Submitted Photo Teacher and organizer Teresa Marquart, organizer and spoken word poet Joe Davis, and Gabrielle Johnson, Boom Slam! Winner, are shown in this photo.

Gabrielle Johnson, a senior at Minot High School-Magic City Campus, was the winner of the Boom Slam! Poetry contest held Friday at Central Campus. Second place went to Nakota OwnsPipe, a junior, and third place went to Olivia Peatross, a senior.

Students recited their own poetry during the 10th annual event and were judged by a panel of local judges. The first-place award was $500 cash.

“It is an exceedingly proud moment to see all of the hard work coming together when planning an

event like this and it is incredible to see your students come out of their shell and share their

work with others and to see the reaction of the peers; they were so supportive of each other!” said language arts teacher and organizer Teresa Marquart. “There were so many kids who came to the slam who aren’t the typical attendees. I think many of them realized how fun Spoken Word Poetry can be!”

This was the first time the event was held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic and it was a success. Hundreds attended to hear the students perform, said Marquart. The Minot community donated thousands of dollars worth of prizes for the Boom Slam! Event.