Prep team coverage after massacre wins AP story of the year

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Associated Press writer Tim Reynolds won story of the year honors and AP national writer Eddie Pells captured three awards in the annual contest for AP staffers judged by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

The judges said while it was unfortunate the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School football team’s practice had to be written, Reynolds delivered a “riveting on-the-scene story” of the workout that began at 12:01 a.m. — the first following the on-campus massacre during which 17 people, including a football assistant coach, were killed.

Pells won three writing awards, including deadline reporting for his story, “Shaun White wins 3rd Olympic gold in contest for ages ;” feature writing, “Finding safe Haven: Suicide prompts swimmer’s family journey ;” and the Grimsley Award for body of work .

“In an Olympic year , Pells wins the journalism gold medal,” a judge said. “His pieces are compelling, evoking the interest of the sports fanatic and the casual sports fan alike.”

Will Graves was also honored for enterprise writing with his story: “Qatar’s evolution a work in progress as 2022 World Cup nears .”

In the photo competition, Mark J. Terrill won for best portfolio for his collection of work including a series of photos featuring game action, feature art and a portrait. Judges said his “are the type of photos that demand a reader to spend some extra time with them.”

Other photography awards went to:

Alex Brandon won in feature photo for his image of Houston safety Tyrann Mathieu’s celebration of an interception by Texans’ teammate Justin Reid.

Martin Meissner won action photo for the image he captured during a Colombia-Senegal World Cup soccer match Colombia-Senegal match.