Mark McMullen of the Wisconsin State Journal won first place in the 2024 Associated Press Sports Editors contest in the Division C Short Feature category. 

APSE contest winners will be honored at the 2025 APSE Summer Conference banquet at the Courtyard Minneapolis Downtown on June 28. Registration for the conference is now open. 

McMullen will receive a plaque. The second- through 10th-place finishers will receive frameable certificates.                                                                                    

Sports editors submitted 62 entries in the category. Contest chair Paul Barrett and APSE officers Dan Spears, Perryn Keys and Tony Maluso prepared the entries. 

Contest results: Sections, digital, video | Writing and photography

In February, judges at the APSE Winter Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and remote judges around the country selected a top 10, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10. The final 10 were given to a second judging group, which ranked the entries 1 to 10 in the same fashion. The final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots. Associated Press Photo Manager Mike Stewart helped choose finalists in the photo categories.

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. Mark McMullen, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) (2)
  2. Sam Hutchens, Clarion Ledger (Jackson, Miss.) (1)
  3. Katherine Fominykh, Capital Gazette (Annapolis, Md.) (1)
  4. Darren Cooper and Kevin Wexler, The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)
  5. Marissa Kraus, The Gazette (Colorado Springs) (1)
  6. Steve Bennett, The Citizens’ Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
  7. Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman
  8. Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press (1)
  9. Patrick Obley, The Daily Sun (Port Charlotte, Fla.)
  10. Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star