KALISPELL — The 406 MT Sports team won four awards — including two first-place honors — in the top category at the 139th annual Montana Newspaper Association’s awards banquet Saturday night.
Daniel Shepard of the Helena Independent Record/Montana Standard took first place in Best Sports Story for his piece “Dillon’s Gavin Devers to get ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience’ as Shrine Game Patient Ambassador.” and Billings Gazette sports editor John Letasky also took top honors for Best Sports Page Layout and Design.
Both compete in Division 4 against the largest newspapers in the state.
Independent Record/Montana Standard sports editor Chris Peterson earned third place in Best Sports Feature Story in Division 4 for “Pressure Makes Diamonds”, a story on Helena Capital athlete Tom Carter. Also earning a third-place award was Lee Montana Sports Director Jeff Welsch, who teamed with Indigenous Communities reporter Nora Mabie for a three-part series on perceived bias against Native Americans in basketball officiating.
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Missoulian outdoor writer Joshua Murdock took first in Best Sports Feature story for his piece on moto racer Tyler Clark. Ravalli Republic managing editor Jessica Abell also won in Best Sports Feature Story in Division 3 for “Corvallis top runner thrives despite MS diagnosis”, a story on the Blue Devils’ cross country standout Laurie Davidson.
