The Gator won two first-place Story-of-the-Spring awards in editorial and sports writing from the National Scholastic Press Association, announced last month.

The Editorial Board wrote the award-winning editorial, We Support Newton Teachers, though it’s standard newsroom policy for editorials to receive a group byline.

“The entire newsroom is so honored to win this award,” Editor-in-Chief Amelia Bowman said. “Although we are a private institution, many of us have family and friends who are part of the Newton public schools and have been impacted by the strike.”

Sports Editors Tavio Mares-Van Praag ’27 and last year’s Co-Editor-in-Chief Evan Michaeli wrote “Andre Mills ’24: The Odyssey of a Basketball Prodigy,” which took home another top prize.

Adviser David Cutler is proud of the winners, who he said will have “something extra special” to include in their college applications.

“For such a small school to achieve two major wins in these categories is incredible,” Cutler said. “I’m proud of all my students. I hope this inspires more students join the newsroom, where your voice matters and can earn you valuable outside recognition.”

In all, 119 entries, approximately 13 percent of those entered, were recognized, according to NSPA’s announcement.

“The number of winners in each category was determined by the judges based on the quantity and quality of the entries.”

Last year, The Gator also won the nation’s two most coveted awards for overall excellence in online high school journalism, a

“The Gator only continues to thrive because new students are willing to share their voice,” Cutler said. “We welcome anybody interested in not just writing and reporting, but also photography, cartooning, podcasting, video production, social media managing, and more.”