Register cleans up at AP awards

SANDUSKY — The Sandusky Register and its staffers earned more than 20 awards in the highly competitive Ohio Associated Press Media Editors contest. The contest judged journalistic work completed in 2021 that ranged from news and sports articles to photos, videos, pagination and more. The winners were announced on Sunday. The Register won first place in General Excellence, otherwise known as the best newspaper in the division. In the past 15 years, the Register has earned first place in General Excellence 12 times, including five straight for work from 2016 to 2021. In the other years, it earned second place. There are five divisions in Ohio. The Register is in Division III, including the Mansfield News Journal, the (Defiance) Crescent-News, the Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier, the (Dover-New Philadelphia) Times-Reporter, and the (Wooster) Daily Record. The Ohio Associated Press announced the winners of first-, second- and third-place awards during a banquet Sunday afternoon. Forty-eight daily newspapers submitted a total of 1,302 entries in the contest, which featured news and sports stories, features, editorials, columns, graphics and photos from 2021. Entries in the Register's circulation category were judged by editors from Michigan newspapers. Here is the complete list of the Register's awards: Best Headline Writer: reporter Andy Ouriel, second place and Register staff, third place Best Business Writer: Ouriel, third place Best Columnist: executive editor Matt Westerhold, first place, former community editor Patrick Pfanner, second place Best Editorial Writer: Westerhold, first place Best Feature Writer: Ouriel, third place Best Graphics Artist: Westerhold, first place Best Sports Feature Writer: sports editor Brian Kollars, first place, and reporter Billy Heyen, second place Best Sports Writer: Kollars, third place Best Photographer: chief photographer Erin Caldwell, third place Best Sports Enterprise: Heyen, first place for "A Pandemic in the World of Officiating" Best Special Sports Section: Kollars and Heyen, first place for "Sandusky Register 2021 Football Preview." Best Daily Sports Section: Kollars, second place Best News Photo: Caldwell, first place for "Through the Smoke." Best Feature Photo: Caldwell, second place for "Be Free" Best Photo Story: Caldwell, first place for "A Fondness for 4-H" and third place for "Defeat" Best Video: Caldwell, second place for "A Hero Comes Home" Best Public Service: reporter Tom Jackson, second place for "Breaking Down COVID." Best Spot News Coverage: reporter Colleen Carroll, first place, and the Sandusky Register staff, third place, for "Roller Coaster Part Falls, Strikes Guest." Best Explanatory Reporting: Ouriel, second place for "Sandusky, Cedar Point reach $100M deal." Best Enterprise Reporting: Carroll, second place for "27-year-old Cold Case Murder Revived." Best Investigative Reporting: Westerhold, third place for "Woman Acquitted in Fake Rape Case" Best Full Page Design: former page desk chief Kevin Greer, first place, paginator Josh Bahnsen, second place