ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Sun Journal Sports project commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight published last May has been honored among the nation’s best by The Associated Press Sports Editors this week at the organization’s annual contest, with judging held in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The project, spearheaded by writer Kalle Oakes and sports editor Justin Pelletier, also featured contributions from C. Ernie Anderson, Russ Dillingham, Carl Natale and Lauren Schneiderman, and explored many facets — and faces — of the event that may have otherwise been lost.
The Sunday sports section was also named top 10 in the country for the staff’s yearlong efforts.
Oakes was honored two more times by the APSE for his writing, earning a national top 10 for his explanatory piece on what makes Dirigo High School of Dixfield, dubbed “Titletown,” so good across the board in high school athletics. Oakes also earned a national top 10 in breaking news coverage for his work following Leavitt Area High School football player Adam Smith’s saga in the fall. Smith was rushed to the hospital after suffering a ruptured spleen in a game against Greely High School.
Pelletier also earned two other awards. He, along with staff writer Kathryn Skelton and audience engagement editor Larry Gilbert Jr., were honored by APSE for breaking news for their work on a story chronicling a chairlift accident at Sugarloaf last spring, when a mechanical malfunction sent skiers backward down the mountain and required a large rescue effort.
Pelletier was also named a top 10 columnist nationally.
In the video category, Daryn Slover earned a top-three for his coverage of the Tough Mountain Challenge at Sunday River last summer.
“We are so blessed to have so many great journalists working at the Sun Journal,” Pelletier said. “None of these accolades are possible without tremendous teamwork and support from everyone in the building, and within the company.”
Results have been tabulated and the national top 10 in several categories has been defined. Later in the spring, APSE will release the order of those top 10 in each category, with an awards banquet scheduled as a capstone to the organization’s summer conference in Charlotte, N.C., in June.
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