Palo Alto High School, with its three publications, took top honors at the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club’s 2011 High School Journalism Awards which were presented today (May 2) at Ralston Hall on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.

The school’s newspaper, The Campanile, was recognized as the first-place winner in the General Excellence category. The paper’s editor and advisor will be honored at the Press Club’s Evening of Excellence May 21 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City. Palo Alto students who work on The Viking sports magazine and The Paly Voice news website also collected honors.

In all, 15 Peninsula high schools participated in the competition which drew 459 entries in 12 categories from 221 students, a 40 percent increase in entries over last year. Fifty students representing 10 high schools won awards. The contest was judged by professional journalists who are members of the Press Club.

Here is a complete list of the winners:

Website Design

First: thebearcat.net, San Mateo High School, San Mateo 

Second: mabearnews.com, Menlo-Atherton High School, Atherton 

Third: The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto

Website Content

First: The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Second: The Oracle website, Gunn High School, Palo Alto 

Third: aragonoutlook,net, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Column

First: Michael Cullen, The Viking, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Second: Jeremy Venook, San Mateo High School, San Mateo 

Third: Arik Schoessow, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont 

Honorable Mention: Victoria Bevington, The Thunderbolt, Mills High School, Millbrae

Editorial

First: Katharine Pong, The Thunderbolt, Mills High School, Millbrae 

Second: Catherine Anne Tadina, The Colt Quarterly, El Camino High School, South San Francisco 

Third: Angelica Perez, The Panther, Eastside College Prep

Sports Story

First: Mary Albertolle and Mark Raftrey, The Viking, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Second: Connor Moore, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont 

Third: Elia Moreno, The Tom-Tom, Jefferson High School, Daly City

News Story

First: Hannah Kim, The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Second: Tiffany Hu and Annie Shuey, The Oracle, Gunn High School, Palo Alto 

Third: Aaron Zelinger, The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Honorable Mention: Tiffany Hu and Annie Shuey, The Oracle, Gunn High School, Palo Alto

Honorable Mention: Maria Paras and Shawn Singh, The Tom-Tom, Jefferson High School, Daly City

Feature Story

First: Kimberly Ibanez and Jaime Real, The Panther, Eastside College Prep, East Palo Alto

Second: Nathan Norimoto, John Dickerson and Mariah Philips, The Viking, Palo Alto High School 

Third: Rachel Marcus, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo 

Honorable Mention: Lauren Wong, The Campanile, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Honorable Mention: Praveenanurag Dulapalli, The Thunderbolt, Mills High School, Millbrae

Honorable Mention: Steven Tsujisaka, The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

Honorable Mention: Victoria Xiao, The San Mateo Hi, San Mateo 

Honorable Mention: Meredith Geaghan-Breiner, The Bear News, Menlo-Atherton High School, Atherton 

Honorable Mention: Maytal Mark and Scott Kleckner, Verde Magazine, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Honorable Mention: Jesse Klein, The Oracle, Gunn High School, Palo Alto

News Photo

First: Pauline Santos, The Tom-Tom, Jefferson High School, Daly City 

Second: Eric Torres, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Feature Photo

First: Brandon Dukovic, The Viking, Palo Alto High School 

Second: Gladys Bustos, The Panther, Eastside College Prep, East Palo Alto 

Third: Kore Chan, The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo

Sports Photo

First: Morgan Babbs, The San Mateo Hi, San Mateo High School, San Mateo 

Second: Briana Chavez, The Panther, Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto 

Third: Kenan Chan, The Outlook Aragon High School, San Mateo

Layout & Design

First: The Oracle, Gunn High School, Palo Alto 

Second: The Panther, Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto 

Third: The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo 

Honorable Mention: The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont

General Excellence

First: The Campanile, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto 

Second: The Oracle, Gunn High School, Palo Alto 

Third: The Colt Quarterly, El Camino High School, South San Francisco 

Honorable Mention: The Highlander, Carlmont High School, Belmont 

Honorable Mention: The Panther, Eastside College Prep, East Palo Alto 

Honorable Mention: The Outlook, Aragon High School, San Mateo