Annandale High School's student newspaper The A-Blast has been named one of 31 finalists in the 2012 National Scholastic Press Association’s (NSPA) Online Pacemaker Awards competition.

According to their website, the contest "recognizes high school publication websites" and 31 sites were selected out of a total 159 entries. The entries were judged "holistically based on content, design, writing and editing, rich media and breaking news."

The AHS student newspaper was the only Virginia school selected as a finalist. Winners are expected to be annoucned in April at the JEA-NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in April.

Last year, The A-Blast won the Best of Show award in the newspaper 17 or more pages category at the Journalism Education Association (JEA)-National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Awards.

Congratulations to The A-Blast staff!