Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Petoskey News-Review Entry Title: East Jordan gave everyone a reason to be a fan in 2021, or at least smile Entry Credit: Drew Kochanny Judge Comment: Kochanny takes the reader in one direction, then turn things around deftly and easily -- in this case, bending the unwritten rules of sports writing to cheer for an underdog team. Uses an easy conversational style that kept me attentive, and evoked my own school days. Clever effort.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: The Alpena News Entry Title: Morgan Hardies working to rebuild Atlanta girls basketball program Entry Credit: James Andersen Judge Comment: Took what could have been a mundane topic about a new coach at a loser school and produced a well-written column exploring what makes this story different -- the new coach played for its rival and wants to revive the now-dead rivalry.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Midland Daily News Entry Title: Kelly: Tanner Smith deserves a medal Entry Credit: Fred Kelly Judge Comment: Well-written effort. Kelly's persona comes through, yet skillfully uses his impressions and anecdotes to depict the passion of a coach with a large task ahead of him.
