GALESBURG — Carl Sandburg College has announced the winners of the 35th annual Carl Sandburg College Poetry Contest.

First through third place and honorable mentions were selected in four categories: elementary (grades 1-5), junior (grades 6-8), intermediate (grades 9-12) and adult. Award winners were invited to attend a banquet Nov. 3 in the Sandburg library.

A digital booklet with the text of this year’s award-winning poems, as well as a list of winners from recent years, can be found at sandburg.edu/poetryawards.

35th ANNUAL CARL SANDBURG COLLEGE POETRY AWARDS
Elementary Division
First place — “Flowers” by Anna Rozny
Second place — “The Magic of Opal” by Opal Ponce-Little
Third place — “Long Division Cinquain” by James Rozny
Honorable mention — “Love” by Maria Rose Ponce-Little
Honorable mention — “An Ode to My Cat” by Grayson Hannam

Junior Division
First place — “The Traveling Boy” by Erik Dockins
Second place — “The Never Ending Staircase” by Rylan Doyle
Third place — “I am More than Just Hair” by Lexie Anderson
Honorable mention — “Alaska” by Max J.T. Johnson
Honorable mention — “Nature” by Kylie McClellan

Intermediate Division
First place — “Clay Vessel” by Emma Racke
Second place — “In Between” by Katelynn Bredemeier
Third place — “Sold My Soul Waiting In Line At Hot Topic” by Madelyn Sackett
Honorable mention — “What do you mean it was fake?” by Alleah Rickard-Stone
Honorable mention — “One Door Opens” by Grace Manning

Adult Division
First place — “story left by a coffee cup in the wee hours of the morning” by Gary M. Armstrong
Second place — “Afternoon Heavy with the Closeness of Rain” by Brooks Carver
Third place — “Songs for Former Gifted Kids” by Melanie Delbridge
Honorable mention — “The Essence of You” by Dorothy Dobson
Honorable mention — “I am the Sky” by Amos Kipkemoi 

PHOTO GALLERY: 35th annual Carl Sandburg College Poetry Contest awards