Nearly 400 students from area schools participated in The Lakes and Streams Art Contest earlier this year, and Sunday the winners were announced during The Northern Indiana Lakes Festival. Caitlin Yoder, Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College education coordinator, said the art contest has been going on for a number of years. It is open to students in fourth through 12th grade in Kosciusko County, including homeschool. Each year there is a theme, and the theme for this year was “Lake & Stream Habitats.” “They were asked to create an art piece inspired by that theme,” Yoder said. Students submit the art to the Center, which does the first line of judging for theme and content. The Grace College Art Department then does the final judging and decides on winners. Categories were divided by grade, and included fourth and fifth, sixth and seventh, eighth and ninth and 10th, 11th and 12th. Awards were given for first through sixth place and honorable mention, Yoder explained. She said 360 students participated from every school district in the county. Prizes were Visa® gift cards and winners’ pieces will be included in the 2017 calendar, which will be for sale at the Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace. All winners will get a copy of the calendar for free, she said. Winners, the title of their art piece, grade and school were, in the fourth- and fifth-grade category: first place, Jericho Stichter, “Twilight,” fourth grade, Warsaw Christian School; second place, Lilly Kelsey, “The Reflection Lake, fifth grade, Washington STEM Academy; third place, Morgan Howett, “Seeing Double,” fifth grade, homeschool; fourth place, Andrew Zink, “The Pond in the Forest,” fifth grade, Warsaw Christian; fifth place, Alyssa Swanson, “Swan Lake,” fifth grade, Washington STEM Academy; sixth place, Emma Bradford, “The Colors of the Lake,” fourth grade, Claypool Elementary; honorable mention, Lucy Henn, “Fall Swim,” fourth grade, Lincoln Elementary. Winners, the title of their art piece, grade and school were, in the sixth- and seventh-grade category: first place, Ella Beezley, “Fish Eye View,” seventh grade, Milford School; second place, Leslie Romero, “Paradise,” seventh grade, Lakeview Middle School; third place, Brooklyn Ort, “Swimming Competition,” sixth grade, Lincoln Elementary; fourth place, Miranda Bays, “Rainbow Life,” sixth grade, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School; fifth place, Christine Banks, “The Quiet Place,” sixth grade, Warsaw Christian; sixth place, Grace Wilson, “The Amazing Fish,” sixth grade, TVMS; and honorable mentions: Garrett Newsome, “Fox Field,” seventh grade, Edgewood Middle School; Angelia Stichter, “Out on a Limb,” sixth grade, Warsaw Christian; Amanda Lusinde, “Sundown,” sixth grade, Lincoln; Kennedy Smith, “Swans,” seventh grade, Lakeview Middle School. Winners, the title of their art piece, grade and school were, in the eighth- and ninth-grade category: first place, Susan Lee, “Look! Something’s There,” ninth grade, Whitko High School; second place, Grant Knight, “Woody’s Creek,” eighth grade, Edgewood; third place, Isaiah Pierce, “Morning Swan,” ninth grade, Whitko High School; fourth place, Austin Bowell, “Taking Flight,” ninth grade, Warsaw Community High School; fifth place, Devin Blaine, “Bird on a Rock,” ninth grade, Whitko; sixth place, Shianna Bradley, “Little Ducks,” ninth grade, Whitko; honorable mentions: Micah Cokl, “Shell of Splendor,” ninth grade, Whitko; Phaleisha Combs, “Hogar de la N’utria,” eighth grade, Edgewood. Winners, the title of their art piece and school were, in the 10th-grade category: first, Kylee Gudeman, “Ready Together,” WCHS; second place, Claire Rich, “Sunday Walks,” WCHS; third place, Kyle Herr, “Lilly Pad Paradise,” Whitko; fourth place, Ezra Miller, “A Walk in the Woods,” Whitko; fifth place, Abigail Martin, “Papaw’s Fishing Spot,” Whitko; sixth place, Jacqueline Werstler, “Blue Heron in the Water,” Whitko; honorable mentions: Shelby Miller, “Sunbathers,” Whitko; Maren Lehman, “Bloom,” Whitko. Winners, the title of their art piece and school were, in the 11th-grade category: first place, Maddy Foutz, “Tall, Green and Beautiful,” Whitko; second place, Morgan Keirn, “Turtle Tide,” Whitko; third place, Brianna Cumberland, “Otter’s Paradise,” Whitko; fourth place, Britney Lewis, “King Fishing,” Whitko; fifth place, Delaney Keirn, “A Moth’s View,” Whitko; sixth place, Matt Kolbe, “Sit Spot,” WCHS; honorable mentions: Taylor Ream, “Just Keep on Swimming,” Whitko; Alyson Reiff, “The Abyss,” Whitko. Winners, the title of their art piece and school were, in the 12th-grade category: first place, Alexis Fortman, “Sentinel,” Whitko; second place, Avaree Freel, “Pike Way,” Whitko; third place, Casey Dierks, “Lakefront Property,” Whitko; fourth place, Kaycee Keener, “Blue Heron’s Paradise,” Whitko; fifth place, Jamie Tolson, “Dusky,” Whitko; sixth place, Erick Loe, “Nature is Ribbiting,” Whitko; honorable mentions: Shawnee Long, “True Adventure,” Whitko; and Maddie Jo Schultz, “One Happy Family,” Whitko.
