Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Marquette Wire/Tribune Entry Title: Tom Mendoza is always attacking Entry Credit: Jack Albright Judge Comment: Wow! This feature is impressive, and everything from the quotes and anecdotes to the details and creativity caught my attention. The lede is excellent, and the use of chess throughout the story is interesting. Overall, this is a well-written, compelling and engaging read, and you captured his journey effectively and creatively. I also really liked the story structure and flow.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: The Marquette Wire/Tribune Entry Title: Built the smart way Entry Credit: Jack Albright Judge Comment: This is an extremely creative and unique feature about a significant topic (recruiting) in sports that continues to evolve. This is a well-written, detailed-oriented story with great quotes and anecdotes. Great job highlighting Smart's recruiting strategies.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Royal Purple Entry Title: The monumental trifecta, 11 years later Entry Credit: Chase Keller Judge Comment: This story is a really unique and interesting historical account of the trifecta. The story is well written, with good quotes. The coaches' past overlap and how the trifecta impacted the university since were great additions.
