High schoolers with a passion for broadcasting competed recently in the 5th Annual Frisco ISD District Broadcast Competition, testing the skills they’ve developed all year.
The competition — which included both pre-submitted and on-site categories — drew entries from Centennial, Emerson, Heritage, Independence, Lebanon Trail, Liberty, Lone Star, Reedy, and Wakeland high schools, as well as the Career and Technical Education Center’s sports broadcasting program.
Students were evaluated by a panel of industry professionals, including videographers from NBC5, filmmaker Jack Mayo, and returning judges Bruce LeVine and Andrew Hancock — bringing real-world media standards to every category.
Frisco ISD’s broadcast journalism programs give students hands-on experience in television production, reporting, photojournalism, and digital media. The annual District Broadcast Competition celebrates student achievement and connects young journalists with working professionals across the DFW media industry.
“This competition asks students to perform under real pressure — tight deadlines, unfamiliar prompts and a single chance to get it right,” said Candace Bagwell, broadcast teacher at Heritage. “I’m incredibly proud of what these programs produced today.”
Full results are below. Congratulations to these students and their advisors!
Presubmitted Contests
Online Multimedia Story
1. (tie) Ruchira Prasad, Aishani Tripathy and Nathan Yam, Independence
1. (tie) Christina Huang, Liberty
3. Lila Loveless and Will Snook, Wakeland
General News Package
1. Rayanne Noonari, Liberty
2. (tie) Stephanie Okorie, Liberty
2. (tie) Bryson Arnold, Lone Star
Sports News Package
1. Siddartha Manubothu, CTE Center
2. Bryson Arnold, Lone Star
3. Jake Holden, Kenneth Weaver, Dhivyaan Kumaran and Brody Morse, Centennial
Anchor Reads
1. Destiny Janelle Nelson, Emerson
2. Zachary Lieberman, Independence
3. (tie) Akshit Srivastava, Independence
3. (tie) Makenna Marcum and Jasper Feng, Independence
Promotional Highlight Reel
1. (tie) Siddartha Manubothu, CTE Center
1. (tie) Giovanni Cameau, Emerson
3. Vishwajit Yogaraj, Heritage
Narrative Video
1. Cameron Johnson, Dylan Hollomon and Katelyn Kennedy, Emerson
2. Vishwajit Yogaraj, Heritage
3. Iksha Kesari, Emerson
Documentary Photo
1. Will Snook, Wakeland
2. (tie) Siddartha Manubothu, CTE Center
2. (tie) Hudson Smith, Emerson
3. Bronwyn Payton, Lebanon Trail
Audience Engagement
1. Kaelyn Johnson, Heritage
2. Humza White and Iksha Kesari, Emerson
3. Reva Maddineni and Padma Allamsetty, Independence
On-Site Contests
Stand-Ups
1. Destiny Janelle Nelson, Emerson
2. Grace Torres, Emerson
3. Caroline Angle, Wakeland
Online Multimedia Story
1. Giovanni Cameau, Emerson
2. Amrita Renganathan and Eringo Daniel, Liberty
3. Siena Jacob and Isabel Loncaric, Reedy
General News Package
1. Chris Baskar and Sumit Kalaimani, CTE Center
2. Mari Vanacour and Rayanne Noonari, Liberty
3. Caroline Angle and Ella Lundy, Wakeland
General News Package (No Prompt)
1. Collin Wehr, Heritage
2. (tie) Aditi Shah and Stephanie Okorie, Liberty
2. (tie) Bryson Arnold and Nicolas Berger, Lone Star
3. (tie) Jake Holden and Sasha Vadivel, Centennial
3. (tie) Destiny Janelle Nelson and Hannah Hill, Emerson
News Competition Promo
1. Manya Gupta, Wakeland
2. Maren Mazzola, Centennial
3. (tie) Cooper Diemont, CTE Center
3. (tie) Ginger Zande, Liberty