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Key Dates

The Poetry Out Loud National Finals will be held in Washington, DC from May 5-7, 2025. The National Semifinals will be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, from 9:00 AM– 8:00 PM ET. Champions from each state will perform in one of three semifinal groups, and the top three students from each semifinal group will move on to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 7:00 PM ET.

9:00 a.m. ET— Champions from Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

1:00 p.m. ET— Champions from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

5:00 p.m. ET— Champions from Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

State Finals

State/Territory

Date

Winner & School/Org

Alabama

February 27, 2025

Mikayla Austin- Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Alaska

March 5, 2025

Mona Koko- West Anchorage High School

American Samoa

March 7, 2025

Hazel Leo- Iakina Adventist Academy

Arizona

March 8, 2025

Liam McLaughlin- Gary K Herberger Young Scholars Academy

Arkansas

March 1, 2025

Lillian Baker- Sheridan High School

California

March 16, 2025

Selah Johnson- Archer School for Girls

Colorado

March 17, 2025

Rize Simmons- Windsor High School

Connecticut

March 7, 2025

Lia Muñoz Rojas- Ridgefield High School

Delaware

February 20, 2025

Olivia Stevens- Mount Sophia Academy

District of Columbia

March 15, 2025

Nyla Dinkins- Benjamin Banneker High School

Florida

March 15, 2025

Esinam Agama- Tallahassee Collegiate Academy

Georgia

March 8, 2025

Tiana Jones- Whitefield Academy

Guam

March 15, 2025

Gracie Dionae Manibusan- Notre Dame High School

Hawaii

February 23, 2025

Koaliʻi Keawe-Asuega- Kapālama High School

Idaho

March 15, 2025

Emma Eldred- New Plymouth High School

Illinois

March 17, 2025

Mikiah Gerrity- Jefferson High School

Indiana

March 1, 2025

Eve-Marie Baxter- Indiana Humanities

Iowa

March 9, 2025

Emma B. Oleson- North High School / LAMB Arts

Kansas

March 8, 2025

Ismail Saeed- Wichita East High School

Kentucky

March 14, 2025

Javontae Cranmo- Beechwood High School

Louisiana

March 13, 2025

Alana Bailey- Covington High School

Maine

March 3, 2025

Pendo Dawe- Maine Coast Waldorf School

Maryland

March 1, 2025

Penelope Tofigh- River Hill High School

Massachusetts

March 16, 2025

Abigail Drumm- Agawam High School

Michigan

March 14, 2025

Nour Al-Yasseri- Star International Academy

Minnesota

February 21, 2025

Sofia Skuza Rivera- St. Paul Academy & Summit School

Mississippi

March 6, 2025

Saabria Prater- Pascagoula High School

Missouri

March 6, 2025

Louisa Blackmoore- Crossroads College Preparatory School

Montana

March 8, 2025

Eva Murray- Anaconda Jr/Sr High School

Nebraska

March 9, 2025

Lainey Fillmore- Gordon-Rushville High School

Nevada

March 15, 2025

Kyara Hernandez-Duarte- Elko High School

New Hampshire

March 14, 2025

Reagan Sutherland- Plymouth Regional High School

New Jersey

March 12, 2025

Hadassah Broughton- Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart

New Mexico

March 16, 2025

Kaitlyn Lubega- United World College-USA

New York

March 15, 2025

Savir Peri- Syosset High School

North Carolina

March 8, 2025

Anika Ryder- Central Academy of Technology and Arts

North Dakota

March 3, 2025

Leah Hochhalter- Valley City High School

Ohio

February 7, 2025

Zeke Moses- Bexley High School

Oklahoma

March 5, 2025

Elisha Dalmeida- Jenks High School

Oregon

March 8, 2025

Bena Rodecap- Grant High School

Pennsylvania

March 3, 2025

Isavel Mendoza- Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts

Puerto Rico

March 7, 2025

Sarah Lu Xu- Centro de Oportunidades Educativas de Mayagüez

Rhode Island

March 8, 2025

Emmanuel Obisanya- Classical High School

South Carolina

March 8, 2025

Faith Angeline Ongaria- Wilson High School

South Dakota

March 10, 2025

Teonna Randle- Jefferson High School

Tennessee

March 1, 2025

Elizabeth Silva- Baylor School

Texas

February 22, 2025

Oluwabori Fadairo- The Hockaday School

Utah

March 12, 2025

Sariah Calles- Box Elder High School

Vermont

March 14, 2025

Mapenzi Selemani- Winooski High School

Virgin Islands

March 8, 2025

Maya Prasad- Good Hope Country Day School

Virginia

March 7, 2025

Nadia Shalaby- Fredericksburg Academy

Washington

March 8, 2025

Sydney Frost- Mt. Spokane High School

West Virginia

March 1, 2025

Emily Porter- Logan High School

Wisconsin

March 1, 2025

Riley Grace Saenim- The Prairie School

Wyoming

March 3, 2025

Alex Brady- Cheyenne East High School

Find your state's Poetry Out Loud coordinator here.