The College Heights Herald won the 2018 General Excellence Award from the Kentucky Press Association last Friday. 

This was the fourth time in five years the Herald was named the top college news organization in the state.

Some of the schools the Herald competed against included: the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Murray State University and Northern Kentucky University. 

The judging period was from October 2016 to September 2017. 

Here’s some of our awarding winning journalism which placed at this year’s convention. 

Editorials

Current editor-in-chief, and former opinion editor, Andrew Henderson, received second place for editorial writing. Two of the editorials submitted for judging focused on the principles behind the ongoing lawsuit WKU has against the Herald. 

Restricting Records

Differing Doctrines

The other editorial focused on the failure of the Bowling Green City Commissioners to take up debate on a proposed fairness ordinance. 

Columns

Henderson also received second place for opinion column writing. He penned topics ranging from refugee rights, the famed Bowling Green Massacre and the importance of government transparency. 

Kelly Burgess, a Herald alum, won third place for her nutrition column A Slice to Savor. Here are her award winning entries.

Three major keys to nutrition

Bless your dark chocolate heart

Sports column

Former sports editor and Herald alum, John Reecer, received first place for his column, Reecer’s Piece, on Hilltopper sports. 

Defense must improve for Hilltoppers

NFL should be calling for the Hilltoppers

Current digital managing editor, and former sports editor, Evan Heichelbech, won third place for his column, The Walkthrough. Two of the three entries focused on the now infamous Mitchell Robinson saga. 

August: The real offseason of Hilltopper Hoops

Robinson’s hide-and-seek has ended

Sports story

Heichelbech took home a first place win for his story “A Steadying Hand,” which focused on the role former president Gary Ransdell played in shaping athletics at WKU.

Sports feature story

Our current sports editor, Jeremy Chisenhall, snagged a first place win for his story on Bryson and Marshall Smith who are brothers and teammates in their first year on the WKU baseball team. 

Enterprise/analytical

Herald alums Jacob Dick and Nicole Ares took home first and second, respectively, in the enterprise story category.

Investigative

Ares won first place for investigative story with “In the Dark,” which documents sexual misconduct at public universities in Kentucky. This story has also won the Betty Gage Holland award, ACP Pacemaker News Story of the Year and first in the enterprise reporting category the Hearst Journalism Awards. 

Henderson won a third place award for his story on the use of international agents by WKU and how that affects the university’s international enrollment. 

Ongoing stories

The staff of the Herald tied with the Kentucky Kernel for second place for our ongoing coverage of WKU’s lawsuit against the Herald. 

Herald records lawsuit

Business/agribusiness

Features editor, Olivia Mohr, took a first place win for her story on baby goat yoga. 

Copy desk chief, Spencer Harsh, won third place for his story on a local barbershop. 

Photo

There are numerous categories for photos including breaking news, general news, feature, picture essay, sports picture and sports picture essay. 

The Herald placed first, second or third in multiple categories. We’ve compiled a collection of our award winning photos.

Design

We also snagged first, second or third place wins for our design work. 

Our design editor, Craig Ostertag, took first and third place for graphics. 

Advertising

Apart from editorial wins, the advertising and creative staff of the Herald won the General Excellence Award as well.