Several Mars Area Middle School students participated in the 2018 Youngstown State University English Festival, held April 19-20.

Eighth-graders Lauren Miko and Isabella Pelligrino earned first place and seventh-grader Madeline Wolf took second place in the Not So Trivial Pursuit Contest.

In the Limerick Contest, eighth-grader Delaney Butzine received first place; eighth-graders Ava Black and Haley Hessinger, second place; and eighth-grader Abigail Miller, third place.

Eighth-grader Ava Black took fourth place; and eighth-graders Luke Whitworth and Delaney Butzine and seventh-grader Makayla Milam received honorable mentions in the Writing Games event.

Other participating students were eighth-graders Audrey Gehm, Sophie Huff, Olivia Saylor, Max Solich, Angelina Tsao and Morgan Weitzell; and seventh-graders Claire Cable, Frances Huffman, Zachary Long, Lucie Morlino, Madelyn Ostapchenko and Willow Starkey. Eighth-grader Gillian Porter was unable to attend the event.

The annual event, open to students in Grades 7-12, welcomes thousands of students from schools in Butler, Mercer and Lawrence counties as well as several Ohio counties and is meant to promote and cultivate reading and writing.

For more information, visit www.ysuenglishfestival.org.