By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Four Thompson High School journalism students are representing Alabaster on a national stage throughout the week, as they compete in the SkillsUSA Championships in Louisville, Ky.

THS TV students Chase Mayo, Constance McKnight, Ashley Ryan and Brady Talbert departed Alabaster on Monday, June 20 en route to Louisville to compete in the national championship event.

The four students earned a ticket to the national championship after winning first place in the Broadcast News Production category of the Alabama SkillsUSA championship in April.

In the state contest, the four students produced a three-minute newscast they performed on-camera. The students were provided with basic information from news wire services and stock footage to use in their broadcast.

They used the materials to create a rundown and script of their newscast, and chose video footage to display with each of the stories they aired.

In the state competition, Mayo and McKnight served as the technical and floor directors, and Ryan and Talbert served as the on-air anchors.

Thanks to their first-place finish in the state competition, the THS TV students will compete against other high school news teams from across the nation in Louisville on June 22 and June 23. The awards ceremony for the national competition will be held on June 24.

“I am excited for these students to have the opportunity to compete at nationals. I think that we have one of the best broadcast programs in the state, and this is our chance to show that our program is also a contender at the national level,” THS arts, TV and film academy teacher Brooke Dennis wrote in an email. “This is a great moment for Thompson High School and Alabaster City Schools to shine on a grand stage.”