The staff of The Shield learned on Saturday afternoon that it was among the 22 staffs that had won a national Online Pacemaker Award for its website, The Shield Online. The Pacemaker Award, given by the National Scholastic Press Association, is generally considered to be the highest honor in the field of scholastic journalism. The Shield staff won Pacemaker Awards for its print newspaper in 2004 and again in 2011; it has never won for its online version before Saturday.

“I am beyond excited to have won this award,” web editor-in-chief, Sophie Ryland said. “I remember joking with Mr. Winter last year that we had to win a Pacemaker before I graduated, but I really didn’t think it would happen so soon. It’s especially exciting because this has been the first year we’ve really committed to maintaining our website. I know Mr. Winter and the rest of us have worked so hard on this website this year, so it’s amazing to have that be recognized on such a prestigious level.”

17 out of the 22 winners, including The Shield Online, were members of SNO Sites, a new website publishing server designed specifically for scholastic journalism.