Echo was announced as a 2019 Online Pacemaker finalist by the National Scholastic Press Association Jan. 12.

According to the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), the Echo was one of 44 publications recognized as a finalist in the annual Pacemaker competition.

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award. NSPA is honored to recognize the best of the best,” NSPA executive director Laura Widmer said in the published announcement.

The competition judges received 200 website submissions from 34 states and after analyzing each entry, they selected the 44 Pacemaker finalists, according to NSPA.

According to NSPA Pacemaker associate director and coordinator Gary Lundgren, the finalists’ sites will be visited by judges on a frequent basis until the Pacemaker winners are announced.

The 2019 Online Pacemaker winners will be announced at the Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Anaheim, California April 27, according to NSPA.