Andrew Academy, Louisville
• Claire Thieneman, St. Andrew Academy, Louisville
• Owen Hutchinson, St. Andrew Academy, Louisville
• Nevaeh Perkins, St. Andrew Academy, Louisville

Poetry – Primary (K-2nd)

First Place: Arjun Reddy Vemula, Bridgeport Elementary school, Frankfort
Second Place: Pippy Raymond, Tully Elementary, Louisville
Third Place: Latcher Harbison, Red Cross Elementary, Glasgow

Finalists:

• Gyeol Lee, Pathfinder School of Innovation, Louisville
• Keira Asher, Ash Valley Academy, Bedford
• Beckett Schwieterman, Cassidy Elementary, Lexington
• Caroline Reynolds, Reynolds Academy, Lexington
• Kenzie Fredrick, Walton Verona Elementary School, Verona
• Sara Sokolowski, Model Laboratory School, Richmond

Poetry – Intermediate (3rd-5th)

First Place: Fia Gani, W R McNeill Elementary School, Bowling Green
Second Place: Zoe Kasacavage, Ashland Elementary, Lexington
Third Place: Madison Iocco, Iocco Homeschool, Walton

Finalists:

• Mia Hernandez Conejo, T.C.Cherry Elementary, Bowling Green
• Nakshatra Reddy Vemula, Bridgeport Elementary School, Frankfort
• Liam Sweeney, SCAPA Bluegrass, Lexington
• Kathryn Dirksing, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Burlington
• Nasir Tayabee, River Ridge Elementary, Fort Mitchell
• Nova White, Bloomfield Elementary School, Bloomfield
• Eden Calhoun, Piner Elementary, Morning View

Poetry – Middle Grades (6th-8th)

First Place: Sylvia Mason, Noe Middle School, Louisville
Second Place: Penelope Schweizer, The Cottage School, Madisonville
Third Place: Ruth Uwajeneza, Newburg Middle School, Louisville

Finalists:

• Khrystiana Kearney, Eastside Middle School, Mt. Washington
• Presleigh Hill, Newburg Middle School, Louisville
• Jolie Griffiths, Newburg Middle School, Louisville
• Maxwell Rosel, Redwood Cooperative School, Lexington
• Zadee Kenzer, Newburg Middle School, Louisville
• Arson Rai, Newburg Middle School, Louisville
• Della Peron, Louisville Classical Academy, Louisville
• Sophia Patton, Paris Middle School, Paris
• Liam Rowland, Covington Classical Academy, Covington
• Lillianne Berfield, Noe Middle School, Louisville

Poetry – High School (9th-12th)

First Place: Isabella Hardin, Tates Creek High School, Lexington
Second Place: Emma Garner, Martha Layne Collins high school, Simpsonville
Third Place: Jessica Ridgway, Martha Layne Collins High School, Shelbyville

Finalists:

• Nina Tay, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Lexington
• Bella Cornett, Covington Classical Academy, Covington
• Medrith Norman, Frankfort High School, Frankfort
• Rohan Ketron, Simon Kenton High School, Covington
• Victoria Korchuk, Woodford County High School, Versailles
• Ryan Caldwell, Simon Kenton High School, Independence
• Abigail Kane, Dixie Heights High School, Crestview Hills
• Caitlin Rott, Simon Kenton High School, Latonia
• Josh Shamsuddoha, Eastern High School, Louisville
• Kadilyn Garrett, Anderson County High School, Lawrenceburg
• Maira Faisal, Dixie Heights High School, Florence
• Rebecca Campbell, Barren Academy of Virtual and Expanded Learning, Warsaw

Short Story – Primary (K-2nd)

First Place: Susannah Goodrich, Goodrich Homeschool, Frankfort
Second Place: Ramon Maldonado III, Garrett Morgan Elementary, Winchester
Third Place: Dawson Abney, Model Laboratory School, Richmond

Finalists:

• Acey Houchens, Red Cross Elementary School, Cave City
• Kurt Raymond, Tully Elementary, Louisville
• Stella Dix, Metcalfe Elementary School, Edmonton
• Joseiyah Abduallah, William Wells Brown Elementary School, Lexington
• Korrigan Gift, LaFontaine Preparatory School, Richmond
• Grant Ross, Ross Roost, Louisville
• Lincoln Manion, Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Mt Washington
• Savannah Wilder, Bates Elementary, Louisville

Short Story – Intermediate (3rd-5th)

First Place: Saanvi Jain, Stopher Elementry, Louisville
Second Place: Isla Grace Ward, Lincoln ELementary, Louisville
Third Place: Ava Bogard, Southwest Elementary, Murray

Finalists:

• Kinley Talpas, Lemons Mill Elemetary, Georgetown
• Evelyn Lawson, Glendover Elementary, Lexington
• Madison Iocco, Iocco Homeschool, Walton
• Eliana Hofmann, Jesse Stuart Elementary School, Madisonville
• Charlotte Sykes, Ashland Elementary School, Lexington
• Isla Dawahare, Dawahare Family Academy (homeschool), Lexington
• Fia Gani, W R McNeill Elementary School, Bowling Green
• Zoe Kasacavage, Ashland Elementary, Lexington
• Atticus Goodrich, Goodrich Home School, Frankfort
• Aubrey Rice, Lexington Christian Academy, Lexington
• Maya Lynn Carbone, Luhr Elementary, Louisville

Short Story – Middle Grades (6th-8th)

First Place: Claire Pearson, Quest Academy Homeschool, Louisville
Second Place: Jordan Kelly, East Middle, Shelbyville
Third Place: Alethea Hwang, West Jessamine Middle School, Wilmore

Finalists:

• Adrienne Clark, Bluegrass Middle School, Elizabethtown
• Maryam Huda Hasnain, Islamic School of Louisville, Louisville
• Charlotte Garman, St. Albert the Great, Louisville
• Prajna Pathak, Murray Middle School, Murray
• Prathibha Seshabhattar, Meyzeek Middle School, Louisville
• Maggie Stone, Samuel V. Noe Middle School, Louisville
• Aubrey Naber, Calloway County Middle School, Murray
• Lillianne Berfield, Noe Middle School, Louisville
• Michael Mehaffy, Capital Day School, Frankfort
• Atlas Lewis, Covington Classical Academy, Covington
• Alyssa Pollard, Noe Middle School, Louisville

Short Story – High School (9th-12th)

First Place: Christine Dreitzler, Meade County High School, Brandenburg
Second Place: Kaitlyn Choat, Eastern High School, Louisville
Third Place: Bailey Cromer, Rockcastle County High School, Mt. Vernon

Finalists:

• Ariel Fader, Larry A. Ryle High School, Union
• Kiran Koul, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Lexington
• Morgan Larkins, McLean County High School, Calhoun
• Emma Henderson, Eastern High School, Louisville
• Parker Lonesky, Somerset Christian School, Somerset
• Brennan Eberwine, duPont Manual High School, Louisville
• Victoria Korchuk, Woodford County High School, Versailles
• Sarah Bodager, homeschool, Lexington
• Russhaun Townsend, Eastern High School, Louisville
• Adelyn McCollum, Eastern High School, Louisville
• Hailey Martin, Western Hills High School, Frankfort
• Jillian Ingram, Eastern High School, Louisville

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