Advised by Jodi Donner, The Challenge, Thunderbird High School's newspaper placed second in the Better Newspapers Contest sponsored by the Arizona Newspaper Association.

This year, 63 newspapers and 12 high schools entered in the Better Newspapers Contest for a total of 1,197 entries. The Better Newspapers Contest consists of nine categories that measure the overall quality of the newspapers and 13 categories that honor individuals who contribute to journalism excellence. The banquet was attended by the Arizona journalism community including the Arizona Republic and Mesa Tribune.

In addition, The Challenge also won the prestigious Gold Medalist Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The paper ranked high in news and feature writing, editing, and layout and design.