APSE Southwest Region contest results

 Results from the 2010 APSE Southwest Region contest as reported by region chairman Brad Lehman:

 

 

1^st place: Dale Robertson, Houston Chronicle

An exceptionally well-written account of an “old, tired and beaten” champion’s “bare-naked mortality.” Good descriptive writing, good pacing, good read.

2^nd place: Kevin Robbins, Austin American-Statesman

I like the way this story captures the innocence of youth along with the thrill (shaky nerves included) of competing with the big boys. The human element nicely melds with the play-by-play. A refreshing and upbeat story.

3^rd place: Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News

Nice lede, nice gamer. The reader vividly feels the Longhorns’ crushing disappointment.

1^st place: Brian Sandalow, The Monitor

The opening graphs nicely capture the agonizing decision the golfer had to make that day, and artfully blend the ups and downs of the match with the player’s conflicting emotions of the day.

2^nd place: David Henry, Beaumont Enterprise

A strong, emotional story. The top of the piece very effectively reflects the mood of the crowd and the players.

3^rd place: Brice Cherry, Waco Tribune-Herald

A well-written game story. Nice blend of action, quotes and stats.

 

1^st place: Brett Vito, Denton Record-Chronicle

The reporter artfully weaves three storylines through the game story: the new coach, the recently fired coach, and the young quarterback caught in the middle. The “lucky pennies” motif also works well to frame the story.

 

2^nd place: Jon Brooks, Marshall News Messenger

I liked the energy and emotion of the opening graphs. The reader can feel that explosive moment of celebration after that final out. And the story as a whole is a compelling tale of a team’s improbable run to the regional tournament, woven through the play-by-play of the final game.

 

3^rd place: Kevin Posival, Killeen Daily Herald

The reporter made a bass-fishing tourney interesting, even to this non-fisherman. It’s an engaging little story, even if the event didn’t lend itself to a riveting play-by-play. Good lede and good use of quotes.

 

Houston Chronicle: Important work. Impressive in scope. And made local.
 

Waco Tribune-Herald
 

The Marshall News Messenger

 

 

1^st place: David Barron, Houston Chronicle

I love this lede — the Winter Olympian from a town called Spring, striding into Turin with his enormous personality and verve to spare. Barron does a nice job of painting a vivid picture of this athlete, his temporary slump, and his conversion to Christianity almost against his own will.  Chad Hedrick really comes to life on the page in this story.

 

2nd place: Barry Horn, Dallas

Barry Horn tells the fascinating story of an athlete on the edge—and the unlikely mentor who helped save him—in nice writing. He is especially good at pacing and at writing with authority.

 

3^rd place: Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express News

It was fun to read this profile of James Anderson, and watch his “flyspeck” home town celebrate his achievements with hot dogs, potato salad and good cheer.
 

 

1^st place: Courtney Linehan, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

The dangers and long-term ramifications of concussions are described and explained here beautifully in a story that is strong in example and detail. The opening grafs are both frightening and frustrating—which echoes the emotions of story subject Corbin Ray.

2nd place:  Jon Styf, Beaumont Enterprise

Such lovely detail in this piece that pays tribute to a fallen quarterback. The white towel, the cross, the calls of birds in the distance. Styf sets the scene nicely and then backtracks into the life and ambition of Reggie Garrett, who collapsed and died after throwing a touchdown pass. A sad piece, but one that ends nicely on a note of hope.

 

3rd place:  David Just, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

A remarkable story about a miraculous recovery. David Just employs the narrative form nicely here, letting the story unfold naturally.

 

 

1st place: Jon Brooks, the Marshall News-Messenger

Jon Brooks builds dramatic tension skillfully, with a dramatic lede and a nice use of very active, powerful verbs. His examination of what caused a deep rivalry between teams — and the violence that ensued — is an original idea, well-told.

2nd place: Alex Byngton, Kileen Daily Herald

Alex Byngton’s  story about Alyssa Castro, working through her anger and pain at the death of her father in a skydiving accident, is affecting and sweet, coming alive with a nice use of detail.

3^rd place: Kevin Posival, Kileen Daily Herald

The therapeutic benefit of fly tying was a story I’d not seen before, and Kevin Posival did a nice job of summing up the surprising benefit s of an activity that can also be, as Posival says, “tedious to the point of frustration.”

