photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

In this file photo, Lawrence High School sophomore Arabella Gipp speaks after being announced as the winner of Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence's 2023 Youth of the Year honor in January. Gipp was named the Youth of the Year for the second year in a row.

Lawrence’s reigning Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year is set to compete for the statewide honor Monday night in Topeka.

In late January, Lawrence High School sophomore Arabella Gipp was named the Lawrence club’s Youth of the Year for the second year running, and now she’ll again represent the city in a bid to earn the Kansas Youth of the Year title.

If she does, Gipp will make it a two-year streak at the state level, too — she won the statewide title in 2022. Lawrence has produced the Kansas Youth of the Year six times, with Gipp’s win last year the most recent victory.

Next week, Gipp will be up against winners from Manhattan, Topeka, and south central Kansas out of Wichita and Hutchinson. It’ll also be the first in-person Kansas Youth of the Year ceremony since 2019; the COVID-19 pandemic forced three virtual events in a row. The event will take place at Townsite Tower in Topeka. Before the ceremony, Gipp and the other candidates will interview with judges and take part in a community service project at Stormont Vail Hospital.