Shaylee Wescott, a freshman from Mayfield High School, took home first place for a short-story contest last week.
Wescott received a three hundred cash prize for her winning entry. Bradley Walz won second place and received a $200 cash prize. Walz is also a freshman at Mayfield High School. Kristen Court won third place and a $100 cash prize. Court attends Organ Mountain High School and is currently a junior.
The competition held by the General Federation of Women’s Club of Las Cruces at the WIA building adjacent to Pioneer Women’s Park last week. The non-profit club fundraises money for community events and organizations, but the group focused this event on the students.
Wescott wrote a nail-biting fantasy piece focused on siblings and the reincarnation of a phoenix.
“My story was actually for an assignment, but my creative writing teacher read it and thought it was so good she wanted me to enter it in a competition,” Wescott said.
“I have been writing on and off for a while so, I wanted to see what I was capable of by entering.”
Court said she has always loved to write and that much of her influence comes from her older siblings. She added that she loves to express herself through her writing.
“I think I’d love to be a teacher, I really enjoy literature, and I would hope that I could be an English teacher. But I love to dabble in everything, so I try to do a little of everything. I just must see what comes after this,” Court said.
Court wrote a heart-pounding piece on a small family dealing with the trauma of a life threatening virus.
“I didn’t receive the contest email until much later, so I only had a short time to do it. So, for me it was, go, go, go, I was nervous. The actual story had to be under 2,000 words and written within a certain period.”
Wescott added that she would love to enter another contest. She loves to write fantasy pieces and said although she is young, she hopes to travel a lot while she sticks to writing.
Walz wrote a compelling short story on two young men exploring the wilderness and accidently killing a bear that was terrorizing and killing hikers. He was not present at the event.
Joe Wright, a ninth grade English teacher at Mayfield High School said creative writing enables the students to stretch themselves creatively.
“English class lets kids explore their creative side, their emotional side, and they get a lot of emotional support out of their writing. To get more students to do that, express themselves on paper, it’s priceless,” Wright said.
Updated on March 18, 2025. This Story has been updated to correct that Shaylee Wescott was the first place winner and Kristen Court won third.
