Better Newspaper Contest

Page 37 Best Editorial Page/Category 21 First Staff The Herald Republican (Angola) Local voices, including from the paper's Staff, taking potentially contro- versial stands on important issues. The page is relatively attractive, but not as much as some other entries. What matters: It has substance. Second Staff The Commercial Review (Portland) Third Staff Washington Times-Herald Best Use of Graphics/Category 22 First Staff Daily Reporter (Greenfield) Great use of colors to represent the story and the information graphs provide a fun entry to the page while providing interesting history and details a shopper would appreciate. Second Staff The Tribune (Seymour) The Overdose entry was a great example of utilizing graphics to complement the text and tell the story in an engaging way. Your eyes are certainly pulled through the graphic to learn more. Third Jeff Stanton Connersville News-Examiner This was a fun way of integrating font to help share the emotion of the photo and the subject of the story - Cheerio. This is idea is carried through with the other entries as well. Best Website/Category 23 First Staff Daily Reporter (Greenfield) Good clean look and easy to navigate. Stories for both local and re- gional interest. Second Staff The Commercial Review (Portland) Third Staff Connersville News-Examiner Best Sports Section/Category 24 First Staff Daily Reporter (Greenfield) Very impressive entry. Visually appealing, good art, very well written stories. Well done. Second Staff Washington Times-Herald Strong sports section all the way around. Solid writing, good enough photography, but the strength is the depth of local coverage. Third Staff The Tribune (Seymour) Creative look... nice visuals. Would have liked a little more local content, but still an impressive product. Best Feature Section Or Page(s)/Category 25 First Staff The Tribune (Seymour) Horizons Excellent design, well-written articles. The principal subjects of the three "Horizon" sections presented for judging — art, science, literature — demonstrate the diverse local interests that community newspapers can, and should be expected to, present to their readers. Second Staff Daily Reporter (Greenfield) Just4Fun 1 Division 3 F ORTVILLE — Jawing back and forth with fellow senior Erick Shep- herd inside the Mt. Vernon boys basketball locker room one last time, Michael Ertel smiled while shaking his head in dissent. "I can dunk at the field- house," the 6-foot-1 Ertel quipped, shuffling his feet as he defended his vertical prowess against the 6-6 Shepherd. "I had a clean one before a game here." Shepherd glanced up from his smartphone momentarily with a condescending, yet playful, expression before the duo shared a laugh, standing a few feet away from the team's plaid couch where they've lounged countless pregames before. "See Shep will always dispute it. He will never admit that I got a clean one," Ertel smirked. "It's easy for him. He's been able to since the eighth grade. I can throw it down." There is one thing is indisput- able about Ertel's game — few in Marauders' history could get buckets like the crafty left- handed point guard. With 1,282 points in his ca- reer, Ertel, a four-year varsity player, will graduate as the program's second all-time leading scorer, 18 points better than C.J. Coleman (1,264 in 2014) and 108 points shy of Tim Miller (1,390 in 1998). "He's going to go down as one of the top few players in our program's history, and you're not talking about a program that has not had good players through the years," Mt. Vernon head coach Travis Daugherty said. "For him to be historically toward the top, I think says a lot about his career." Daily Reporter Sports April 7, 2017 | Section B All-county bAsketbAll First teAm michael ertel Mt. Vernon senior Ertel, a Louisiana-Monroe recruit, was named IBCA Large School Senior All- State and earned first-team All-Hoosier Heritage Confer- ence honors. The senior was an IBCA Academic All-State first team selection and picked to compete in the 29th Annual North/South Indiana All-Star Classic. An Indiana Junior All-Star in 2016, Ertel became the program's second all-time career scorer with 1,282 points. Stats: 19.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 44 per- cent FG, 86 percent FT, 69 3-pointers Addison true Eastern Hancock junior True, a junior, was second in the county in scoring and first in rebounds this season to earn IBCA Small School Underclass All-State Team honors. The up-tempo guard led the Royals in assists and steals while carrying the team's highest field goal percentage. His ability to score from long range and inside pushed his career- point total to 1,041, fifth best in program history. Stats: 17.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.8 spg, 43 per- cent FG, 75 percent FT, 49 3-pointers erick shepherd Mt. Vernon senior The 6-foot-6 forward posted his best season to date in his final campaign. The senior led the Hoosier Heri- tage Conference runner-up Marauders in field goal percentage and dropped in a career-best 337 points. His 25 blocks led the county. Shepherd's 150 rebounds were a career high. He is the fifth 1,000-point scorer in program history with 1,051 and earned All-HHC honors. Stats: 14.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg, 54 percent FG, 65 percent FT Will o'connor Greenfield-Central junior The 6-foot-6 wing had a breakout campaign in his junior season. O'Connor led the Cougars with 381 points, which was third-best in the county. He was first in the area in free-throw percentage and drained 62 treys in 145 attempts. He was elected to the All-Hoo- sier Heritage Conference first team and received All-State honorable mention honors from the IBCA. Stats: 15.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 49 percent FG, 87 percent FT, 42 percent 3pt, 62 3-pointers maximus Gizzi New Palestine freshman Only a freshman, Gizzi played well beyond his years as the point guard of the New Palestine Dragons. First in scoring for coach Trent Whitaker's squad, Gizzi finished with 296 points while pacing the team and the county with 89 assists. His 32 steals were third-best in the county at 1.3 per game. His rookie performance resulted in an All-Hoosier Heritage Confer- ence first-team selection. Stats: 12.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 43 per- cent FG, 81 percent FT, 15 3-pointers inside Page B2 Find out who made Second Team and what players earned Honorable Mention. Driven to succeeD Pictured: Mt. Vernon senior Michael Ertel has been named All-County Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Marauders point guard earns unanimous decision as all-county player of year S T O R Y B Y R I C H T O R R E S / / P H O T O B Y T O M R U S S O inside Page B2 Mt. Vernon coach Travis Daugh- erty's persistence lead to another winning season for the Marauders, an epic double-overtime sectional game against Connersville, and now, Coach of the Year honors (SEE DRIVEN PAGE B3)

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