Amie Just of the Lincoln Journal Star won first place in the Division C long feature category of the 2025 Associated Press Sports Editors contest.
In the first-place entry, University of Nebraska wrestler Antrell Taylor trusted Just to tell his family’s gripping tale of loss, heartbreak and perseverance. When Antrell was 7 years old, his father, Darrell, was shot more than a dozen times and died 5 miles from their home in a case that remains unsolved. The family had just celebrated Christmas. Antrell’s older brother, Adrrell, served as a father figure to Antrell from then on, even though Adrrell was just 14 at the time. But 12 years later, Adrrell was shot and killed, too, at 26, right before Antrell’s sophomore year at Nebraska. Spurred on by the memory of his dad and brother, Antrell became a national champion.
APSE contest winners will be honored at the 2026 APSE Summer Conference banquet July 18 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. Registration for the conference is open; you can register right here.
Just will receive a first-place plaque. The second- through 10th-place finishers will receive frame-worthy certificates.
Sports editors submitted 91 entries in the Division C long feature category. Contest chair Perryn Keys and APSE officers Paul Barrett, Erik Hall and Tony Maluso prepared the entries.
Contest results: Digital, print and podcasts | Writing and photography
Judges convened in late February, in person at the APSE Winter Conference in Las Vegas and remotely around the nation, to select the top entrants. The committee determined 10 finalists, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10. The final 10 were given to a second judging group in late February and March, ranking the entries from Nos. 1 to 10 in the same fashion.
The final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
The top 10 are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses, along with links to the winning entries.
The contest is open to APSE members. Click here to join.
1. Amie Just, Lincoln Journal Star (5)
2. Cora Hall, Knoxville News
3. Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal
4. Taylor Eldridge, The Wichita Eagle
5. Tyler Dunne, Go Long (1)
6. Art Stapleton, The Record
7. Adam Sparks, Knoxville News
8. Drew Hill, The Daily Memphian
9. Jon Hale, Lexington Herald-Leader
10. Travis Brown, KBTX.com
