Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Herald Times Reporter Entry Title: 'Nothing short of miraculous': Kiel's Kenzie Koppenhaver back on soccer team three months after coma Entry Credit: Tom Dombeck Judge Comment: Kenzie was knocked unconscious in a car wreck, was out two weeks with folks thinking she wouldn't revive, and then the doctor asked what sport she liked and her face lit up when soccer was mentioned. The coach was allowed to visit her and said she had great determination. Then, three months later, she was at spring practice. She could not play but enjoyed working with the team. The writer included several quotes to aid the feature. Obviously a feature of originality and has quality writing. No doubt this was a story that appealed to readers.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Portage Daily Register Entry Title: Pillar behind the plate: Portage native Steve Rohrbeck remains model of consistency in umping Entry Credit: Sean Davis Judge Comment: Strong lead for the story and the information provided shows why the lead enticed the reader into the feature. The umpire is an awesome worker, and quotes throughout the story show what all the man does. The umpire is liked, loves the kids, and is known for the amount of information he knows in sports. Plus, he is capable of bringing others when work is needed Story written well, has an awesome subject, and treats the feature with care. You can't stop reading the feature.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: The Freeman Entry Title: A trailblazer on the mat Entry Credit: Dave Radcliffe Judge Comment: She won the matches and is going to the state tournament. Not the girls state, the men's. She wrestled with the men's team and won her trip to state and she has decided to skip the girls tournament, which is run at the same time, to go to the men as the number 10 seed. Aside from the originality of this event-she is the first girls to quality for the men’s top event-she is winning notification from others. The story is well written and is sprinkled with quality quotes. The writer wins a pin on this story.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Wausau Daily Herald Entry Title: 'It just lifts everybody up': Teen pushes her brother's wheelchair in cross-country races, and people are taking notice Entry Credit: Keith Uhlig Judge Comment: The girl pushing her brother in a wheelchair in cross country races admits she doesn't finish last in races, and this feature isn't last either. A great story on how these two teenagers became runners and the problem of getting into races. They start at the end of the starting runners but the girl says she sometimes passes runners anyway and they don't finish last. Quality writing, some interesting quotes, and loads of information on people who run. An unusual treatment in the story, and it is put together so that the reader becomes interested in reading it.
Competition Comment: I found a variety of stories and many that I enjoyed reading. Among the interesting stories were several that had unusual situations or were the situation had an interesting or unusual outcome. The winners were among those. Hearing the word soccer awoke her, she joined the team later, though not playing, and the team won the national contest. The umpire, know for umping several sports, would often show up when an ump was needed. The girl wrestler chose the men's tournament, became the first girl in the state to make the tournament, and was ranked No. 10. The girl pushing her brother, who had a disease and could not talk to her, made sure she never finished last. Other stories had similar tales. How could you not like reading all these stories.
