Hazelwood earns second place in Ohio SPJ best sports reporting

Norwalk Reflector, Ohio
·2 min read

Jul. 21—COLUMBUS — Reflector Sports Editor Mark Hazelwood earned second place in the Best Sports Reporting award for circulation print newspapers of 60,000 or less in the Ohio's Best Journalism contest.

Sponsored by the Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) chapters statewide, the 225 award winners for 2022 were announced on Wednesday.

Entries were for work done in 2021. Journalists who work for newspaper, magazines, radio, television, trade, online and college media in Ohio and adjacent states that have significant reach into Ohio were eligible to submit entries, as well as freelance journalists who are Ohio residents.

Hazelwood was recognized with second place for three stories, which included "Forever an Eagle," a feature on the Monroeville volleyball team's run to the Division IV state semifinals playing in the memory of late teammate Delany Giles.

He was also recognized for feature stories on Norwalk baseball player Sam Battles, who endured multiple plastic surgeries en route to an All-Ohio career; as well as a third feature on identical twins Nate and Nick Winslow, a pair of 1,000-point basketball scorers at St. Paul.

Ohio's Best Journalism is the only Ohio competition that honors journalists who fulfill the SPJ mission: defense of the First Amendment, support of literacy, resistance to censorship, advocacy for openness of public records and meetings, media self-criticism and community service.

The SPJ is the nation's most broad-based journalism organization and has nearly 10,000 members.

Journalists from the Long Island Press Club served as judges. The winners will be recognized at the Boat House at Confluence Park in downtown Columbus at a luncheon on Aug. 27.

Hazelwood is a five-time OPSWA Writer of the Year winner while working for the Reflector and Sandusky Register. This is his third SPJ award.

In his 17-year writing career, Hazelwood has earned 79 writing awards from the Associated Press, Ohio SPJ and the OPSWA.