From a competitive field of nearly 6,000 students from across the state, Carolyn Muller, a senior from Champaign Central High School in Champaign, received the title of 2012 Poetry Out Loud Illinois State Champion at the statewide competition hosted by the Springfield Area Arts Council in Springfield, on Thursday, March 29, 2012.

Muller recited "Infelix" by Adah Isaacs Menken, "Dirge Without Music" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and "Ovation" by Carol Muske-Dukes. Springfield Southeast High School junior Charday Crawford won  first runner-up, reciting "a song in the front yard" by Gwendolyn Brooks, "A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns, and "Conversation" for Robert Lowell by Ai. Ms. Muller will advance to the national competition to be held in Washington, D.C., in mid-May.

The Illinois State Champion Carolyn Muller received an award of $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship. Ms. Muller's school received a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. First runner-up Charday Crawford received $100, with $200 for her school library.

Other contestants in the Illinois State Contest were:
Sam Chao, Niles West High School (Skokie) Final Round; Amanda Clark, Auburn High School (Rockford); Kenneth DuMez, Northside College Preparatory High School (Chicago); Michelle Gonzalez, Maine East High School (Park Ridge); Brianna Gray, United Township  High School (East Moline); Kaniah Jackson, Mather High School (Chicago); Arianna Keleher, Orion High School (Orion); David Kessler, Centennial High School (Champaign) Final Round; Megan Kessler, Clay City High School (Clay City); Xavier Kimbrough, Auburn High School (Rockford); Carly Piland, Springfield High School (Springfield); Zachary Rimkus, Edwardsville High School (Edwardsville) Final Round; Maggie Scudder, Carbondale Community High School (Carbondale); Ryan Serfas, Edwardsville High School (Edwardsville).