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Here are the winners of the 2022 St. Louis Public Radio Teen Photojournalist Prize

St. Louis Public Radio | By Brian Munoz

Published April 12, 2022 at 5:25 AM CDT

Two girls embrace in a crowd. — Best in Show winner: As they turn to each other, seniors Lilly Verrill and Aubrey Wooten celebrate their last pep rally at Kirkwood High School on April 13, 2021.

St. Louis Public Radio has selected eight winners for the 2022 St. Louis Public Radio Teen Photojournalist Prize, including Kirkwood High School senior Lainey Hogg, who won Best in Show (winning photo shown above), Best Sports Feature photograph and Best Pandemic Life photograph.

Other category winners include:

Best Landscape: Ava Carson of Nerinx Hall
Best Feature: Kate Viglione of Lafayette High School
Best Sports Action: Kyle Button of Francis Howell North High School
Best Portrait (tie): Luke Sewell of Ladue Horton Watkins High School and Lily Kleinhenz of Clayton High School

The contest received 202 student entries from 48 schools across the St. Louis and Rolla regions. The submissions represent a range of perspectives from promising young photographers and journalists who visually documented the world through their lenses.

View the category winners below.

Best Landscape

A murder of crows soar over the "Hunters Moon" on October 19th, 2021 making their way across the St. Louis skyline. — Crows soar over the "Hunters Moon" on Oct. 19, 2021, making their way across the St. Louis skyline.

Best Feature

Best Sports Action

Freshman Kaylee Lohnes slides into home plate on Sept. 29, 2021. Lohnes, of Francis Howell North HS, scored the first of the seven runs the Knights plated against Ritenour HS. The FHN Knights defeated Ritenour 7-2. Lohnes went 1-3 at the plate, with a single and a run scored. She hit for a .354 batting average on the season, the second-highest on the team. — Freshman Kaylee Lohnes slides into home plate on Sept. 29, 2021. Lohnes, of Francis Howell North High School, scored the first of the seven runs the Knights plated against Ritenour. The Knights defeated Ritenour 7-2. Lohnes went 1-3 at the plate, with a single and a run scored. She had a .354 batting average on the season, the second highest on the team.

Best Sports Feature

Ringing the Frisco Bell, Brady Nauman, senior, and his teammates celebrate a 65-0 win against Webster at the annual Turkey Day game Nov. 25, 2021. — Ringing the Frisco Bell, Brady Nauman, senior, and his teammates celebrate a 65-0 win against Webster at the annual Turkey Day game on Nov. 25, 2021.

Best Portrait (tie)

Nate Gibson and Jean Haldiman pose for a portrait. — (Left) Nate Gibson carefully holds an old studio light in preparation for portraits in St. Louis on June 21, 2021. He's stopped directly under a skylight, where a beam of sun casts across his face. (Right) Jean Haldiman, a senior at Clayton High School, in her racing helmet. Shortly after getting her permit, she took an interest in competitive race car driving. In the male-dominated sport, Jean is not only the youngest but also usually the only female competing.

Best Pandemic Life

With their arms around each other, Ceci Escudero and Phebe Hammond, seniors, sing the alma mater, Hail Kirkwood, at graduation on May 7, 2021. — With their arms around each other, seniors Ceci Escudero and Phebe Hammond, sing the alma mater, Hail Kirkwood, at graduation on May 7, 2021.

There was no award given for the general news category.

Honorable Mentions:

Landscape: Sid Suratia, Marquette High School
Landscape: Zaire Rose Harrell, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
Landscape: Cinthia Talbott, Ritenour High School
Landscape: Maxwell Grellner, St. Louis University High School
Feature: Andrew Paul Poertner, Francis Howell North High School
Feature: Nick Sanders, St. Louis University High School
Sports Action: Maya Culian, Francis Howell Central High School
Sports Feature: Mac Huffman, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Sports Feature: Ava Carson, Nerinx Hall High School
Pandemic Life: Katherine Uy, John Burroughs High School
Portrait: Mekhi Brown, Pattonville High School
Portrait: Somo Dedkhad, Pattonville High School
Portrait: Miles Schulte, St. Louis University High School
Portrait: Sruthi Ramesh, Wentzville-Liberty High School

View all of the winning photographs, including honorable mentions at the contest page.

The winners will be honored during a public reception on May 12 at St. Louis Public Radio's headquarters in Grand Center at 3651 Olive St. You can RSVP to the event on our registration page.

The photos will be framed and displayed on gallery walls in St. Louis Public Radio's lobby from May 12 through mid-June, on the big screen in the Public Media Commons outside STLPR's offices and online on the contest page and STLPR's Instagram page. To view the framed exhibit, come to the opening reception or make an appointment for a different time by emailing hello@stlpr.org.

The Best in Show winner will receive $800 in gift certificates, and each category winner will receive $200 in gift certificates. Category winners and honorable mention recipients are invited to a master class with STLPR photojournalist Brian Munoz.

Contest judges included St. Louis Post-Dispatch photojournalist Laurie Skrivan, freelance photographer Michael B. Thomas, STLPR digital and special projects editor Brian Heffernan and STLPR photojournalist Brian Munoz. The contest received generous support from Sony Electronics Inc. and the Trudy B. Valentine Foundation of the St. Louis Community Foundation.

The St. Louis Public Radio Photojournalism Prize is an annual award, with entries accepted again next spring. Watch stlpr.org and follow us on Instagram for updates and details.

Brian Munoz is a staff photojournalist and multimedia reporter for St. Louis Public Radio. You can reach him by email at bmunoz@stlpr.org and follow his work on Instagram and Twitter at @brianmmunoz.