Major hardware

Staff Report

NATCHITOCHES - The Ville Platte Gazette and The Oakdale Journal received hardware after staff members earned top honors at the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Awards Contest luncheon held on Sunday, June 28.
Current editor of the Gazette and former sports editor of the Journal Tony Marks won Prep Writer of the Year in Class II. Judges comments were, “Great job with the leads (they definitely made me want to keep reading the respective stories), as well as being descriptive and giving good details in stories. The stories were also well-written and very consistent. Nice job overall.”
The winning entries were stories on Plainview boys’ basketball capturing first state championship in 60 years, Oakdale baseball falling in quarters, Plainview head boys’ basketball coach Dustin Howard being named All-State Coach of the Year for the third time, and Will Chapman’s field goal lifting Sacred Heart over Opelousas Catholic.
Second place went to Matt Belinson, Ruston Daily Leader, third place went to Jake Martin, The Ouachita Citizen, and honorable mention went to Chris Singleton, The Times of Houma and Thibodaux.
Marks also won Columnist of the Year in Class II. Judges comments were, “In a category that was filled with entries that had good subjects but were extremely light on opinion and heavy on cliche, the winner knew his subject matter well and that is what separated the entry from the others.”
The winning entries were columns about missing the BCS, celebrating LSU’s 8th College World Series championship, and wild predictions about the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
Second place went to Malcolm Butler, Lincoln Parish Journal, and there was a tie for third place between Joey Martin, Concordia Sentinel and Bob Tompkins, Rapides Parish Journal.
Marks also won honorable mention for Best Headline with “Elizabeth teams get buccaneered on home court,” and “By George: OHS baseball falls in quarters;” second place for Prep Event Class II with a story on Plainview boys’ basketball capturing first state championship in 60 years; and honorable mention for General Sports Column with a column on everything being okay after LSU hires Kiffin.
Former Gazette editor and current sports editor of the Journal Raymond Partsch III won first place for Story of the Year for a long-form feature on Sacred Heart boxing legend and football coach George “Bobby” Soileau.
Judge’s comments were, “This was just an amazing portrait of the life of a legendary boxer and coach and what he meant to those around him. It was well-sourced and written concisely and cleanly. I could visualize Soileau throughout the story; which speaks to how the writer made the story appeal to readers.”
The story on Soileau also won first place in Prep Feature Class I. Judges comments were, “Well-crafted story on a tough high school coach with an excellent, emotional ending that connects skillfully and brings the feature full-circle.”
Second place went to Roy Lang III, Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate, for a feature on Calvary softball winning state title for late senior, her grieving family; third place went to John James Marshall, Shreveport Bossier Journal, for a feature on the legend of Greg Procell; and honorable mention went to Robin Fambrough, The Advocate, for a feature on DeVonta Smith’s rise from small town hero to Heisman, Super Bowl.
Partsch III also received the prestigious Jack Brittain/ Mac Russo Award, which is the association’s highest honor. It has been presented annually since 1981 to a person whose longterm involvement “contributes to the progress and ideals of the LSWA.”
Sports Writer Of The Year was then awarded to the writer who accumulated the most points (points awarded on a 3-2-1 basis) in regular writing categories. Points were not awarded for Prep Writer of the Year, Beat Writer of the Year, Columnist of the Year, Photography, Headlines or Story of the Year. This year’s winner was Roy Lang III, Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, during the LSWA’s business meeting, Marks was also elected as the organization’s vice president. Other officers elected were President William Weathers, Secretary Chris Singleton, Treasurer (for life) - Kent Lowe, and Vice President for Sports Information Directors Matthew Bonnette.