Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Lamar University Entry Title: Building a future Entry Credit: Keagan Smith Judge Comment: The reporter combined the elements of history and current goals to paint a strong picture of where the school has been and is going. I liked how I felt like I could understand how the athletic director sees his overall job.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Midwestern Entry Title: Men's soccer team roll to stay unbeaten Entry Credit: Abby Turner Judge Comment: There is power in going beyond what a team does on the field into what they do to prepare to be successful. The strength of this article was sharing what the soccer players described about why this team is succeeding.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Stephen F. Austin Entry Title: Coach Carthel makes SFA history Entry Credit: Diego Barahona Judge Comment: An achievement is a reason to talk about the person who has had the success, to delve into how and why they have done what they've done. This reporter did well at exploring some of those elements as they talked about the accomplishments of the coach.
Competition Comment: The best stories shared how individuals viewed their experiences, providing a relatable human element. Many of the submissions had potential to be much stronger if they had followed that approach instead of focusing on details that weren't as engaging.
