JDL is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Young Poets Contest! Thank you to the 847 students across Jackson County that submitted an original poem for this year's contest.

Be sure to join us for the Award Ceremony on May 2 at 6 PM at Ella Sharp Museum to celebrate the winners and enjoy an evening of poetry with guest poet and former Young Poets winner Jordan Gretzner.

Kindergarten:

First Place: Brooks Hampton, “Dinos”

Second Place: Benjamin Vasaris, “My Farm”

Third Place: Conor Heaviland, “Digging”

Honorable Mention: Emma Dailey, “Me and My Brother”

First Grade

First Place: Onyx Ramirez, “Ants up your Pants”

Second Place: Adam Hall, “Wrestling”

Third Place: Hannah Dodds, “My Chickens”

Honorable Mention: Lainey Smith, “Baby Brother”

Second Grade

First Place: Emma Uphaus, “Thought Bubbles: Reflections of a Fish”

Second Place: Dovelynn Riley, “River”

Third Place: Ford Miller, “Running”

Honorable Mention: Joshua Vasaris, “Goats”

Third Grade

First Place: Lauren Gienapp, “All in a Week”

Second Place: Hanna Uphaus, “Winter’s Lullaby”

Third Place: Mathias Fleming, “In the Dark”

Honorable Mention: Joseph Chenier, “Courage makes it better”

Fourth Grade

First Place: Elijah Hopp, “Miss Life”

Second Place: Elodine Clark, “What I See”

Third Place: Eleanor Playford, “I Can’t Write a Poem”

Honorable Mention: Zachary Sandoval, “Logan”

Fifth Grade

First Place: Owen Uphaus, “Sailing”

Second Place: Ava Manchester, “The Mulberry Tree”

Third Place: Noah Dodds, “The Plastic Dinosaur”

Honorable Mention: Mia Chase, “The Night”

Honorable Mention: Serenity Fowler, “Davaisha Carlshay-Nyree Jenkins”

Sixth Grade

First Place: Riley Chevalier, “Through Words and Whiskers”

Second Place: Mercedes Lusby, “Your Favorite Color”

Third Place: Alexavia Mosurak, “Older”

Honorable Mention: Tyler Pierson, “Poem Type”

Honorable Mention: Samantha Allen, “Wonderful, Volatile World”

Seventh Grade

First Place: Molly Dobbins, “Van Gogh”

Second Place: Isabella Bertke, “Ode to Music”

Third Place: Gabrielle Freysinger, “Night Lights”

Honorable Mention: Ava Tucholski, “Aspiration”

Eighth Grade

First Place: Melia Steller, “Love is a Feeling Everyone Has”

Second Place: Natalia Earnest, “Heed”

Third Place: Isabella Schow, “The Eyes Can Be Deceiving”

Honorable Mention: Chloe Wright, “Red”

Ninth Grade

First Place: Kana Shackelford, “War”

Second Place: Macie Tucker, “Important Stories

Third Place: Aryonna Kehle, “What they don’t know”

Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Mitchell, “Mother”

Tenth Grade

First Place: Lainey Griffis, “Narcissus”

Second Place: Astrid Bade, “Where Life Shall End, Where Life Shall Begin”

Third Place: Silvia Baker, “Home”

Honorable Mention: Kendall Braman, “In the chaos of high school halls”

Honorable Mention: Leona Rutz, “Behind Closed Doors”

Eleventh Grade

First Place: Ella Bulgrien, “To a Close”

Second Place: Amira Wood, “The Wall”

Third Place: Astrid Badenhoop, “Silent Night: 12/23/2016, Sometime in the Early Morning”

Twelfth Grade

First Place: Kaitlyn Walsh, “Nature’s Sorrow”

Second Place: Morgan Reed, “Snow White Hair”

Third Place: Katie Stroede, “Oblivious”

Honorable Mention: Elexus Meredith, “Ten Red Roses”