Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: La Crosse Tribune Entry Title: WIAA state baseball commentary: Cropp's winning catch lifts weight from shoulders Entry Credit: Todd Sommerfeldt Judge Comment: The Cropp piece put this entry over the top in a very tight competition. It was simply the best-written, most compelling single column in the contest.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Kenosha News Entry Title: Hi, my name is Mike Ramczyk; Falcons training partnership pays off; 3 things we learned from Friday football Entry Credit: Mike Ramczyk Judge Comment: Mike Ramczyk displayed more personality than any of the the other entries. That’s not always a good thing in a vacuum but he backs it up with solid, detailed reportage.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Beloit Daily News Entry Title: New job won’t prevent Douglas from advocacy; Beloit youth hockey doesn’t deserve thin ice; State champion Bandits met their potential Entry Credit: Jim Franz Judge Comment: Old school sports guy. Makes me smile.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Journal Times Entry Title: Shining a light; The big time at last; Breaking barriers Entry Credit: Peter Jackel Judge Comment: More features than columns, but good features.
Competition Comment: On one hand, it is refreshing to find, in this world of hot takes and dumbed down hot takes, well reported and reasonable sports commentary. On the other hand, more htna once while reading these entries I found myself wondering if they were really columns or just reported sports features. Some more analysis would be welcome — but I’m not complaining.
