MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon Middle School’s Power of the Pen team excelled at regionals, bringing home first place team trophies for both the seventh and eighth grade as well as the sweepstakes trophy, which combines the total points scored by students from each school.
A total of 75 writers competed at each grade level.
Eighth grader Emily Hammond won the individual first place trophy. In the seventh grade competition, Rachel Ruth and Hannah Hofferberth earned second and third place trophies.
Two Mount Vernon students were given Director’s Choice Awards. Hofferberth claimed the accolade with her story, “Confidence is Key.” Eighth grader Tiffany Marchio received the honor for her story titled “Excuses, Excuses.”
Eighth grader Julie King won a scholarship to the Denison University Reynolds Young Writers Workshop, a program typically reserved for rising juniors and seniors.
Ruth, Hofferberth, Hammond, King, Marchio and seventh grader Ian Hawthorne qualified for the state competition May 23-24.
St. Vincent de Paul’s eighth graders won the third place team trophy at the Northeast Regional competition. Matthew Salvucci’s eighth place finish qualified him for the state competition.