 

(tie) 1^st place: Heath Shelby, Austin American Statesman for "Oh say can you sing?" – Perfect description for a story on people who were auditioning to sing the national anthem at Round Rock Express games. 

 

(tie) 1^st place: Steve Schaeffer, Houston Chronicle for "From bat to worse" – Perfectly summed up the Houston Texans losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars on a last-second pass being batted down, moving the Texans to last in the division. 

 

2^nd place: Chris Ferrell, San Antonio Express-News for "Texas Fold 'Em" – On the San Francisco Giants beating the Rangers in Game 5 of the World Series to win the title. 

 

1^st place: Alex McGuffie, Beaumont Enterprise for "Colleges go big when they don't go home"- Spot on description of story about college football teams playing in NFL stadiums, giving up games in their own stadiums. 

 

2^nd place: Wendi Wilkerson, Beaumont Enterprise for "Cliffhanger" – On story about the Texas Rangers waiting on Cliff Lee's decision on staying with the team or leaving. 

 

3^rd place: Mike Tobias, Beaumont Enterprise for "Men of Steal" – On a high school baseball team that is successful in base running going up against a good catcher in the playoffs. 

 

1^st place: Jon Brooks, Marshall News Messenger for "Sudden-Lee" – Good play on words to describe the Texas Rangers surprising signing of Cliff Lee and suddenly being in the AL pennant race. 

 

2^nd place: Mark W. Miller, Killeen Daily Herald for "Green turns black and blue" – On a high school track relay team that expected to break records instead suffering injuries at a prestigious meet. 

 

1^st place: David Jack Browning and Jason Baum for May 9 – The "Domino Effect" package was a great layout on the conference realignment stories. They had a clever design and nice, easy-to-read info boxes. 

 

2^nd place: Rick Taylor, San Antonio Express-News for Jan. 6 – BCS preview "X-factor" was nicely packaged and made you want to read more. 

 

3^rd place: John Hancock, Dallas Morning News for March 8 – Loved the cutout of Shawn Marion for the Mavericks vs. Minnesota preview package. 

 

1^st place: Mike Tobias, Beaumont Enterprise for Dec. 12 – He shows good design skills and isn't afraid to try something different. This section, which leads with the all area high school football team was well done. It makes you take notice and lures you inside. 

 

2^nd place: Mike Tobias, Beaumont Enterprise for June 2 – The baseball scorecard at the top was a nice touch that topped off an overall good section front. 

 

3^rd place: Wendi Wilkerson, Beaumont Enterprise for Oct. 27 – Nice World Series Game 1 preview package really grabs your attention. 

 

1^st place: Nick Talbot and Mark W. Miller, Killeen Daily Herald for April 5 – The 'Getting Clearance' feature was well-packaged with a nice photo illustration. 

 

2^nd place: Nick Talbot, Killeen Daily Herald for Nov. 4 – The girls basketball preview highlighted this front, with a nice cutout of a Baylor football player. 

 

1^st place: Dallas Morning News "Super Bowl XLV" – This is what a special section should be … special. A magazine with in-depth features and profiles. It was well-designed, well-written and well-edited. Great overall flow and theme. This was just a great section. 

 

2^nd place: Dallas Morning News "Cowboys/NFL Preview" – The best of the football preview sections. Good stories to set up previews with a good use of graphics. 

 

3^rd place: Houston Chronicle "Prep Football" – Magazine style layout with good features that led into high school previews. Had to have been well received by high school football fans. 

 

 Special Sections: 20,000-125,000 

1^st place: Standard Times "Decade of Memories" – The decade in review package of stories, charts and game reviews put this section over the top in a competitive category. It was well-designed with a magazine look and feel. It had an easy flow and was full of info. 

 

2^nd place: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal "Football Fever" – The 'Building Boom' enterprise story was a good idea to lead the section and was well done. The feature stories that teased the previews of local teams was a nice touch and those previews had a lot of good info. 

 

3^rd place: Waco Tribune-Herald "Football 2010" – Solid section that has good features and information on Baylor and the Big 12 and area high school teams. 

 

No entries.