Eight students won awards at the 2014 regional writing contest hosted by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and the English Teacher’s Friend. Many West Shore students won awards for the contest.

Sophomore Ana Rosal won the Gold Key for Excellence in Writing, and her piece will be entered in the national competition. Junior Ian Dillon and freshmen River Grace and Payton Greenleaf earned the Silver Key for Excellence in Writing. Juniors Eric Billhartz and Autumn Scheer, and freshmen Anna King and Michael Weatherby received Honorable Mentions for Excellence in Writing.

Dillon said that his writing was a required assignment from his English teacher, and that he was not expecting to win any awards.

“I wrote a sci-fi short story about cloning that was mandatory for my English class,” said Dillon. “I wasn’t planning on winning, it just happened.”

Scheer said she had never won a writing contest before receiving this Honorable Mention.

“I was surprised that I won, and it was the first time I’d ever been recognized for writing,” Scheer said.