March 28, 2022
ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – The Rocky River Middle School (RRMS) Power of the Pen 7th and 8th grade teams had an exceptional showing at the regional competition as five individuals qualified for the state tournament.
Seventh graders Madisen Liston-Noble and Anabelle Wissman and eighth graders Sydney Allen, Maeve Costello and Isabel Pangrace earned spots to write at the state tournament on May 12-13 at Otterbein University.
The Northern regional competition was conducted virtually on March 12 and the award winners were announced on March 27 during an online awards show. RRMS placed second out of 33 schools in the Sweepstakes Award, which takes the combined points for all writers competing at regionals. RRMS was the top ranked public school, finishing behind Birchwood of Hawken.
The RRMS seventh grade team placed third overall out of 33 schools behind the efforts of team members Sarah Douglas, Emily Harry, Delaney Keaton, Liston-Noble, Xiomi Toledo and Wissman.
Wissman also earned a Platinum Pen Award and her Best in Round story from districts titled “Fretful Fire” will appear in The Book of Winners to serve as a model for young writers throughout Ohio.
At the eighth grade level, Pangrace earned fourth place out of 92 competitors.
This is the second year of competition for the team at RRMS. Power of the Pen empowers young people to find and develop a creative voice that is uniquely their own by engaging students in interscholastic writing tournaments and providing a platform for publication.