COLUMBUS — The newsroom staff that produces both The Vindicator and the Tribune Chronicle took home three statewide first-place awards for its 2021 coverage, and it also claimed second place in the overall General Excellence category for competition with all Ohio newspapers of comparable size.

First-place winners were Managing Editor Amy Leigh Wilson for best full-page design for a front-page story titled “Death penalty: Justice or Brutality?” Business Editor Ron Selak Jr. was named best business writer for a compilation of his work; and sports writer Joel Whetzel won as best sports feature writer, also for a compilation of his work.

The local newsroom staff also claimed eight second-place and five third-place awards in the annual contest in areas of news, sports, feature and editorial writing, photography, graphic design and headline writing.

In all, the staff claimed 17 awards at the banquet and annual Associated Press Media Editors, or APME, meeting Sunday afternoon in Columbus.

Page Designer Patrick Litowitz claimed three awards — two second place and one third place — for best informational graphic, best graphics artist and for best headline writing. The newspaper’s sports department, headed by Sports Editor Greg Macafee, claimed second place for best daily sports section.

Editor Brenda J. Linert took home second place for editorial writing; Metro Editor Tom Wills won second place in explanatory reporting category for a story titled “Choking’s no game.” Reporter Allie Vugrincic won second place as best feature writer. Crime reporter Ed Runyan claimed second place in the best spot news category for his coverage of the shooting death of a Youngstown child. Freelance photographer Mike Taylor took second place for best sports photo for his image titled “JFK Celebrates.”

In third place, Features Editor Burton Cole won for best feature writer; chief photographer R. Michael Semple took home third place in best feature photo category for a shot he called “clean shaven.” The staff also claimed third place in the spot news category for its coverage of a January 2021 fatal fire in Warren, and freelance outdoor columnist Jack Wollitz finished in third place in the best sports columnist category.

Overall, Sunday’s event resulted in the best showing for The Vindicator / Tribune Chronicle staff in the annual APME contest in recent memory. The local staff competes in Division IV, representing daily newspapers with a general circulation size of 19,000 to 59,999.

A total of 48 daily newspapers submitted 1,302 entries in this year’s contest. Entries for Division IV were judged by editors from The Grand Haven (Michigan) Tribune. Sunday’s APME banquet marked a return to an in-person gathering. The contest was managed remotely and awards shipped to winners the last two years, due to COVID-19 limitations on gatherings.

Linert serves as a board member for the APME, the governing body for the annual contest. She was re-elected during Sunday’s meeting to a second three-year term.

news@vindy.com